I made a big bowl of gazpacho last night, after finding some lovely ripe tomatoes on offer at one of our local shops. Never used to like cold soup, but this one particularly I could eat until it comes out of my ears - it's very refreshing in this hot weather. You do have to like garlic because it just doesn't taste right without it. This is my basic recipe for it, although I do add other bits and pieces from time to time.

1 kg ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (although I have to admit I don't always do this)
1 red pepper - seeded and white pith removed and roughly chopped
Half a cucumber roughly chopped (you can peel if it you prefer)
2 cloves garlic (as fresh as possible)
1 thick slice day or two day old bread, crusts cut off, soaked in water then as much liquid as possible squeezed out
2 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons good olive oil

Chuck the whole lot in a blender and blend - you may have to do this in batches. Then put in the fridge and make sure it's really chilled. You can add a few ice cubes if you need to.

It's usually served with some bits and pieces - finely chopped pepper, cucumber, hard-boiled egg and croutons. Sometimes it also arrives in restaurants with some little cubes of serrano ham.

I don't always put in a whole pepper, and sometimes I add a whole cucumber instead of a half. It doesn't really need salt or pepper, but you can add a bit more oil if you prefer. I find 2tbspns enough for me. One recipe I have also includes a small red chilli, but I've decided this is one thing I don't need chillies in.

Like the sound of that ATT. As soon as I am picking tomatoes I'll try it. (Only two ripe this morning, so it won't be today, let's hope we have another heat wave!)

My favourite is cold potato soup, lovely for a hot summers day.

This is what you need:

0,5 kilo(1 pound + 2 ounces) pre oven cooked potatoes
2 vegetable stock cubes
125 ml sour cream
chopped parsley and chives2 tbsp each
about half a glass of dry sherry
herb or sea salt, freshly milled pepper
warm weather......

This is what you do: Make 1 ltr (about 2 pints + 3 floz) of vegetable stock. Peel the potatoes and crumble them into the stock add a little garlic. Put in the hand blender until you get a nice crumbly, creamy structure. Put in the sherry and the cream, add herbs and put in salt and pepper to your own taste. Let it cool down. Serve cold(with ice cubes) with bread or croutons.

Wonderful and the children love it too.