Cool! Refreshing summer salads, desserts and drinks

It is time to enjoy some wonderful summertime foods. Whether you are dining with family on an ordinary day, making a dish to share with friends or grabbing something from the refrigerator between activities, some cool refreshing recipes are in order to kick off your summer.

Strawberry Salad

For the salad:

Mixed nicer and baby greens

Fresh strawberries, sliced

Feta cheese, crumbled

Candied pecans:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

3 cups pecan halves

For the salad dressing:

1 can frozen strawberry daiquiri mix

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in large skillet and add pecans. Sauté until lightly browned. Ad brown sugar and cook until slightly caramelized. Add vinegar and continue cooking on low heat, stirring continuously, until all liquid is absorbed. Spread pecans on baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with salt. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, turning once.

Mix dressing ingredients and shake until well mixed. Toss salad ingredients together along with candied pecans and drizzle with dressing.

Chicken Salad Pitas

1/4 cup sliced almonds, roasted

1 cup sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1 rib celery, chopped

1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon honey

2 whole wheat pitas

Roast almonds in a 300 degree oven for 7 or 8 minutes to make them crunchy and bring out the flavor.

Combine ingredients. Fill pita pockets. Yields 4 (1/2 cup) servings.

Cold Summer Spaghetti

1 (12-ounce) box spaghetti

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup fresh basil

3 cups finely sliced Roma or small tomatoes

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pinch salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti; drain. Stir in olive oil and lemon juice; set aside. Add chopped basil, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently and serve.

Seven-Layered Tuna Salad

4 cups shredded lettuce

1 1/2 cups macaroni, cooked

2 cups chopped cucumber

2 cups chopped tomatoes

2 (6 1/2-ounce) cans tuna, drained

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, thawed

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip

Layer lettuce, macaroni, cucumber, tomato, tuna, peas and cheese in a bowl. Spread Miracle Whip over salad, sealing edges of bowl. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Toss and serve.

Stone Fruit Dessert

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 egg, beaten

Sugar

Any flavor fruit preserves

Any stone fruit, such as peaches, plums, or nectarines

Roll pie crust out to fit a pizza pan. Spread preserves on crust. Arrange or pile sliced fruit in center. Sprinkle with a little sugar. Fold up sides around fruit, leaving a circle open on top. This does not have to be perfect, make it rustic and homemade looking. Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until crust is browned.

Strawberry Pie

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoon corn syrup

Pinch salt

1 cup water

1 small package strawberry gelatin

4 cups strawberries

1 baked pie shell

Combine first 5 ingredients in saucepan. Tint with food coloring, if desired. Cook until thickened and clear, stirring constantly. Add gelatin; stir until gelatin dissolves. Cool. Fold in sliced strawberries. Spoon into pie shell. Chill until serving time. Garnish with whipped cream.

Refreshing Apricot Mist

1 (46-ounce) can apricot nectar

1 (46-ounce) can pineapple juice

3 (6-ounce) cans frozen limeade, plus water

3 (28-ounce) bottles ginger ale

Mix together apricot nectar, pineapple juice and prepared limeade. Can be frozen and served as a slush at this point. Add ginger ale just before serving.

Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Bars

8 ounces (2 cups) rhubarb, cut roughly into 1/3-inch thick pieces

1 cup turbinado sugar, divided (plus a little extra for sprinkling)

6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 3/4 cups flour, divided

6 ounces cold, unsalted butter

2 ounces cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan with nonstick spray. Line it with parchment paper (so you'll be able to lift the bars out later for cutting) and spray again. Combine the sliced strawberries, sliced rhubarb, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Set this aside to macerate while you make the crust and streusel.

Place 2 1/2 cups of the flour into the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into 5 large chunks and add to the flour along with the cream cheese, salt and remaining 3/4 cup of cane sugar. Pulse to combine the mixture until moist and crumbly, with no chunks of butter remaining. Remove 1 2/3 cups of this crumbly mixture from the food processor and set it aside for the streusel topping.

To the rest of the mixture still in the food processor, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, egg, baking powder and vanilla. Blend until it just starts to come together to form a dough. Press the dough evenly into the lined pan (it's easier to do this if your hands are slightly damp). Bake for 10 minutes until slightly risen.

Strain the macerated fruit to remove the excess liquid. Spread the fruit in an even layer over the surface of the partially baked crust. Sprinkle the reserved streusel topping over the surface of the fruit and then sprinkle on a little more turbinado sugar. Bake again for 40 to 50 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Let cool for 20 minutes before lifting the pie bars out of the pan using the parchment paper. Slice into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Have a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.