Serious heat means, seriously no cooking. Here is a super simple and refreshing recipe I’m making right now, Watermelon, Tomato, Balsamic Salad. It’s a combination of crisp cubes of watermelon, ripe grape tomatoes and thin slices of red onion. (Here in Connecticut, everything is early even the red onions and the sweet corn.) Not too many cooking tips with this recipe. Use a sharp knife and you should be able to slice the red onion

Panzanella is a zesty bread salad and summer staple in and around the Tuscan province of Italy. Usually made with cubes of crusty Italian bread, tomatoes, basil, cucumbers and a simple splash of vinegar and olive oil, is infinitely customizable. Cooks add or subtract ingredients to suit their tastes. It’s one of those dishes that never disappoints. This version, Charred Onion, Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella Panzanella with Pesto Dressing, is a riff on the classic. Basil

I used to overlook watermelon. Smack it open with a machete and eat, the essence of no-fuss summer eating. But its succulence is a pleasant foil for many fruits including tomatoes. (The combination of watermelon with tomatoes, basil and fresh goat cheese or feta is a summer favorite.) When watermelon and sweet Bing cherries are in season, I like to combine them in a refreshing salad.  The textural contrast of the two pleases the palate