Ways to Beat the Heat!

     I know usually we are way into summer long before it actually is summer, but this year its been so nice, so mild, so unusual for my area. I was really enjoying gardening and being outside in general. Then WHAM! Summer Solstice rolls around and what does it bring with it? Heat  and lots of it! We are supposed to get up to 103 next week! The only hope we have in the near future it seems is Tropical Storm Debby which just formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Cross your fingers she brings a cooling! Rain never hurts either.
     In the spirit of the hot hot summer (please let my failing air conditioner hold out for awhile longer) here are some great cool down ideas:

 

First this is a great little source of useful info How to Cool Yourself Without Air Conditioning. I found some great ideas there.
And lets not forget recipes. I try to never use my oven in the summer. I totally rely on my crock pot or my grill. Maybe my microwave altho its not the tastiest for cooking. And once in awhile my big roaster, which does put out some heat, but not so much as the oven, and besides I can put it in an already hot unused room or even outside if I want.
OK for starters drinks! I will be trying these immediately! Bobby Flay's Frozen Mojitos OMG Yum! And this one looks so yummy as well Giada De Laurentiis' Blended Cherry Mojitos. No you can't tell I like mojitos not at all LOL! Now lets give Martha Stewart her shot with her Lemonade Recipes, there are 20 here and they look so good! I like thyme in mine so that one looks like a winner ;)
One of my families new favorite simple recipes is to take boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut it into 3 or 4 pieces. Wrap each with a piece of bacon. Skewer it and throw it on the grill. Baste with barbeque sauce or whatever sauce you like as it cooks and Voila! Tasty grilled chicken. Add some grilled veggies or a tasty salad and you have a great easy summer meal. I love my grill. I use it all through the winter as well as in the hotter months. One of my favorite things to grill is vegetables and this Grilled Corn with Chive Butter recipe looks like a super tasty one! Better Homes and Gardens has a yummy looking Grilled Tomato Melts recipe. And don't neglect the great summer squashes and some tasty mushrooms as well! I'm pretty sure my favorite meat of all time is beef so a steak on the grill or even a burger (like I'm making tonight) is heaven to me! This info at Steak Enthusiast in very useful! For a lighter meal why not try a Steak Salad? I love making this and all I do is cook a steak and chop it up and throw it into my favorite salad fixins with Blue Cheese Dressing of course, cause I couldn't imagine a salad, especially a steak salad with any other dressing! (And if you don't like Blue Cheese use your favorite dressing) Seafood is also great on the grill. I often make shrimp the same way as my chicken, wrapped in bacon and basted with sauce while grilling, or if u want it spicy, add a slice of jalapeno in the bacon wrap and then grill. And another favorite. Grilled Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos this recipe is the closest I can find online to how I do my own.
So you want dessert? Well these Honey-Rum Grilled Bananas sure look good! Looking online the most popular fruits for grilling seem to be pineapple (of course who hasn't had that?), peaches and mango. Also strawberries and bananas and apples. And pound cake seems to be VERY popular to grill as well. Fruit and cake kabobs would be quiet a treat I bet! And never forget the tried and true summer dessert classic... SMORES!
     So maybe armed with these recipes and stay cool ideas you too will be able to beat the summer heat and have just some good summer fun!