When the thermometer climbs and the asphalt softens, little brings relief faster than a granita, a Sicilian dleight made with shaved ice and the syroup of choice. My personal favorite is lemon, but some people swear by mint, and coffee can be very good too.

A couple of ideas:

• Lemon Granita: An extraordinarily refreshing treat
• Coffee Granita: A delightful pick-me-up for a hot day

Baby zucchini of this sort are one of the nicer things about summer...

I had a half pound of them today, and for want of something better to do sliced them finely with a shallot, sauteed them in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of parsley, and while they were sauteing cooked up some butterfly pasta. Made a dandy pasta sauce.

Had I instead cooked some sort of meat, they would have been a nice side dish, and had I had a sprig of mint, it would have contributed nicely to the flavor too. Want a more structured recipe? Rigatoni con le Zucchine.

A few more ideas for zucchini:

• Zucchini alla Scapece
• Roman Sautéed Zucchini
• Zucchini with Meat Stuffing

General Notes On Zucchini
And Ideas for Zucchini Blossoms
Also, Frying Zucchini Blossoms

When it gets hot, I like lighter dishes, and develop a tremendous affection for clams. Especially in pasta sauce, which I find to be delightfully refreshing. And light on the digestion too, especially when served with a crisp white wine along the lines of a Falanghina or a Greco di Tufo.

• Preparing Live Clams (or Mussels), Illustrated
• Spaghetti with Clams in a White Sauce
• Spaghetti with Clam Sauce Viareggina Style (with Tomatoes)
• Rice with Clams, Riso con le Vongole
• Pizza with clams, alle vongole veraci

Clams not what you're looking for?
The general recipe index.

We're in the grips of a heatwave in Italy, and to be honest nobody wants to cook. So what do we do? Head to the Festa dell'Unità, the annual fair organized by what was once the Italian Communist Party. No rhetoric, simply superbly grilled meats washed down with fresh fruity Chianti, on an ample terrace overlooking the mountains. Who could ask for more? What, exactly, do they offer? Among other things:

• Penne alla boscaiola, pasta with lots of chopped porcini.
• Penne alla puttanesca -- tomatoey and zesty!
• Rosticciana, grilled spare ribs
• Pollo alla Griglia, grilled chicken.
• Bistecca, a T-bone steak (not quite a fiorentina) -- either plain or topped with grilled Porcini mushroom caps. Rare in either case
• Fries, tossed salads, and eggplant Parmesan
• And home-made fruit cocktail for dessert.

After? They had slides and such for the kids, who we watched run around as the stars came out and the temperature dropped.
More about fairs, or sagre as they are called in Italian, and how to get to one.