What do you do when you can't stand the heat but can't get out of the kitchen?

[SLB]

Seconding the eggs.  Someone once explained frittata to me as "Italian picnic food". 

 

Assuming your mornings are cool enough to run the oven for a bit, make it in the morning, eat it room temp for dinner.  

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, SLB said:

Seconding the eggs.  Someone once explained frittata to me as "Italian picnic food". 

 

Assuming your mornings are cool enough to run the oven for a bit, make it in the morning, eat it room temp for dinner.  

YES.  That is what I need to do.

 

I am also almost out of bread.  I need to get up super early and make that, too.

[SLB]

I started baking bread in August one year, in a fifth-floor NYC apartment with no air conditioning.  For some reason, it seemed easier than getting on the subway to the good bakeries.  

 

So yeah, I know the call of bread.  

[lindag]

Because I 'm sometimes lazy especially when it's hot I have purchased Hodgson's Mills honey whole whet bread mix.

It makes a very good loaf that I can bake in my CSO.  Got it from Walmart.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

I'm a big fan of composed salads--some leftover meat (could be store-bought rotisserie chicken, the last of a grilled flank steak, good canned tuna), some cheese (goat, feta, burata, etc.), a hard-boiled egg or 2, tomato/cucumber/red bell pepper/celery/red cabbage/pickles/olives/roasted nuts (some or all), a fresh herb-based dressing, all piled on salad greens, with a hunk of good bread to go with it. Ice cream for dessert. The best part is that except for the hard-boiled eggs all of this can be assembled from what you have in the fridge, and if you plan ahead even the eggs are manageable when hunger strikes and the very idea of turning on the stove makes you want to sit in a dark room with a cool cloth on your forehead. I generally steam the last few eggs from the carton--older eggs are easier to peel, IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong--

 

I used to make a Julia Child beef recipe in my slow-cooker that was actually better cold than the hot version--Daube de Boeuf, p. 322 in Vol. 1 of Mastering the Art. I think I may have to make that soon, now that I've remembered it. It was seriously good.

 

Gazpacho is good as was noted earlier, with good cheese and bread, and maybe olives if you have them. Every year I get a gazpacho jones and make up a big batch.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

[Shelby]

3 minutes ago, lindag said:

Because I 'm sometimes lazy especially when it's hot I have purchased Hodgson's Mills honey whole whet bread mix.

It makes a very good loaf that I can bake in my CSO.  Got it from Walmart.

Thank you!  I just ordered this mix from Amazon.  I never make good wheat bread from scratch.  

1 minute ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

I'm a big fan of composed salads--some leftover meat (could be store-bought rotisserie chicken, the last of a grilled flank steak, good canned tuna), some cheese (goat, feta, burata, etc.), a hard-boiled egg or 2, tomato/cucumber/red bell pepper/celery/red cabbage/pickles/olives/roasted nuts (some or all), a fresh herb-based dressing, all piled on salad greens, with a hunk of good bread to go with it. Ice cream for dessert. The best part is that except for the hard-boiled eggs all of this can be assembled from what you have in the fridge, and if you plan ahead even the eggs are manageable when hunger strikes and the very idea of turning on the stove makes you want to sit in a dark room with a cool cloth on your forehead. I generally steam the last few eggs from the carton--older eggs are easier to peel, IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong--

 

I used to make a Julia Child beef recipe in my slow-cooker that was actually better cold than the hot version--Daube de Boeuf, p. 322 in Vol. 1 of Mastering the Art. I think I may have to make that soon, now that I've remembered it. It was seriously good.

 

Gazpacho is good as was noted earlier, with good cheese and bread, and maybe olives if you have them. Every year I get a gazpacho jones and make up a big batch.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

We love composed salads, too .  Thank you for the idea about using nuts.

 

LOL a cold cloth on my forehead sounds like heaven right now.

 

[BeeZee]

Cous cous just requires water to be boiled then it sits for 5 minutes (assuming instant). I made a batch of cous cous salad and then just added protein as desired (cooked chicken, cooked steak, cooked shrimp) which you could prepare earlier in the day and chill. Advantage vs traditional pasta salad is that it doesn’t get mushy, I make a batch and eat it for a couple of days by varying the “mix ins”.

