I need "it's too hot to cook" dinner ideas

[oceanbaby]

This is our second summer in an area where it actually gets too hot to cook, and I have no idea what to make! What are your favorites?

[Kelilah]

Salad, of course. Vichysoisse - make it first thing in the morning before it gets too hot, and let it chill in the fridge all day. There's sandwiches, or you could cook pasta (it's quick) and toss it with chopped tomatoes and herbs (throw in a chile pepper for extra zing).

But I think my favorite hot summer meal is a Southern one... go pick several different kinds of tomatoes out of your garden (or get them from the farmers' market, just make sure they're very fresh and you have several different sizes and colors). Slice them up and pile the slices in a pretty casserole dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add some chopped fresh basil or parsley on top if you have it. Let it sit for a few minutes so the salt can bring out the tomato flavor, and then serve the tomato slices with buttered bread. This is a good one to eat outside in the evening!

[BetsyS]

It's always too hot to cook in the afternoons here. I do a lot of prep in the morning or in the late evening hours after everyone goes to bed.

Chicken salad (boil/bake the chicken earlier in the day)
Egg salad
Pimento cheese
hummus
Green salads with some sort of protein (beans, chicken, etc)
Pasta salad (we like one with tofu, artichoke hearts, black olives, and Italian dressing)
Shrimp "ceviche". I add water, nad we eat this like gazpacho (the grown ups). The kids eat just the solids out.
Tomato sandwiches. Of course.
Bean salads (like black bean/corn). You can add avocado or chicken for some oomph.
If I'm really hot and tired, I pick up a rotisserie chicken, tortillas, and an avocado, and we have tacos (top with cilantro, onions, squeeze of lime, hot sauce).
Old El Paso tacos (just have to heat the beans and meat)
Grilled anything

[Bookworm?]

We grill everything! Meat, bread all kinds of veggies. Tomatoe slices grilled on one side, flipped and sprinkled with mozz or parm cheese are delicious! Corn on the cob can be grilled in the husks or out.
We also do a lot of ham/chicken salad, gazpacho, sandwhiches, wraps or pitas. Lots of fresh veggies and salads.

[Llyra]

The crock pot really helps us with this. We do a lot of cold stuff like sandwiches and salads, but sometimes we just want something more substantial, and that's when we use the crock pot. I can do all the prep work in the early morning when it's still cool, and the pot itself doesn't generate any heat in the kitchen. We can even be out all day, and come home to a nice dinner all ready. Add some bread or a salad, and there you go.

[amnesiac]

Me too - crock pot & grill. I also recently got a rice cooker that I am in love with.

[Alyantavid]

Anything grilled
potato salad with ground sausage
bruschetta - sauteed onions, garlic and tomatoes on sliced french bread and topped with cheese
salads with grilled meat on top
wraps or sandwiches

[2xy]

Greek tacos....basically the makings of a Greek salad in a flour tortilla. I add chickpeas for protein.

Caprese salad with good bread. Any style of antipasto is a hit around here.

[alsoSarah]

Tabouli is great, either solo or as a bed for a piece of seared fish or chicken, which could be made in the cool of the evening before.

I prep a lot of things the night before, actually. The heat/ humidity will dissipate by morning. Pasta salads thrive this way, as do variations like cold Thai peanut sauced noodles, and things like that.

The crockpot sounds like a good idea, but I've never learned to love mine-- flavors just don't intensify in them the way they do in the dry heat of a slow oven braise!

I do sometimes use a toaster oven on the back porch, to keep the heat out of the kitchen. It's great for bruschetta, which I love in the summer.

Baba ganoush, hummus, etc. work well for a night of dips and such with veggies and pita chips. Satay can fit in there, too. (Prep the night before.)

When all else fails, Caprese salad. Or olives, good cheeses, cured meats and a baguette.


alsoSarah

[witchypants]

subbing!