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In a recent post, Corie, a blogger out of Brooklyn, asked her readers to give her "some good dinner recipes for hot unairconditioned summers in a fourth floor walk-up." She's gotten some terrific suggestions in the comments, including a recipe for feta and watermelon salad (I tend to make the one out of Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer), crab salad served over greens, and multiple nominations for gazpacho. In a similar vein, over at Culinate, Matthew Card has posted a nice article with a bunch of suggestions for feeding yourself, your family and your friends in the summer without heating up your kitchen too much. His primary suggestions are to stock up on sandwich makings, use the grill as much as possible (if you are lucky enough to have space in which to grill) and cook enough for multiple meals each time you power up a heat source.
Personally, when the summer heat strikes, I turn to salads. Big green salads made in serving bowls with as much yummy stuff piled on as I can manage. Last night I tore up half a head of lettuce and topped it with slices of tomato, chopped toasted almonds, cucumbers, goat cheese and some red onion. I always have a jar to two of homemade vinaigrette hanging out in the back of the fridge and so I drizzled a little of that on top.
What are your favorite summer recipes that keep you well-fed and your kitchen cool?
photo by Marisa McClellan
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7-17-2007 @6:56PM deannadyer said... One of my favorites is also a huge salad, but with an Italian twist: Greens, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, sunflower seeds, pepperoncini sliced up thin, green olives, a little grapeseed oil, red wine vinegar, juice from the olive jar, and some Italian seasoning & pepper. Oh, and of course some shaved Parmesan!!
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7-18-2007 @7:14AM bdw said... Here's something really quick and dirty. Chop a small onion, put it in a quart bowl, add a can of canelloni beans, a can of good tuna in olive oil, a small chopped tomato, an egg sized blob of mayonaise, a couple more dashes of olive oil to taste, a few grinds of pepper, and stir gently with a fork. For girls you can serve it on a lettuce leaf with a squeeze of lemon, for guys just put the bowl next to the dog's water dish and let them sort it out themselves.
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7-17-2007 @9:47PM s credeur said... Butter lettuce, romaine, avocado, grape tomatoes, capers, red onion, celery hearts, fresh shredded basil, fresh goat cheese and artichoke hearts with a grilled lemon/rosemary chicken breast and oh-so-lightly touched with a red wine vinaigrette. Yes, it all completely melted in my mouth!
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7-17-2007 @11:13PM Kenneth Zank said... zucchini and onions quick saute in one pan,,,, add eggs tuck into fresh italian bread
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7-18-2007 @8:07AM noreen said... When it's unbearably hot, I turn to some of the recipes in The Storm Gourmet, by Daphne Nikolopoulos.
The book was designed for use after a hurricane, but some of the recipes are excellent for heat waves.
I also cook as much as I can outside, so that I don't heat up my house. And if I do have to cook indoors, I switch to the microwave and the toaster oven as much as I can to avoid heating the house with the regular oven.
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7-29-2007 @5:56PM Judy said... Shrimp thai rolls yum....large cooked shrimp from the seafood dept....romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, tops of scallions,long strips of cucumbers,rice noodles,and fresh basil, all rolled up in a rice paper and served with Hoisin sauce mixed with just a tad of peanut butter... very refreshing and light...
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7-21-2007 @8:50PM margie totty said... i like the recipes
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7-21-2007 @11:01AM captgray2000 said... My dad, Ren loved potato salad, tuna fish with mayo, sliced hard boiled eggs and a few raw onion rings on a hot summer night.
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7-21-2007 @11:11AM DirtMX said... okay, here is my favorite summer food. put mayo and a peice of cheese on bread then slice a big ol piece of fresh tomato and salt it cut the sandwich in 4 pieces and presto! supper for me! nothin like a tomato sandwich in the summer time!
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7-21-2007 @11:33AM Angela said... My favorite sandwich on a hot day is a ham sandwich. But instead of the usual tomato and lettuce, I make mine with mayo and pineapple. Ohhhh...so good!
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7-22-2007 @4:48PM Audrey Booth said... Well, I fry up some bacon, put aside. Boil up some sweet corn on the cob and while thats boiling, I toast white bread and smear it w/ mayo, lettuce, sliced tomatoes and the bacon. Melt some butter for the corn on the cob and VOILA, the best summer supper of all!
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7-21-2007 @12:52PM K said... My mother always made the same summer meal when it was unbearably hot. Don't knock her too much for opening cans ... this was the 60s and 70s and was the norm for a suburban household dining on a patio.
1 head of lettuce
1 can of asparagus (pre chilled)
1 can of salmon (pre chilled)
1 large beefsteak tomato
1 jar of mayo
1 shaker of Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Several hard boiled eggs
1 melon
1 pitcher of iced tea
Take out a silver serving tray from her wedding in 1952. Line it with lettuce leaves. Open the can of chilled asparagus, drain, and lay the limp stalks along the lettuce, as artfully as you can with canned asparagus. Open and drain the chilled salmon, and flake this onto the lettuce. Slice and arrange the tomato. Land several large dollops of mayo over this arrangement, making sure you hit the tomatoes, for contrast. Shake seasoned salt over all, and cracked pepper if you have the proper kind. Last, slice and arrange the eggs around the edges. Serve this chilled meal, followed by sliced melon and tea.
You know what? I STILL love it. Thanks Mom, for making even a hot summer dinner a "tea party."
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7-24-2007 @6:43PM KantKook said... Here's my summer fave....cool cucumber soup...no cooking! Chop one scallion, 2 seeded cukes, 1Tbs. lemon juice , 1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill and place in blender, puree, pour in bowl, add 16 oz. sour cream (reg. or lite), 1 cup 1/2 & 1/2 (again, reg. or fat free) salt, pepper, dash of hot sauce, mix, chill, serve (add a sprig of fresh dill for garnish). Yummy, takes minutes and NO cooking!
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7-21-2007 @2:18PM Beads said... To all of you:
Thanks for the ideas, your enthusiasm and sense of humor. AND the salad made elegant on a silver tray!
I would have loved your Mom!
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