Call it sweltering, scorching or just plain hot, we're smack in the middle of summer and we've been scheming to find ways to satisfy our appetite without breaking a sweat.

To that end, we created this month's menu, which features five delicious recipes that negate the need to turn on the oven.

Start the cooling-off process with an apricot shandy--muddled apricots mingled with a refreshing beer--while dipping chorizo slices in an herb-strewn piquillo pepper dip. Our tomato and bean salad is brilliant in both color and flavor and the ideal side to complement the ultimate summer main course: lemongrass shrimp rolls. In this bright take on the classic seafood roll, we rely on buttermilk and yogurt in lieu of the obligatory mayonnaise, which allows the citrusy lemongrass to shine through.

Once the blazing sun relents and the steam has risen from the sidewalks, enjoy the reprieve with a scoop of limoncello icebox cake. Crowned with juicy blackberries and layered with citrus-dipped ladyfingers and tart crème fraîche, it's just the dessert for basking in the midsummer night breeze.

Still too darn hot to cook? We didn't think so.