Recipes to beat the heat!

Boston hit triple digits today. A look at weather.com's temperature map shows a row of 100s marching down the East Coast. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were complaining about two back-to-back blizzards.

In any case, this is a good opportunity to back away from the stove and chill out with some freshly tossed greens, a smooth popsicle, or sparkling watermelon lemonade.

Here are a few recipe ideas from Stir It Up! to help you keep cool and carry on:

Freshly minted lemonade

Strawberry basil smoothie

Fish and scallop ceviche

Pickled radishes

Corn and black bean salad

Tomato, avocado, black-eyed, pea salad

Salad recipes

Olive oil gelato

Vegan ice cream sandwiches

Strawberry lime popsicles

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream

Sparkling Watermelon Lemonade

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/2 cup fresh watermelon puree, strained to remove seeds
3 tablespoons simple syrup*
1-1/2 cups sparkling water
Mint, for garnish (or mint ice cubes)

Mix together and serve over ice. Serves 2.

*To make simple syrup: Simmer 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool.