Hot weather food
 

With summer here in full force it's time to turn off the oven and bring on the hot weather food.

Right now some of my fav hot weather foods that I've been enjoying are:

grilled veggies (yellow squash, zuchinni, bell pepper, tomatos, carrots and whatever else I fee like)

veggie salad same as above but raw and with ginger dressing (from the Disney magazine)

Canilli bean salad

cheese and crackers

artichoke and hearts of palm salad from trader joes

motzerella salad from trader joes

What do you enjoy during the hot summer months?

Jamba Juice

bbq beans & beer

Salads. And the microwave gets its yearly workout!

I don't even want to turn on the stove.

I'm melting.

And when I try to heat something in the microwave while the air conditioner's on, I blow a fuse.

Dreyer's sugar-free mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I prefer salads, sometimes even a cool soup, and BBQ/Grilled food. Things that come to mind...

Grilled corn on the cob.
Ribs
Potato salad
Dodger Dogs

Or pretty much anything that doesn't seem out of place on a paper plate.

Summertime, and the livin is easy...

I'm a big fan of big salads, too.

One of my favorites right now is a cucumber, tomato or two (depending on size and price), 1/2 a Vadalia (or Walla Walla Sweet, depending on the part of the country you're in), a little FF Feta Crumbles, and FF Italian Dressing. You, of course, could sub full-fat versions of the cheese and dressing, and add some Kalamata's if you're a fan of those. ;)

Also, I like to do a similar salad with pasta and maybe throw some canned Tuna in it.

My George Foreman gets a workout this time of year, too (I don't do the outdoor grilling thing, too much trouble/too hot for one person). Actually, my George Foreman gets a work out most of the year - I hate heating up the house with the oven - it's really bad when you have the oven on and the AC at the same time (like I had to on Easter because I decided I 'needed' a pork roast :rolleyes: )

It's not hot here, yet. However I love using my crockpot when it gets hot outside.
Sometimes I make my husband grill us up a couple days worth of food and that saves me from most cooking. I love using grilled chicken for salads, quesadillas or mixing with noodles or something. I like pasta salads but my boys don't.
I'm afraid if we lived in a desert climate I would never feed the boys, maybe after midnight!

Here is today's hot weather beverage (although it's really not hot here, I'm just exhausted after painting):

frozen watermelon cubes (GREAT ice cube substitute!)
Mango Lime Fiesta juice
Sprite


Mmmmmmmmmmm! :cheers:

Yummy, that sounds really good! I think I'm going to have to try that.

Do you just freeze watermelon chunks? I happen to have half a watermelon just sitting in the fridge.

Alas, all the watermelons at the grocery here last week had been picked too early. . . (The price is finally getting in the "reasonable" range, though.)

What is "Mango Lime Fiesta Juice"?

Shave Ice (Rainbow with ice cream and azuki beans) from Matsumoto's in Hale'iwa Hawai'i.
:)

I made Guacamole con Frutas for dinner

1 avacado, diced
1/2 tbsp minced red onion
1 tsp minced serrano chilie
12 black or red grapes, halved
1/2 cup diced peaches or mangos
pomegranate seeds (optional)

lightly mash avacado, onion and chilie in a bowl. mix in grapes and peaches. add salt. garnish with pomegranate seeds. serve with baked chips

The Skinny: 113 calories, per serving (with 10 chips) 6.9 g. fat (1g saturated), 3.9 g. fiber, 14g carbs, 1.7 g protien.

It was delicious and I'll be making it again and again.

We weent out for Tapas for dinner, but I'm going to be making up a pitcher of lime juice, a bit of sugar, fuzzy water, fresh limes and fresh mint very soon. Or, you can use frozen Limeade mixed with fuzzy water and adding lime and mint. I also usse powdered lemonade for this concoction. It's lovely and refreshing.

Yes to just freezing watermelon cubes. And Mango Lime Fiesta is juice product distributed by Dole.

I highly recommend Ben and Jerry's "Jamaican Me Crazy". Pineapple and passion fruit sorbet. Works great on a hot day.

Had a hankering for Mexican food tonight. Blue Agave hit the spot.

I had a bleu cheese and garlic chicken sandwich...
and tater tots smothered in bbq sauce - I think I drank about a half a cup of bbq sauce.

I thought that said 'Blue Algae' the first time I read it...
:D

Poor Rose. I really feel sorry for her.

Avacadoes, for some reason I've been eating a ton of them lately.

Tonight I'm making blueberry ice cream, the blackberry sorbet I made a couple weeks ago was delish. The next recipe to try is for Melon Ice which looks yummy and cool as well.

Quick summer dip - Blue Cheese dressing mixed with wing sauce. Really good on chips and veggies.

You must tell me more about this..... it sounds intriguing

Gn2Dlnd,
Is Afuse that studly Italian guy who lives right next to you? :evil:

When it's hot outside, I like to hang out in a walk-in freezer. I miss that opportunity now that I don't work in the food biz.

Yesterday, I had a hankerin' for a waffle. Went to my favorite breakfast joint and ordered same. Waitress shared with me that they were having a serious run on waffles yesterday.

Weird

Sushi

Damn you, KB, it's midnight and I have to get up for work in less than 5 hours and all I can think about it IHOP.

You have started a new trend for me and my son. We are trying frozen watermelon cubes with everything! He thought that was the neatest trick he has ever seen! Plus you can eat it when you're done.
His favorite so far is the Tropicana strawberry kiwi cyclone with watermelon ice cubes.
He thinks you're really cool now. He picked the perfect smiley for you:cool:

Thanks for the great idea!

This was day 3 or 4 of heat and my Ice Cream craving kicked in.

I soooooooo want a Chocolate double malt.

