Melon agua fresca. Photo: Smitten Kitchen.

There is perhaps nothing more refreshing on a hot day than a fruity drink. Sure, ice cream, Popsicles and beer all have their place in the chill summer pantheon, but the combination of something already so summery (fruit) with nature's most refreshing resource (water) is pure heaven when the thermometer is pushing 90 or 100 degrees. And no one does fruity drinks better than Mexicans (margarita, anyone?).

Shown above are gloriously green and outrageously orange aguas frescas, which translates loosely to "fresh waters." These are typically blended with fruits, cereals or seeds and, of course, sugar. These colorful concoctions from Deb at Smitten Kitchen are made with cantaloupe and honeydew melon, lime juice, sugar, salt, water and seltzer.

The twist of lime on each glass serves as a reminder that though these drinks don't contain any alcohol, they're still suitable to serve to grown-ups at fiestas.

[Via Smitten Kitchen]

Photo: Muffet, Flickr

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Thanks to some great feedback on how to use up some of my (organic) cucumbers, I managed to work my way through them. I ended up making another batch of cucumber salad, used some thick slices to add crunch to falafel sandwiches and made a big batch of the Cucumber Agua Fresca that Slashfood reader Freyja suggested. It was incredibly refreshing and a very ice contrast to a summer standard, like lemonade. I loved the lime flavor. I used a simple sugar syrup to sweeten the drink, which worked beautifully. Thanks for the recipe, Freyja!

Cucumber Agua Fresca
For the simple syrup, boil equal amounts water and sugar in a saucepan. Let cool. Use it to sweeten any drink you would ordinarily put sugar in. It works beautifully in cold drinks.

Take 3 large cucumbers, peel and cut into chunks. Puree with 1 1/2 cups water, then strain into a large pitcher to remove the pulp. Add 3-4 cups more water (still or sparkling), the juice of two limes (more, if desired) and about 1/4 cup or sugar syrup, or to taste.
Chill until serving.

Fortunately, it appears that the last few were killed off by the 104F+ heat that they were subjected to this week, so I won't have to worry about more cucumbers until the plant manages to revive itself. Judging by how aggressively the thing grew, if shouldn't take long, but I'll take a week or two of reprieve when I can get it.

Yesterday's New York Times food section was all about cocktails and ways to make refreshing summer drinks. It put me in the mood for something cold and refreshing, but since I read the food section before breakfast and most of the recipes were alcoholic, the urge had passed long before the heat of the day was beating down. It returned when I saw Joe's post about Watermelon Agua Fresca at Culinary in the Desert. It has watermelon, sugar, lime juice and seltzer and is something that I can actually indulge in early in the morning as well as when the California sun is beating down. Now, if only I hadn't just used up the rest of my watermelon...