I always look forward to whipping up effortless cold soups during the dog days of summer. What follows is one of my all-time favorite no-cook recipes for the summer heat.

The dill and shrimp garnish is a nod to Scandinavia. Avocado and cucumber are great in salads — why not in soups? Dill weed has stems and fronds (the flowery sprigs). Use the fronds for this recipe.

If you plan on serving this at a picnic, keep the soup cold with this neat trick: Pour ice water into a Thermos and let it sit for five minutes. Pour out the water and carefully pour in the soup. It will keep cool for at least three hours.

If you want to lighten up this dish, you can use nonfat yogurt instead of sour cream. Taste for seasoning once the soup has been chilled. Chilled soups usually need more seasoning, since the cooling process mutes the flavor. You may also want to add extra dill to perk up the flavor. I like to serve chilled rose wine to accompany this soup.