Ideas for hot weather dishes?

[melis_d]

It's pretty hot in Boston right now (I know not compared to those of you in the South, but it's a regular heat wave for us). I don't have air conditioning in my kitchen or dining room (just window units in the rest of the house) and have been trying to think of ideas for things to cook that won't heat up the kitchen too much and that are good in the hot weather.

We've been grilling quite a bit and I've also made gazpacho and various chicken and other salads. I'd appreciate any ideas you have on main dishes that could be appropriate. We mostly each chicken, pasta, fish, shellfish and veggies. Occaisional red meat is okay but we don't eat pork.

TIA,

Melissa

[ellery]

If you have one, using a crockpot is always nice - doesn't heat up the kitchen the way an oven does. There are bunches of good crockpot recipes if you enter it into the search function - I used it to make Lindrusso's marinara this past weekend...

I'll be interested to see what other ideas people have.

:)

Leah

[KathrynY]

We grill just about everything this time of year, since we don't have central air either and really try to avoid heating up the kitchen. Sometimes if I really need to use the stove (like for pasta) I'll prepare dinner in the morning before work, then reheat in the microwave at dinnertime. For side dishes, I sometimes steam veggies in my microwave steamer and toss with a little vinaigrette.

You might try some new dishes on the grill for more variety. Weber (http://www.weber.com) has some great recipes on their site. I like this (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=28389&highlight=rice+AND+grill) Weber recipe for Wild Rice Pilaf on the grill. We also grill pizza frequently - Gouda and Red Salad Pizza (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=40106&highlight=pizza) from Epicurious is on the menu for tonight. Planked fish on the grill is delicious and very easy if you've never tried it.

[Gail]

Old thread to the rescue:

I'm Melting...Melting... (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=11170&highlight=melting)

[wallycat]

cold peanut sauce noodle type dishes are great. If you are reluctant to even boil water for the noodles, you can buy rice noodles that you soak in water only.

Salads are great too.

If it is unbearable and you're too tired to cook, there are some healthy frozen meals (or canned) that only require a microwave. Not my first choice, but I've used 'em in a pinch.

I feel your pain. I detest summer and we're at close to 80% humidity here with 84 as a temp...blech. Even the A/C isn't helping the upstairs much :rolleyes:

[Kismet]

The Southwestern Salad Bar from June's CL is great and has been a wonderful addition to our hot weather recipe collection. How about some of the other ideas from the same article - using grocery-store rotisserie chicken?

[wallycat]

I just made a sort-of mexican pizza...

corn or flour tortilla (all I had was the LC whole wheat tortillas in the house today), shredded cheese, salsa, olives, scallions...whatever else you like...
top the tortilla and place in toaster oven. 2 minutes, dinner..YUM!

[Chocolate Rose]

It is totally hot in WA state, too. Got very close to 100 degrees yesterday and it's supposed to be hotter today. YUCK! I want our rain back!!

My standby for hot weather is the CL Oriental Salad recipe. I make a huge batch of it and we eat off of it for several days.:D I buy the precut coleslaw mix with carrots and also add chopped cooked chicken to it. Very easy to make.

I also have a pasta salad that we really like. I make a huge batch of it also. YUM.

Let me know if you need the recipes.

[Shirley Ekstein]

A tomato sandwich, cheese and fruit?

MInd you, you have to buy the best. Like the very best, freshest French baguette you can lay hands on. The very best tomatoes. The very best olive oil and the very best basil.

And having got those, just slice your bread acros the equator, drizzle both cut sides with olive oil, lay sliced tomatoes generously on one side, sprinkle with salt (preferably Maldon) and fresh ground black pepper, take a few basil leaves and line them on top of the tomatoes, slam the other piece of bread in top, press down hard along the length of the loaf with your hands, then slice.

Serve a couple of slices on plates with some fresh salad leaves drizzled with a little olive oil and a bottle of a good, and chilled, rosé and a nice piece of cheese alongside.

Then some strawberries or raspberries or peaches with a glass of Prosecco to slice them into (in the case of the raspberries, no slicing needed) - leave them to marinate a couple of minutes then eat the fruit with a spoon - any remining wine, you do, of course, drink.

Given hot weather, is paradisical.