Hot Humid Weather Suppers
After spending an eternity in the 60's, Chicago weather has finally come around to summertime. High's in the '90's with the heat + humidity index reaching 100+. When it's too hot to cook anything, what do you eat?
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20 Comments:
Last night was leftover steak on salad, tonight may be caprese salad - with cherry tomatoes and bocconcini, since good tomatoes are still at least a month away.
sarajane at 11:15AM on 06/23/09
Salads. Lots of salads. During heat waves I live on fruit.
Vegetables and fruit get me through.
Yogurt-topped fruit salad is good, although a poor combination for optimal digestion.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:59AM on 06/23/09
Thank you for reminding me why I'm happy we moved away from there. We went for a long time with no air conditioning, and I can remember times when we were sweating from the effort of eating. But at some point, you do need to eat, particularly if you know the heat wave is going to last for weeks with no letup.
I pretty much cooked everything outside, not that it helped all that much, and we had a lot of burgers, brats, hot dogs, salads including things like potato salad and macaroni salads because they could be eaten really cold. Lots of other sandwiches. Sub sandwiches were good because they were eaten cold, too. Cold chicken was good, too. Hmmm...it all sounds like picnic food, actually.
Once we got air conditioning, the eating was better, but I still did as much cooking as possible outdoors.
dbcurrie at 12:15PM on 06/23/09
spicy food has a cooling effect
derosa at 12:22PM on 06/23/09
tomato sandwiches. toast the bread, maybe a tiny bit of butter, cover with fresh sliced tomatoes, S&P, perfection! with a side of watermelon of course!
listener at 12:22PM on 06/23/09
Save out some BBQ chix next time you grill and make this salad.
I developed this recipe for JUST the type of weather you mention. Taking the subway on a 95 degree day does NOT inspire one to turn on the stovetop or oven. I kept the ingredient list very short purposely. Give it a shot - it's become a favorite whenever I cater business lunches.
therealchiffonade at 12:45PM on 06/23/09
Cold noodles all the way.
soba, somen, udon (use thinner ones), Chinese egg noodles, angel hair.. Just boil, wash in running tap water and eat with cold dipping sauce or as 'noodle salad' with vegetables and salad dressings.
My fav "Western" cold noodle dish is angel hair with tomatoes, feta and basil, maybe a bit of lemon zest. refreshing!
hmw0029 at 12:50PM on 06/23/09
From that Mark Bittman/NY Times list of 100 quick summer suppers published two years ago:
Couscous tossed with parsley and chopped tomato, olive oil, s & p and canned sardines in tomato sauce.
Also, I've been known to eat a caprese salad three nights straight, especially if it's made with bufalo mozarella.
Ortolan at 1:04PM on 06/23/09
pasta salads
regular tossed vegetable salads with maybe steamed veggies on top
hot dogs and sandwiches
lots of vitamin water
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 1:07PM on 06/23/09
When turning on the stove or firing up the grill is not an option, I like to make a little antipasto platter and find a good cool glass of white wine.
Also do a lot of whey protein smoothies with a banana and some frozen fruit and maybe snack on some almonds.
brickh at 1:38PM on 06/23/09
gazpacho!
Embackus at 1:55PM on 06/23/09
Oh thank you all! I'm actually perking up (just a little) with the thought of something good and cool to eat for dinner.
sarajane at 2:35PM on 06/23/09
picnic dinner! (at least that's what i call it)
raw veggies with dip, cheese and crackers, and deli meats.
throw in some pita and hummus if you're feeling ambitious.
set out a spread and graze.
andshewas at 3:05PM on 06/23/09
Hi Sarajane! I am actually going to be down there this weekend for Taste of Chicago and I have been monitoring the weather outlook since Monday. Looking kinda ugly :(
In any case my favorite thing in summer is a really good BLT sandwich. I'll precook some really good bacon on a cooler day. Individually freeze them so they are ready to go. I have a really nice farmer's market within walking distance and one vendor sells "Brandywine " tomatoes. (Dear god what a gift to humanity). I'll pick up some fresh picked butter lettuce to boot. Sometimes I'll pick up some fresh herbs to mix into the mayo at home. Nice a cool and it has bacon to boot. I'll serve it with a nice melon salad on the side.
Martini Me at 3:22PM on 06/23/09
my ex and I lived in a rental one summer with no a/c in alabama i would cook a ton of penne or other small cut pasta, and make up different salads, our fave was a bag of baby veg mix (baby corn, pea pods and others) thawed but not cooked, a good handful of parm and a light vinegrette or even a poppy seed dressing, it keeps in the fridge for a good long time and you can toss in some precooked chicken or if youre really lazy like i was on occasion, a pkg of cooked chicken.
huneybumper at 3:44PM on 06/23/09
I try to make the most of farmers market season, so I put together a selection of local artisan cheeses with fresh cut local fruits or berries and a sliced baguette served with a nice white or rose wine. That is my favorite dinner when it's too hot to cook!
yayfood at 9:08PM on 06/23/09
Grilled Italian sausages, cold artichoke-red pepper-olive-pasta salad on spring greens, cucumber slices, radishes.
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Tomorrow- poached chicken breasts (they're thawing now-will do in the morning before work), salad with the poached chicken, creamy dill cucumber dressing, tomatoes with snipped chives, baguette and butter
CJ McD at 9:15PM on 06/23/09
Myself nothing, too hot and humid to eat, cold beer will do it for me. But if I had to eat, I would go with fridge stuff, shrimp cocktails. crab louie, a busy salad. I would not go near a stove or grill in the weather you are experiencing.
pjracz10 at 12:54AM on 06/25/09
Man, I wish it were hot and humid here! We're still suffering through June-uary in Boston...But if it were hot, I'd be eating ice cold gazpacho with a baguette on the side, or couscous salad (basically just room temp couscous tossed with assorted chopped veggies, herbs and a vinaigrette), or brown rice sushi from Whole Foods, or some cured olives, sliced abruzzi sausage and carmelized onion foccacia, or a big caprese salad! So many options.
Junie at 10:41AM on 06/25/09
family favorite for the summer time is cold noodles. It helps if you make them on a cooler day if the boiling water is still too much.
My mom always makes 2 kinds:
Peanut butter noodles with peanut butter, sesame oil, a bit of soy sauce. extra salt and sugar.
Sesame noodles with sesame oil, vinegar and sesame seeds.
Top both with cold shredded chicken, carrots, celery and cucumber.
engmcmuffin at 10:55AM on 06/25/09