Babes and BBQ

July is one of the hottest months of the year, which causes two things: laziness and hunger. Whom other than your girlfriends would you rather veg out with? No one… EXACTLY. So have your closest gal-pals over for a relaxing, fun-in-the-sun, gossip girls-only barbecue. That’s right, you actually don’t need a man to start up that grill for you.

Here are some tips that will crown you the grill queen of your posse and make your barbecue memorable (or unmemorable if you have one too many cooltinis):

* Be girly – Go to your local thrift shop and buy a variety of cheap, funky sunglasses for your guests to choose from when they step outside into the bright sunshine. This will create plenty of silly photo ops and your guests can later take them home as a party favor. If you have a Polaroid camera, even better! Snap an instant pic and write a caption with the date on it for guests to take home.

* Sunflower child – For décor, keep it basic and stand sunflowers up in old-fashioned tin buckets and place all around where you will be.

* Set the mood – Make a playlist of fun throwback songs to play as background music.

* Create a cooltini – Give your old friend, the mojito, the month off and change it up a bit. I recently had a cocktail at the Blue Water Café in Vancouver that was so refreshing I thought I had just jumped into a cold pool! Try cucumber infused vodka and sake combined with lemon/lime juice and garnish with fresh shiso leaves. Serve this refresher in a pink martini glass with a slice of cucumber on the rim. And hey, you can use the leftover cucumber slices on your eyes 😉

*A new kind of salsa – ‘Tis the season of fresh corn. Make corn the center of attention with a corn-based salsa to start. Mix together 6-8 ears of corn, 1 can of black beans, 1-2 diced tomatoes, and ½ diced onion. Add limejuice and cilantro to taste. Serve with tortilla “scoops” chips so that you can scoop it all up!

* Don’t be typical – Instead of your ordinary cheeseburger, try a barbecue salmon burger. The great part is that it’s healthier and isn’t as heavy in the heat. Combine finely chopped salmon filets with bread crumbs, Dijon mustard, minced onion, minced garlic, and lemon juice to create the patty. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side. Serve on a toasted wheat bun.

* Be sweet – Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot day? Create a classic sundae bar with three different flavors. We suggest sticking with the basics – vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Use fresh berries as toppings along with chopped nuts, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.

These tips and tricks are sure to have your babes dancing in the sun at your BBQ!