Seeing as how this crazy summer heat is officially here, it's time to eat watermelon, salads and other cold foods! What cold drinks and dishes are your perfect summer aid?

I personally love sunomono, tzatziki, gazpacho, JJ Bean's mocha shiver, homemade lemonade and iced tea (earl grey!)

Great thread topic :)

I love having the soup & sandwich combo of gazpacho with gooey grilled cheese at Burgoo in the summertime.   yelp.ca/biz/burgoo-bistr…

Ice cream at La Casa Gelato is a must...218 flavours on location, and more than 500 flavours in their rotation.  Yum!  yelp.ca/biz/la-casa-gela…

JJ Bean iced sugar-free vanilla americano.  yelp.ca/biz/jj-bean-coff…

Scoop!!!!!! Frozen Yogurt!! yelp.ca/biz/scoop-vancou…

Great topic... so many foods great cold.  Pizza, soups, juice frozen into popsicles

But of all the things that _should_ be cold, the one thing I find most refreshing when it isn't...is:   Iced Tea.

Give it to me warm,with no ice.  It tastes so much better that way...refreshing.

Other (non-food) hints to staying cool include:
1.  Place a tatami mat on your bed.  It allows the air to circulate around you and eliminates that awful "Help, I'm melting into my sheets"-feeling.
2.  Hang sheer curtains around your bed, or in the doorway of your bedroom.  You can get them on the cheap, second-hand at ValueVillage etc.  Dampen said sheets and place a fan next to it.  The cool breeze it creates is heavenly!

Other than that, there is always standing in front of the freezer naked....
While you are there get me a popsicle please :)

SOBA Noodles!!

A big pineapple chilled then the insides all scooped out and put into a blender with ice n vodka then poured back into the chilled shell with a straw ! Mmmmmmmm , I'd give my right arm for one now . :o)

Iced green tea, the ultimate thirst quencher.
Frappe's(I will never use the term frappacino, it is a coffe frappe Starbucks you branding freaks!!!)
Cocktails like Mojitos, Caiprinha, Gin Fizz, Bramble, Americano(not the US invented weak black coffe but the cocktail)
Chilled white wines like a NZ sauvignon blanc or even a French Bourgogne or Muscadet
Another for Gazpacho, we used to have this as a started on hot Christmas day back home in Australia.
Seafood - when I think summer I think of oysters in the shell, fish on the grill, cold tiger prawns with a lime and chilli aioli.
Melons of all shapes and sizes.
Anything on a grill outdoors really - Portugese chicken, Jerk Chicken, marinated flank steak, burgers.

Dammit I am hungry and thirsty now!

TABOLI!!!!!!!!!  The best cold food!!!!!

Vodka watermelons, tomato and boccocini salads, lemonade, strawberries buzzed into popcicles, mojitos, Greek salad!

Wicked thread, Andrew!

Ooh I forgot about mojitos. I need to make me one of those! Have been meaning to try caiprinha as well. Where can I try a good caiprinha?

I ended up making mojitos and mint juleps a week back. The secret to mint julep? Use a bourbon you'd drink straight up. I used Jack and it just didn't cut it for me. Call me a snob, but BLECH. The mojito was perfect though! Has anyone else tried moscato? It's technically a form of wine like prosecco but it tastes like sparkling peach juice with a little bit of floralness. Amazing! And speaking of prosecco, I am now adding white peach bellinis to my list.

cold soba noodles and cold ramen (hiyashi chuka), beer, cold fried chicken, slurpees, oreo ice cream sandwiches, and of course, sushi.

@Louise: excellent ideas for cool sleeping. another one is to place a bowl of ice in front of a fan.

ICE ICE ICE!!!  Ice makes everything tastes like heaven!  

What's delicious is cutting a watermelon in 1/2, scooping the insides so it's easy to eat and adding ICE to it....so it ends up being a soupy watermelony bowl of goodness.  *drool*

Also LOVE mool naeng myun (cold korean noodle).  It's all about the soup with ICE in it!!!  yummmmmmmmmmmmy.

@Andrew - I've got a couple of moscato's chilling in the fridge. Love bubbles! And I agree with you about a proper bourbon for any drink. I'm a Makers fan myself, but Bulleit Bourbon is growing on me too.

I've been on a spiked lemonades (thanks UV Vodka) kick. Also started experimenting with homemade strawberry milkshakes. Yum!

@Crystal, Maker's Mark is a tasty drink straight up or mixed! I am a huge fan of Knob Creek, but I think that one is better just straight up. I'll have to see what this Bulleit Bourbon's like.

Just made a blueberry smoothie today. I have to say that getting berries locally makes all the difference in the flavor!