RECIPE SWAP: ADD A TWIST TO A FAVORITE SUMMER DRINK

My family was invited to dinner last weekend to the home of our friend Cheryl Mothes. She and her new fianc prepared a lovely pasta dinner and we enjoyed dessert while making many wedding plans. It was a nice evening and one of the highlights was sharing recipes. Cheryl shared with me several different lemonade recipes.

Cheryl and Rick love mint lemonade and it is one of the recipes she gave me.

I will also pass on to you a couple of the other lemonade recipes. When the heat index was so high last week, the only place to be was poolside with a tall glass of lemonade.

These lemonade recipes can be served over ice, or frozen in ice cube trays and a cube or two used in regular lemonade for a touch of flavor.

Mint Lemonade

1 cup sugar

3 cups water

2/3 cup mint leaves

1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 cups cold water

Boil together the sugar, 3 cups water and mint. Let stand about 10 minutes, strain and cool. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups cold water.

Serve cold.

Raspberry Lemonade

3 1/2 cups (12 ounces) frozen raspberries, thawed and pureed

1 cup sugar

4 cups water

1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

Boil together the raspberries, sugar and water, let stand 10 minutes, strain and cool. Stir in the lemon juice. Serve cold.

Peach Lemonade

1 cup sugar

3 3/4 cups water

4 peach tea bags

1 1/2 cups lemon juice

3/4 cup peach nectar

Bring to a boil the sugar, water and tea bags. Remove from heat, let stand 10 minutes, strain and cool. Stir in the lemon juice and peach nectar. Serve cold.

Sparkling Ginger Lemonade

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

1/3 cup peeled, minced ginger

1 cup lemon juice

3 cups cold ginger ale

Boil together the sugar, water and ginger. Let stand 10 minutes, strain and cool. Stir in the lemon juice and chilled ginger ale. Serve over ice.

One of our Altenburg, Mo., readers shares her recipe for pasta salad that will keep for about 2 weeks. She enjoys having it on hand.

Pasta Salad

1 pound pasta, cooked al dente, rinsed in cold water

1 cup pimiento, or 1 small jar

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

1 onion, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

1 green pepper, diced

1 tomato, chopped

For the dressing:

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, garlic powder

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Prepare pasta and set aside in a large bowl. Add the chopped and diced vegetables. To prepare dressing, mix well with a wire whisk. Pour over all in bowl, stirring until well blended. Cover and let set overnight, stirring occasionally.

Last week we had a request for an oven method to cook perfect rice. We had an anonymous reply from Cape Girardeau. I have not tried this, but it sure sounds easy enough.

Oven Rice

2 teaspoons canola oil

2 cups white rice

3 cups hot water

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add oil to a medium ovenproof pan or stockpot.

Add rice and saut until the grains are hot and just starting to color. Add water and salt. When rice comes to a boil, cover, remove from stovetop and place in oven for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Yields about 6 servings.

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Blueberries are delicious right now and Ruby Von Hostel enjoys blueberries in her favorite spinach salad.

Blueberry Spinach Salad

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach, torn

1 (4 ounce) package blue cheese, crumbled

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first five ingredients and shake well. In a large salad bowl, toss the spinach, blue cheese, blueberries and pecans. Add the dressing and toss gently. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

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We enjoyed fresh peach pie last week and it was so good. I'll share a basic peach pie recipe with you to enjoy while peaches are so delicious right now.

Peach Pie

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

5 cups peeled, sliced peaches

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare the pie pastry. Line the pie pan with the bottom crust, using half of the dough. Keep the remaining dough chilled.

Combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the peaches and lemon juice and mix well. Turn the filling into the crust and dot with butter. Roll out the top crust and lay it on the filling. Trim off any excess dough, crimp the edges, and prick with tines of a fork to vent. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

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Do you have too many cucumbers and don't know what to do with them? Try this delicious salad as a side dish with almost any summertime foods.

Sour Cream Cucumbers

2 medium cucumbers

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tablespoons onion, chopped fine

1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Dash pepper

Dash paprika

Slice cucumbers thinly and sprinkle with salt. Stir to be sure salt gets blended well. Chill for 1 hour. Drain on paper towels. Blend sour cream, onion, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Mix with cucumbers and sprinkle with paprika.

As the summer's garden produce comes pouring in, we get creative with ways to use it. As you try new things or have an old favorite recipe, be sure to share it with us so we can all enjoy it.

We have no requests this week so will close for another week. Have a good week and happy cooking

Susan McClanahan is an administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. E-mail your requests and recipes to her at smclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.