Thanks to a recent and premature East Coast heatwave, I’ve already started thinking of ways to beat the summer heat. While I could always spend the day in a frigid Starbucks or hovering over our struggling window air conditioner, I do have a few other, less radical tricks for staying cool this summer. As you might expect, they involve food and plenty of it.

You may have heard how in Morocco, India and other steamy or arid lands folks cool off with hot and spicy foods. Steaming hot teas are especially popular for they hydrate and make the consumers sweat. Keep on drinking and hydrating. Keep on sweating and cooling off. Truthfully, I’m not a fan of the ‘hot drinks and food in summer’ practice. Give me a icy glass of water, a little cold soup and I’m chillin’.

That brings me to the first food trick, chilled soups. Sometimes referred to as “liquid salads,” cold vegetable soups do wonders for heat sufferers around the globe. In Spain and Portugal the overheated reach for red gazpacho and ajo blanco, a garlic-almond soup sometimes referred to as ‘white gazpacho.’ In Eastern Europe it’s purplish, beet-laden borscht and chlodnik that soothes the masses. Chlodnik features grated beets, cucumbers, onions, radishes, dill and yogurt, which turns the soup an eye-popping pink. In the Mediterranean diners refresh themselves with several variations of an iced, yogurt-cucumber-garlic-mint soup. Turks call it cacik. Greeks call it tzatziki. I call it good.

Trick number two? Frozen desserts. Often it’s sorbet, that energizing and non-fat, iced fruit puree that has been dished out in France since the 17th century. Other days it’s the Italian relative, granita. Consisting of one part sugar to four parts water and/or fruit juice, coffee or wine, granita possesses a coarse, crystalline texture that sets it apart from the velvety sorbet. Crunchy or smooth, these are two indulgences that always satisfy.

While I usually skip the thirst-inducing gelatos, custards and ice creams, I do have a weakness for another childhood summer sweet — strawberry yogurt pie. A bit kitschy but always a favorite, this frozen treat never fails to beat the heat.

Until the next heatwave . . .

PAT HUNT’S STRAWBERRY YOGURT PIE
Serves 8

2 1/2 (6-ounce) containers of strawberry yogurt
1 (8-ounce) container of Lite Cool Whip
1 store-bought graham cracker pie crust
1 handful of fresh strawberries, washed, trimmed and halved

In a medium-sized bowl mix together the strawberry yogurt and Cool Whip until well-combined. Pour the filling into the graham cracker pie crust, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until lightly set. Remove the pie and place the halved strawberries around the edge of the crust. Cover again and return to the freezer where the pie should remain until frozen. Remove 30 minutes before serving so that the pie thaws slightly and is easier to cut and consume.

KITCHEN KAT’S STRAWBERRY YOGURT PIE
Serves 8

If you have a little extra time, try this version, too.

For the graham cracker crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1/2 cup organic strawberry puree (1/2 pint of organic strawberries blitzed in a blender or food processor)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cup organic, vanilla yogurt
1 (8-ounce container) Cool Whip
handful of fresh, organic strawberries, washed, trimmed and halved

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter until well-blended. Spread over and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

Mix together the puree, sugar, yogurt and Cool Whip. Pour the filling into the graham cracker pie crust, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until lightly set. Remove the pie and place the halved strawberries around the edge of the crust. Cover again and return to the freezer where the pie should remain until frozen. Remove 30 minutes before serving so that the pie thaws slightly and is easier to cut and consume.