Cooking When It’s Miserably Hot

Don’t you hate cooking some summer days? It’s just so hard to turn on the stove or oven, making your house even hotter than it is already. We won’t even mention the “delights” of slaving over the stove when it’s hot.

Summer is barbeque season for a good reason. It’s so hot inside that cooking outside often just makes more sense!

If you want to cook outside regularly, I strongly recommend getting a gas grill with a side burner, so that you can cook your entire meal outside. It is much more comfortable, since things generally cool off outside much sooner than it does in your house.

Grilling takes practice. It’s harder to control the temperature of most grills, even with gas, so you have to get a good feel for how yours works. Beyond that, learn a few good marinades and you won’t have to work too hard with the meat to make it taste good.

The crockpot is another good tool for summer cooking. It adds a little heat to the house, but not enough that you’ll notice and you don’t have to go anywhere near it until the food is done cooking for most recipes.

Try cooking extras for reheating or making into new meals. Cook extra chicken breasts and the next day you can make a nice, cool chicken salad.

Take advantage of summer produce and get creative with your vegetables. You don’t have to use lettuce every day to make a salad; cucumbers and tomatoes go well with a little oil and vinegar, maybe some feta cheese if your family likes that.

My goal many summer days is to keep from heating up my home more than necessary, so I can avoid using the air conditioner. Cooking outside really helps and it’s a great way to get the entire family outside.

[tags]cooking,summer,family,hot weather[/tags]