[Darienne]

We are great salad eaters and have meats frozen for Ed for these occasions.  In the summer, we eat salad two nights in a row, the third night is something else.  But then we eat our big meal at noon.

 

Hummus, Tabbouleh, Potato Salad, Tomato Aspics, Marinated Cucumber, Cauliflower and Carrot Salad, Colored Pepper Salad (from Chefmd), Cole Slaw (Ed's contribution), Multi-Bean Salad.  Very little cooking of any ingredients: potatoes, heat up the aspic, cook the carrots...that's it for this lot.  And when I am in the mood, I open a can of Hereford  Corned Beef.  Oh, and some good multigrain bread and butter.  Oh yes, and some cheeses.  

 

I make enough of each salad to last a few meals. 

[FauxPas]

I cooked a small beef roast in the CSO a couple of days ago when it wasn't too warm, and we had beef dip sandwiches last night and again tonight. Made some potato salad yesterday morning to go with it. I just heat up some purchased Au Jus and serve with some tomatoes. It's not really that hot here, but it's warm enough for me to have some A/C on by the afternoon. 

 

Lettuce wraps? Filling can be quickly stir-fried. I've used ground pork. 

 

Small steak broiled in the CSO? I'm not thrilled with the steaks I've done, but they've been decent enough to eat. 

 

I've even done pork ribs in the Instant Pot on warm days when we really want something meaty and then broiled them quickly with BBQ sauce in the CSO while I steam some corn on the stovetop (induction range, so generates very little heat). 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2018 by FauxPas (log)

[FauxPas]

Things like Shrimp Scampi with pasta are fast. Or Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, that sort of thing. 

 

Of course salads if you want to avoid generating any heat, but so many good things have already been suggested. I like bean salads - black beans and corn and tomato, white bean and tuna, etc.

 

I liked the sound of this Lebanese Lemon-Parsley Bean Salad. 

 

https://cookieandkate.com/2013/lemon-parsley-bean-salad-and-hummus/

 

[FauxPas]

Also, I REALLY hope you get your A/C fixed soon! 

[suzilightning]

I don't have air conditioning at all and never had it growing up.  We developed strategies and I have written about it before - up early to cook whatever protein we wanted - shrimp, chicken, some ground beef then when it starts to get warm close the windows and pull the shades down.  Make sure there are potatoes and pasta cooked to make salads with and ohhhhh your tomatoes.  Microwave for corn.  Course I'm the weird girl drinking the pickling juice.

[lindag]

I also like to brown some German sausage or kielbas with some German fried potatoes

to make an easy oven free dinner. 

[Moorit]

When it's too hot to cook (or even be hungry), I pick up some good tomatoes (I like the packs of heirlooms at Trader Joe's), whack them into chunks, add triple cream Brie also in pieces, basil chiffonade, and some really good olive oil and a bit of salt.

Give it a good stir and stick it in the fridge long enough to get good and cold. Serve with hunks of good bread, suitable for mopping up the delicious juices.

[liuzhou]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

By 5 -6 p.m. it was at least 81F in the kitchen.

 

I wish my kitchen was that cool! It is 10 am here now and my kitchen is 93ºF.  It will get hotter as the day goes on. This will go on until October.

 

I tend to make a lot of salads and eat cold cuts and pickles. Cold noodles are good, too. I use the microwave more in summer, too. It doesn't turn the kitchen into a furnace, as does the  regular stove and oven.

 

Mostly I just eat out and let someone else sweat.

[Porthos]

Previous Thread: What do you do when you can't stand the heat but can't get out of the kitchen?

[Porthos]

Pasta Salad with Costco Chicken or chicken you've SV'ed and the pasta is cooked early in the day.

 

Steak Salad. This was dinner last night with store-bought Pepperidge Farms Garlic Bread heated in the toaster oven.

 

We've been hitting around 100F most days so tomorrow will be something cool.

 

I made potato salad last week early in the day and then S0V'ed a small steak for my DW and I. I did heat up my trusty Griswold #8 for the sear but that is less than 5 minutes of flame time.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I took my own advice.  Not that it is hot here, far from it.  It is a perfectly lovely midsummer's eve.  But a zombie is a zombie.

 

[liuzhou]

Another option, which admittedly wouldn't suit everyone and their schedules,  is to move the main meal of the day to lunch time, and have a lighter meal in the evening. I tend to do this in the hottest months.

[Lisa Shock]

If you get really overheated, you can always fill the bathtub with cold water and get in. Or, a small footbath is nice, too.

 

For food, I tend to make extra portions when I cook during hot weather. Most things will last 5-7 days, so you won't get too tired of them.

 

Chilled cooked pasta can be different kinds of pasta salad over the next week with different dressings and components.

Hardboiling a dozen eggs is always a good idea -they can be eaten sliced, devilled, or in egg salad.

Sesame noodles are pretty obvious, you can make a large amount (without cucumbers or other watery vegetables) and nibble throughout the week.

Fresh Japanese pickles are always refreshing. So is homemade tofu, if you like it, it can be served cold with various toppings.

Fried chicken is good cold, and slaw is a classic accompaniment.

Don't forget summer sandwiches! The BLT and well, anything with garden produce is good. I like to make a 'salad sandwich' on toasted bread with a little mustard on one side and vinaigrette poured lightly in the middle.

You can make veggie cream cheese in a blender by blending down some celery, carrot, raw bell pepper, radish, green onion, chives, shallots, etc. in small amounts then adding cream cheese. (tomato tends to be too watery)

Hummus can be the perfect snack or meal, use your slow cooker or IP to cook a couple pounds of beans. You can freeze the plain beans in smaller portions to use later. Use vegetables as dippers.

Cottage cheese is a good cold lunch with a little salad or some fruit.

 

Hope your AC is fixed soon!

[weinoo]

12 hours ago, Anna N said:

 Or reservations.

 

This - we've been out almost every night this past week, because even with A/C running, it doesn't cool down the kitchen . For some reason, I haven't ordered the window unit for the kitchen, even though we added the electrical outlet when we did our renovation.  Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm thinking.

 

11 hours ago, SLB said:

Seconding the eggs.  Someone once explained frittata to me as "Italian picnic food". 

 

Assuming your mornings are cool enough to run the oven for a bit, make it in the morning, eat it room temp for dinner.  

 

Lately, I've been using a nice, 8" Lodge cast-iron pan for my frittatas - it fits nicely into the steam girl, so after 5 minutes on the stove top, it gets finished in there, and comes out perfectly!

 

11 hours ago, SLB said:

I started baking bread in August one year, in a fifth-floor NYC apartment with no air conditioning.  For some reason, it seemed easier than getting on the subway to the good bakeries.  

 

 

You're nuts.

[Anna N]

48 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Lately, I've been using a nice, 8" Lodge cast-iron pan for my frittatas - it fits nicely into the steam girl, so after 5 minutes on the stove top, it gets finished in there, and comes out perfectly!

Curious to know what temperature, function and time worked for you. 

[Shelby]

10 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I wish my kitchen was that cool! It is 10 am here now and my kitchen is 93ºF.  It will get hotter as the day goes on. This will go on until October.

 

I tend to make a lot of salads and eat cold cuts and pickles. Cold noodles are good, too. I use the microwave more in summer, too. It doesn't turn the kitchen into a furnace, as does the  regular stove and oven.

 

Mostly I just eat out and let someone else sweat.

Admittedly, I am a big baby in the heat.  I know it could be worse.....

8 hours ago, Porthos said:

Previous Thread: What do you do when you can't stand the heat but can't get out of the kitchen?

YES!  That's the thread I was looking for.  Thank you!

[ElsieD]

How about smoked salmon on dark bread, the bread smeared with cream cheese, topped with capers and onions?

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

Curious to know what temperature, function and time worked for you. 

For frittata, I preheat the oven while I'm working on the stovetop. Then, I go into the oven for about 8 minutes at a low temp - about 300℉ (149C), on convection bake.  If it needs a little more time, I check it every 2 minutes or so - I like the frittata to be pretty well set. Keeps the eggs nice & tender.