If You Can't Stand The Heat...
Thoughts on trying to stay cool, fed, and present this summer
We’re smack in the middle of summer and I am done with the heat. I am simply not a hot weather person. My bucket list trip would be to see the northern lights (but my family remains unconvinced that heading to the Arctic Circle in November is a dream vacation). I wilt in direct sunlight and am forever turning down the thermostat one degree.
Yet, I don’t want to wish away the rest of the season. Each summer my kids are a whole year older, which seems logistically obvious but for some reason hits me fresh each time. I feel the passing of time faster in the summer – maybe it's the slower pace of our days or the knowledge that in a handful of weeks the kids will be starting a new school year, a full grade ahead of where they were just in June. This is the only summer my children will be this age and I am a walking cliché of disbelief at how quickly they are growing up. The next time we are all in bathing suits they will be a little bit different, with bigger clothes, new skills, and increased independence. While I look forward to some parts of this, others I’m still clinging to. I’ll be glad to resign as bathroom attendant but am not quite ready to hang up my cape as pretzel-bag-opening superhero.
I can’t change the passing of time. Waiting for cooler weather means wishing forward into another school year with summer behind us, and I’m not ready for that either. So, I’m planting myself here in the middle of summer, trying to stay present and keep cool.
As the old saying goes, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Taking this literally, when you’re feeding a family or just being a human, that’s not really an option. So, I’ve compiled some easy ways to get dinner on the table with minimal heat, or at least minimal time standing near hot appliances. Here are some ideas I’ll be putting on repeat through September:
Pasta with Fresh Vegetables
One of the summer things I most look forward to is farmer’s market vegetables. I frankly don’t even like tomatoes the rest of the year, but they are such a small joy of the season. To make a meal out of a summer bounty, just add a pot of pasta. Yes, this requires turning the stove on, but is pretty hands off after that. So the kids have something green, I usually throw frozen peas in with the noodles (a trick that has changed my life, courtesy of a toddler class instructor years ago). For adults, a fresh green salad or a plate of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil works well.
The Farmer’s Dinner
I once saw a cookbook “recipe” for this dish. It featured a beautiful board covered in cheeses, meats, vegetables, and a whole baguette. I’m pretty sure this is just a cheese plate. Yet, as with any good marketing, naming it “Farmer’s Dinner” not only sounds fancy, but also hearty enough to be served as a main meal. If it can feed a farmer after a hard day of manual labor, it should be just fine for us. Go straight from fridge/pantry to dinner with plates of different cheeses, meats or smoked salmon, cut up veggies, and jarred condiments such as olives, roasted red peppers, or sun-dried tomatoes.
Slow Cooker
If you’ve been reading along with this newsletter, you may have noticed a pattern. I’m obsessed with my Crockpot. While slow cooked soups and stews are typically associated with the cooler months, this appliance is an ingenious way to keep the stove and oven off, and the kitchen cool. If you’re not up for a hot bowl of soup (I’m not), this taco recipe [Eating on a Dime] paired with fresh toppings is a perfect warm weather meal. Pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches [Gimme Some Oven] is another easy one that feels supremely summery.
Grilling
This one is cheating a bit, as I don’t grill. Not being a summer weather person, I have never understood the appeal of standing in the sun over a smoking box of hot flames. Fortunately, my husband is the griller at our house, which means I stop at marinating. This Mexican Lime Grilled Chicken [Life is But a Dish] is my favorite, paired with charred corn on the cob. Taking advantage of farmer’s market season again, we also love to grill fresh peppers and zucchini, tossed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Food for Thought
Some helpful and interesting links from around the internet:
When It’s This Hot Out, Eat Like a Toddler, from Eater
The Unexpected Trick to Grilling Better Hot Dogs, from NYTimes
The Best Ice Cream Sandwiches, from Wirecutter