By: Jasmine Castaneda and Sheyla Estrada, Food Reporters

May 4th, 2023

32nd ST USC MAE - Summer is coming up and it means that you can get to enjoy some of the best summer recipes. Summer food typically includes a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. It also consists of fresh seafood, beef, and chicken. Summer is a really great time to eat cold and fresh foods, enjoy fresh fruit drinks such as lemonade, and you also get to enjoy your favorite ice creams.

Some of the best drinks to enjoy over the summer are agua frescas. Aguas frescas are fruit drinks that are made either with milk or water. We personally prefer the agua frescas with milk. You can make agua frescas with a variety of different fruits. The most popular agua frescas are horchata and jamaica. To make horchata you will need 1 ¼ cups of long grain rice, ½ cup of sliced almonds, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 cups of water, ½ cup of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and finally 2 cups of milk. First, blend your rice cinnamon and almonds on high speed till fully pulverized. Then add 2 cups of water, that includes ½ cup of sugar or more depending on how sweet you like it, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and blend for 30 seconds or until fully combined. After that you can add the rest of your liquids which will be the remaining 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk. Then chill for 8 hours, after chilling grab your pitcher then put a strainer on top, and slowly pour your mixture into the pitcher. Grab a cup and pour over ice and a cinnamon stick for garnish.

A dish that is commonly enjoyed during the summer is Shrimp Ceviche, a Latin American dish. The way to prepare this dish is first gathering all of your ingredients. First ingredient is shrimp; medium sized shrimps are said to be the best to use but you can use whatever you would like to. Second, you need about 3 limes and two lemons. Roma tomatoes are used as well other tomatoes can be used but roma tomatoes are best to use. Red onions are used as well if you do not have red onions yellow onions can be used as well. Cilantro and jalapeno peppers are used to add flavor (remove the seeds from the jalapenos if you do not want it as spicy), salt, and pepper as well. Cucumber is used to add a nice crunch and taste good with it. finally, avocado is added. Then bring a pot of water to a boil and fill a medium bowl with ice water and set aside.  Add your shrimp to the boiling water and let cook until pink for about one minute. Next, drain the shrimp in a colander then put it into ice water to cool for a few minutes. After draining, cut the shrimp up about half an inch. When that is finished put the shrimp in with the fresh ingredients in a medium bowl put in the shrimp, preferred amount of lime juice and lemon juice, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, and season with salt and pepper. When that is finished put the bowl in the fridge for one hour to marinate. Lastly, add the last ingredients such as cucumber and avocado. You can enjoy it with tortilla chips or tostadas. 

BBQ ribs and fries make a great meal for summer when having a cookout. To make BBQ ribs you first start by gathering all of your ingredients, the ingredients needed to make BBQ ribs are ¼ cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of onion powder, 2 racks baby back ribs, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and one cup BBQ sauce. Once all ingredients are gathered first combine the brown sugar, chili powder, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, oregano, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder. After mixing all in a bowl, then rub the mixture onto both sides of the ribs. Cover the ribs and put them in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight. Before taking the ribs out of the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. In your pan preferably a roasting pan you are going to combine your vinegar and broth. Add the ribs to the pan and cover with foil, make sure to veal tightly. Bake the ribs for 2 hours, then remove them from the oven and place them on the platter. Use the liquid from the pan and pour it into a saucepan, bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until half has been evaporated then add the BBQ sauce Preheat an outdoor grill to medium high. Place the ribs on the grill and cook for 5 minutes on each side until browned and slightly charred. Cut the ribs between the bones, toss them in a large bowl with sauce and there you have BBQ ribs.

For a side to ribs or any other food can be fries. Fries can be bought from a supermarket or better homemade. Here is how to make homemade fries. First gather the ingredients, potatoes preferably Idaho or russet potatoes, oil, and salt, or any other preferred seasoning. First, start off with peeling your potatoes if preferred that way. Cut the potatoes into ½ inch thick slices. After the potatoes have all been sliced you can either soak them in a bowl with iced water or rinse them if you choose to let them soak for at least 20 minutes to an hour. Soaking the potatoes helps get rid of the excess starch and results in fluffier and crispier fries. This is the best time to start heating your oil or air fryer. Before taking out the potatoes, bring at least 2 inches of oil in a large pot to 325 F. When they are done soaking make sure to dry the potatoes well after being soaked (if frying the water will make the oil fly and possibly burn you). Work with small groups first add a small amount of potatoes for about 5 minutes slowly add more, if all potatoes are put in at the same time they will bring the temperature of the oil down and cause soggy fries. The fries should be cooked through but still have a pale look to them when done. When finished frying take out the fries and drain them on a cooling rack that is put over a baking sheet or clean paper towels. Let them sit until almost completely cool and season them with salt and any other seasoning you prefer.

During the summer it's the best time to eat and enjoy popsicles for dessert or as a snack. The best popsicles to enjoy are fresh fruit ones such as watermelon and kiwi. To make Watermelon kiwi popsicles is a really simple recipe. The ingredients that will be needed are ½ of a small seedless watermelon, 4-5 kiwis, and 1 tsp of honey or more depending on how sweet you'll want your popsicles. These recipes will also make 10 servings. First, start by cutting off the flesh from your watermelon and then cut into large chunks then add it to your blender or food processor, at the end of this step you should end up with 2 cups of watermelon puree. Next grab your popsicle mold and pour the puree into the molds till it's filled up to ¾ of the way, after place in the freezer so that it can firm up, and keep them in there for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then repeat the same steps with your kiwis, remove flesh, and blend to make kiwi puree. After that pour it into the mold then put the sticks in them and put them back into the freezer. Once fully frozen a way to take them out is running the molds under hot water to come out easier, then enjoy.