Over the past few weeks, we've heard stories about the foods that mean "summer" to some of our listeners: tomatoes, peach milk shakes, apricot jam.

Now, we hear about some more unusual summer foods.

When Melissa Spurr of Joshua Tree, Calif., sent in a recipe for Spam con Cerveza, we didn't know if we were supposed to eat it — or drink it.

Its ingredients include 12 to 36 cans of beer, a can of Spam, an avocado, a tomato and fresh tortillas.

But things became clear as she described a trip to Baja during which her vehicle got mired in sand. The recipe was born out of necessity and became a staple on all of her subsequent surfing trips.

Now, she says, she is older, she's a vegetarian, and she drinks far fewer Modelos.

Even beer might not help the food at the heart of Jacquelyn Kuehn's story go down any easier: bugs.

Kuehn, of Lucernemines, Pa., recalls the crunch of fried locusts, sprinkled with salt and accompanied by honey.

Her husband paid each family member $5 per bug they ate. Their son ended up eating two; for $10, it wasn't a bad deal.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.