Summer's Here

With the arrival of summer on Friday, one's thoughts turn toward cold soups. In my recent ritual of Sunday soup-making (preparing for lunches in the week ahead), I've made split pea, lentil, Manhattan clam chowder, tomato, and more from JOY. Today, I turned to my old NYTIMES BREAD AND SOUP COOKBOOK for a classic vichyssoise. Easy once you chop the onions, slice and clean the leeks, peel and slice the potatoes. The advantages of a cold soup on a hot day do not include the hour or so the ingredients simmer on the stovetop. In the end, the velvety texture and fresh-from-the-garden scent, with its bright confetti of chives, icy on the tongue, is well worth the effort.