Fortunately there is a Baskin Robbins around the corner and I still have my clothes on

Well, hurry up and eat your low-fat meal I've prepared so you can get going! I'm in my jammies.

Don't forget to break into Trader Joes!

Naked at an Ice Cream Parlor is far more intriguing...

Helllo? Shrinkage?

Oh great. Now I'm craving ice cream. Plus the IHOP from last night.

Run naked to the ice cream parlor, then warm your naughty bits with a half stack of pancakes (syrup optional)

Reading LoT may be hazardous to a diet.

Since it's been so hot the last couple of days, I've been attempting to make things that require absolutely NO cooking. Trader Joe's has already cooked wild and brown rice as well as seasoned cooked chicken breast. I combined both types of rice, a citrus-herb chicken, crumbled goad cheese, orange and yellow peppers, Japanese cucumbers, toasted almonds, fresh chopped ginger and sliced kumquats with a lemon ginger bottled dressing I found at TJs. I make a salad out of those ingredients then put it on top of the bagged herb greens mix (also from TJ's) and it was simply delish! We ate it two nights in a row and I didn't have to heat the kitchen at all.

I am going to try something similar with tiny black lentils (which will require a tiny bit of cooking) and other flavors (that I haven't decided upon yet).

Breakfast egg dishes and main dish salads are the two things I relally love experimenting with, and adding the challenge of no-cooking makes it interesting (for the salads at least).

Don't ask me for how much of what. I don't know. I just chop and add and see how it looks. I'm really precise about my cooking. ;)

Uncooked egg products make for glorious food fight weapons...

That sounds amazing Lisa.

I've been making veggie salad again. Zuchinni, yellow squash, cucumber, carrots and tomatos (that's all I have) mixed up with some veggie pasta (made of veggies, no carbs, requires a tiny bit of cooking) and balsamic viniger.

Also on the menu is avacado sammiches. 2 slices of 7 grain bread, mustard, cheddar cheese and munster cheese, tomato and avacado. Put together in sammich form.

Been making a lot of grilled veggies. Zuchinni, yellow squash, tomato and onion. When I go to the store I'll be getting bell pepper and mushrooms to add to the mix. I've also been throwing on some veggie sausage from morning star farms for protien. I love my grill.

I'm still waiting for information on this sandwich...


and a pm telling me what the heck to make those nuts in the over with (NA) since I lost the sticky note.

Nuts.

Melt a bit of butter and some brown sugar in a pan. Add black pepper, a bit of tobasco and whatever else sounds good. Add walnuts or pecans and coat. Place coated nuts on foil and put in toster oven and bake at 400 , stirring occasionally, until "you smell nuts". If you are in a hurry, you can toast them as well, but stir often.

The nuts MAKE a salad - especially with gorgonzola, bitter greens, apples, pears or other fruit, and a balsamic, walnut oil, gorgonzola dressing (with lots of cracked pepper). I make several versions of this salad. Using fennel, greens, oranges (or other citrus), goat cheese and almonds with a citrus vinegarette) is also good.

Lisa said 'nuts'. :D

I like watermelon. I've already eaten 2 of them this season. Love it love it. :)

I've had versions of this salad that are divine! Watermellon and feta is a FABULOUS combination - even if it sounds sort of gross.


Quarter of a watermelon
115g/40z feta cheese
2 handfuls of fresh coriander, leaves picked
2 handfuls of rocket
2 handfuls of fresh mint, leaves picked
1 small bunch of radishes, finely sliced
a handful of peanuts or sunflower seeds
115g/40z feta cheese

For the dressing
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
juice of 3-4 limes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Watermelons are a lovely summery fruit, but not all that useful as ingredients. However, you can sorbet them or fill them up with vodka, as I showed in my first book, The Naked Chef. And bearing in mind that they are crunchy, watery and slightly sweet, they are fantastic in a salad with fish or even deep-fried squid. Or you could turn them into a snack, with some crumbled feta cheese on top, as I have done here.

Method
Remove the skin from the watermelon and cut the flesh into small cubes, removing as many seeds as you can be bothered to (but don't worry too much, as you can eat them and you'll hardly notice them in the salad). When you pick the coriander leaves remove the stringier part of the stalks but keep the finer ones as they are nice to eat. Place in a bowl with the rocket, mint, watermelon and radishes.

Put the ginger, chilli, soy sauce, olive oil and sesame oil into a smaller bowl and add just enough lime juice to cut through the oil - the number of limes you use will depend on how juicy they are. Season to taste and make sure the dressing is well-balanced.

Place your peanuts or sunflower seeds in the oven or in a pan and warm through, then roughly pound them up in a pestle and mortar or in a metal bowl using the end of a rolling-pin.

Dress the salad really quickly. (You can use more dressing if you wish, but any left over is great to keep in the fridge to use the next day.) Divide between the plates, sprinkle over the hot peanuts or sunflower seeds and crumble the feta cheese over the top.

Wait a minute - You're the Naked Chef?

If this weather keeps up, I may be.

I used the toaster over tonight to broil Buffalo Burgers then put them on top of arigula, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion. Pretty good and the kitchen still didn't get hot! I'm on a roll!

I have been doing my part to keep the kitchen cool by going out and getting ice cream

Because all the china, cookware and most important, the knives are packed and it's too damn hot to heat anything, last night's fare was an heirloom tomato salad with fresh mozzarela and basil, YUM.

Today will be take out from the vietnamese place, summer rolls and a salad.

Oh and about 32 bottles of water.

"Bleah yuck!" Said the baby rhino. :D

I'll give the recipe to Ralphie. He'll make it. I'll give it a taste test but it sounds gross. I'm not a big mixing your foods kinda guy. I also don't care for a lot of toppings, sauces and goo on my food. Bleh! :)