Summer recipe: Agua fresca

Ah, summer. Even though we've had a little bit of a reprieve the last couple of days, with relatively cool mornings and relatively low humidity, we know July is just around the corner — and it'll come with a vengeance. Fortunately, there's an easy way to beat the heat and take advantage of excellent summer produce at the same time: Make up a batch of agua fresca, the Mexican fruit drink that's light, refreshing and so easy to make that even Houstonist can do it. Usually.

Aguas frescas are basically pureed fruit strained into ice water with a little sugar. You can make them from any juicy fruit soft enough to be pureed, including pineapple, honeydew, mango, watermelon, canteloupe, strawberry, papaya and cucumber. Here's a basic blueprint for watermelon agua fresca; try it with different fruits and see what you like:

Ingredients: You'll need about half a normal-sized watermelon, seeded and diced (about 3 cups), 1 1/2 cups of water, a few tablespoons of sugar and the juice of two or three limes.

Preparation: Cube the fruit and puree it in a blender, then strain the puree through a fine sieve to get rid of the pulp. In a pitcher, mix the fruit juice with the water, then stir in sugar and lime juice to taste (depending on the fruit, it usually takes between 2 and 4 tablespoons of sugar; you can adjust the lime to give the drink more or less of a tart kick). Add lime slices to the pitcher if you like and refrigerate until the drink is very cold.

There are lots of chances for variety here: Mix fruits for some great flavor combinations, use cucumber with a generous amount of lime juice and little less sugar for an extremely refreshing drink, and try stirring in a little seltzer or club soda to make the drink a little, uh, fizzy.

If you're a little more adventurous (or, really, if you have more time to spare), try making up some horchata, a drink with rice, cinnamon, lime zest, almonds and sugar. It's technically not a fruit drink, but you'll find it alongside aguas frescas — and it's rumored to be a cure for hangovers. Never know when that'll come in handy.