Summer Meals

[RubyDuby]

Every night when I go to make dinner my apartment turns into a sauna. What are some good summer meals that don't require a lot of stove or oven time?

I can only eat so much salad and fresh fruit on my budget... tonight I had a smoothie, a subway sandwich and will microwave some brussell sprouts for craving purposes only...

[twinkle]

Start hanging out with people who like cooking for others

Uh, sorry, I don't have any sensible suggestions... although - what about getting up very early when it's still cool and cooking a few things in bulk that you can eat cold for a little while, like pasta salad, potato salad, tabbouleh, tofu quiche, that kind of thing? Coleslaw is nice in summer and shouldn't be too expensive to make in bulk.

[RubyDuby]

Start hanging out with people who like cooking for others

eh, I wish. I only know 1 person who shares my diet. Luckily he shares in the cooking. unluckily, he shares the apartment as well.

Uh, sorry, I don't have any sensible suggestions... although - what about getting up very early when it's still cool and cooking a few things in bulk that you can eat cold for a little while, like pasta salad, potato salad, tabbouleh, tofu quiche, that kind of thing? Coleslaw is nice in summer and shouldn't be too expensive to make in bulk.

mmm I love cabbage. cole slaw is a good idea. tabbouleh too. they have that boxed stuff that would be easy. I cant get up any earlier... not a morning person and I'm already forced up at 5:30

[Roxy]

What about chickpea based salads? I made a lovely one to take to work last night for my dinner.

[thecatspajamas1]

What about sandwiches and wraps? I like making avocado and tomato sandwiches.

If you want to know lots of recipes that don't require heat, look up some raw food recipes. (Can't think of a link offhand)

[piggy]

i like making salads with any type of canned legume...beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas...just add oil lemon juice/vinegar and spices or chopped veggies. i like to eat it with bread, crackers etc..these salads are nicer if left to stand in the fridge for a while!

[Robert]

I do not cook much as a rule but for summer standby I have cooked frozen beans in the freezer and can whip that up with a tomato sauce fairly quickly for home made baked beans...

Otherwise I just steam or microwave broccoli and have that with lemon juice, garlic and olive oil.

For the rest I do not cook in the summer much so if we are not having a bbq (and grilling veg then) I just stick to raw foods.

[RubyDuby]

Thanks guys!

cold chickpea curry salad would be a good idea! We cook our dogs food in big batches. I could make some extra chickpeas, lentils, pasta etc for salads to chill for our dinners. I think I saw a recipe somewhere for a mock tuna salad made with chickpeas, veganaise and kelp powder. I should look that back up. Also saw a recipe in rd for a salad made with canned black beans, canned mexi-style corn, canned tomatoes and fresh leeks and lemon juice. They also suggested chilling for at least 8 hours. Will try that too.

i love sandwiches too, catspj's, (esp avacado) but the problem is the expense of keeping fresh veggies. I do eat them as often as I can, but thats only a couple times a week. luckily its avacado season... $1 each at Ralphs!

[thecatspajamas1]

You lucky duck, avocados are $2 here.