It’s Called the Best Gazpacho Because It Is the Best Gazpacho

It’s time for our annual reminder that gazpacho is the queen of summer cooking, a coolly satisfying remedy for intense, sluggish heat. Our recipe is called best gazpacho, and it delivers on that promise. It’s simple, salty, thick and smooth, with no bobbing cubes of cucumber in sight. (I never liked those.)

We have dozens of other no-cook recipes for you, and recipes for slow cookers, too — a heat wave hack. As slow cooker devotees will tell you, the machines don’t heat up your kitchen and are therefore brilliant for summer.

Also a good idea right now: very cold drinks. I heard from a reader named Amber asking for unique nonalcoholic cocktails that aren’t too sweet. Try this hibiscus fizz, this cucumber and tonic or this salted lemon-ginger spritzer, which are all nicely balanced and incredibly delicious.

I also got a ton of emails from you after last week’s newsletter about chicken thighs versus breasts, some powerfully in favor of thighs, others making the case for breasts. I love reading them. Send me notes anytime to [email protected]. I’m here!

I’m also making:

Dòuhuā (silken tofu with ginger syrup); hot-sauce shrimp; corn salad with tomatoes, basil and cilantro; olive oil granola (with a few tweaks: no brown sugar, and sliced almonds instead of pistachios).