This is some of my regular dishes--but while it's nothing new, I made them for dinner guests on a particularly hot non-airconditioned evening recently and thought, my this is so refreshing!
I made humus which was chilled in advance, we had a salad with dried cranberries, blue cheese, almonds, grapes, grape tomatoes & cucumbers, and then fresh home made pesto (light on the oil) with grape tomatoes and cubed fresh mozzerella. Finaly, the only new addition to a very typical meal for us was home made sangria. I'll tell you, the key to each course was: the humus being chilled, the cucumbers and grapes in the salad, and the tomatoes in the pasta. And of course, nothing chills you out on a hot summer night like sangria. An alternative to sangria would be peach soaked in wine (chilled). A nice treat any time of the day. :) I wish us both some quality sleep. I'm kind of doomed though b/c I'm on travel tomorrow which always makes insomnia worse (or causes it in the rare event that I'd been sleeping well).

I did a gazpacho last week that was incredibly refreshing in the heat. I'm also a big fan of things like bean or grain salads - they're generally quick to put together, require minimal cooking (if any) and get better as they sit. If you eat seafood, things like shrimp or scallops only take a couple of minutes per side in a hot pan - barely enough time to heat up the kitchen, and they work well with a wide array of flavors.

(Sorry for the pimping) Feel free to check out my food site for more ideas:
http://www.lastnightsdinner.net/

I really like this watermelon salad for an odd, but refreshing combination of salty-sweet.

1/4 of a ripe watermelon, cut into bite sized cubes.
1/2 Cup of soft greek feta, crumbled into pieces.
Handful of basil, cut to ribbons
1/2 thinly sliced red onion
Juice of one lemon.
1/2 cup olive oil.
2 T toasted pinenuts.
Sea salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste.

Toss together, chill, eat.

fresh crabmeat
diced avocado
mango chunks
fennel sliced as fine as you can

grind up a teaspoon of fennel seeds in your clean coffee grinder and make a vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice, the ground fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Serve over the greens of your choice!

Bacon, tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil aioli sandwiches on yummy bread.

Tortilla chips with black beans, fresh corn, tomatoes, avocado, lime juice and cilantro. (I would just call it 'avocado and corn salsa' but I was at a party where someone brought it and called it Texas Confetti which is much more fun.)

I second watermellon and feta in a salad! I just had that for the first time on Sat night and I really enjoyed it. This one was made with arugula and a pear vinaigrette.

If you have a mandolin or a lot of knife skills, this Zucchini Carpaccio Salad from Deb is really really easy and super delicious.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/this-side-of-a-meltdown

I like this german cucumber salad
http://www.recipezaar.com/107796 (with equal amounts of dill and basil).

A slice of Italian bread topped with pesto, tomato slice, and provolone or mozzarella then heated in a toaster oven until the cheese melts is always good.

i sympathize, also living in a fourth floor un-air condiitoned apartment.

our summer favs are gazpacho, cucumber soup, houmous, pasta w. fresh tomato, mozarella and basil, pasta w. roasted red peppers and goat cheese, and the most essential, cold beer.

Tabbouli is the way forward in hot weather. Here's my recipe: 1.5 cups bulghur wheat, 3 spring onions, half a cucumber chopped up in bits, 1/2 cup crumbled feta, 1.5 cups chopped fresh parsley and a couple tablespoon of chopped fresh mint. The bulghur needs to be covered with boiling water plus an inch for a half hour and then strained. I find a tea towel is most efficient way to accomplish this. Plus, it's kind of fun. The dressing is 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1/3 a cup olive oil with fresh ground pepper and a couple of teaspoon of salt. It's good cold or room temperature. Enjoy!

Tabbouli is the way forward in hot weather. Here's my recipe: 1.5 cups bulghur wheat, 3 spring onions, half a cucumber chopped up in bits, 3/4 cup crumbled feta, 1.5 cups chopped fresh parsley and a couple tablespoon of chopped fresh mint. The bulghur needs to be covered with boiling water plus an inch for a half hour and then strained. I find a tea towel is most efficient way to accomplish this. Plus, it's kind of fun. The dressing is 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1/3 a cup olive oil with fresh ground pepper and a couple of teaspoon of salt. It's good cold or room temperature. Enjoy!

ha, i was gonna point you towards jen's gazpacho recipe too! mango salsa is also a pretty easy way to cope with the heat of summer. of course, when i make it i use habanero pepper, which might seem to only make things worse. however, the opposite is true. i don't have a recipe but this is close:

Combine in a bowl...

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño chile, minced (include ribs and seeds for a hotter taste if desired)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

watermelon salads appear to be the thing to do! i "stole" the following from my boyfriend's mother --- watermelon (cut pieces, or melon-balled), goat cheese, and fresh mint. it never looks particularly neat/tidy but it's really, really great! don't let appearance put you off. ;)

I think Mark Bittman at the NYTimes just answered your call.

(Sigh. If only life were really like that! I'm not sure if I would wish for a husband, or a pony. Which one leaves less of a mess?)

i know, i saw the piece this morning and did a double take :)

thanks everyone for the recipes. i can't wait to try these out.