Making Food In the Heat
July was a bit warm. There was a lot of sweat, a lot of salads, and a lot of nobody’s really hungry ‘cuz it’s too hot to eat. Well, if by nobody you mean the adults. So in the middle of the heatwave I did a google search for "no cook dinners". Of course what comes up on nearly every site is this salad or that sandwich. Hmm…
I came to realize that even with salads I was going to be doing some cooking, whether it be cooking up some protein or doing a bit of quick cooking in the early cooler hours of the day. Still, what you want in this heat is something light and even cooling. So here are a few quick cook items that can be eaten cool later on…
All sorts of dips + vegetables. Sprouted hummus (pictured below) is one of our favorites. Yogurt ranch dip is also good as is just about any sour cream + herb + garlic combination. You can go beyond celery and carrot sticks with cucumber or zucchini spears, blanched green beans, or a half of tomato stuffed with said dip.
Hard boiled eggs. These little guys can be eaten with fruit for breakfast, stuffed as in "deviled" eggs, diced to go on top of a salad, or eaten as a snack with a bit of salt. Boil up a dozen early in the day to keep the house cool.
Bean Salads. I like to use my crock pot to cook beans and for an added cooling bonus keep the crock just outside our back door. Combine white beans with tuna or salami, tomatoes, basil, onions, and red wine vinegar. Combine black beans with peppers, cumin, onions, garlic, and lime juice. Mix lentils with some ham, sour cream, and whatever vegetables you have. Huge bowls will last 2-3 meals.
Grilled Everything. I have gladly handed over the meat-cooking duties to the papa. Alongside the burgers you can add zucchinis, corn on the cob, mushrooms, onions, or throw a small skillet on there to saute some greens. Keeps the heat outside and a good burger really can’t be beat.
Cheese and/or Fruit. Lately, with the bounty of summer fruit, no meal is complete without a handful of just-picked blueberries, cantaloupe, or (very soon) peaches and raspberries. Add some whipped cream for a real treat. Add some good cheese, nuts, and the above vegetables + dip and you’ve got yourself lunch.
What are you doing to beat the heat in your kitchen?
As one of those papas, just want to recommend you be appreciative of the grilling. It may not heat up the kitchen, but it was very, very hot outside in front of the grill. Grilling in the heat may still be fun, and it’s definitely tasty, but it’s also hot work. A labor of love, certainly. 🙂
I have learned how to cook just about anything on the grill- even baked goods! I have made sure not to turn on the oven once this summer. The crockpot has also come in handy. Summer is a wonderful time for inventiveness.
We’ve been cooking everything on our grill or in our roaster (in basement). We’ve even almost mastered baking bread in our grill. No AC makes us creative. Thanks for some more great ideas.
We’ve been cooking everything on our grill or in our roaster (in basement). We’ve even almost mastered baking bread in our grill. No AC makes us creative. Thanks for some more great ideas.
Even though I seldom make them, my first thoughts when I began reading this post were cold vegetable soups, like cucumber soup or gazpacho, using fresh garden veggies. Or smoothies. We’ve been eating a lot of carrots and peanut butter, cold meat, sliced cheese, and tortillas.
My favorite summer food is probably cold borscht. It heats up your house to make it, but then you have several cold, flavorful meals. Added bonus is most of the ingredients are at the farmer’s market (at least here in Kansas.)
http://htbhome.blogspot.com/2010/08/borscht.html
We do a lot of raw meals, raw zucchini noodles and lasagna are one of our faves! We also grill a bunch. Drinking
smoothies as well helps to cool us off.