When it’s hot outdoors and possibly even hotter indoors, no one feels like cooking. We say this because many people, even in these modern times, don’t have air conditioning and the indoor temperature can be higher than outside (unless you’re under the blazing sun). The very thought of turning on the stove is enough to make anyone droop and wilt! Even firing up the BBQ can feel like too much. That said, we’ve pulled together a few cool meal suggestions to help beat the heat.
Prepare Cooked Ingredients In The Cool Morning Hours
Our experience suggests that if a recipe calls for cooked ingredients, it’s best to get those items prepared early in the day while it’s cooler. Things like grilling chicken breasts, hard boiling eggs, blanching green or wax beans, steaming corn on the cob, or cooking pasta, rice, quinoa, or other grains all make great bases for summer salads and cold dishes.
Once those food items are prepped, it’s easy to create fabulous hot-weather meals with little or no sweat (excuse the pun).
It’s even easier because summer in Canada means an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables are available, adding variety and punch that winter produce just doesn’t offer. Be sure to include some form of protein, whether it’s meat or an alternative, and you’ll be well on your way to virtually cook-free meals everyone will enjoy.
Here are a few of our favourite cold, hot-weather meal ideas you may want to try, with links to recipes.
Watermelon Poke Bowls
If you love the refreshing combination of juicy chilled watermelon with micro greens or sprouts, avocado, peanuts (or other nuts), crunchy cucumber, pickled ginger, and sesame seeds served with a tangy Asian-inspired dressing, this is the meal for you. A welcome respite from any cooking at all.
You can even add cold cooked short-grain brown or white rice as a base. Steam the rice ahead of time in the cool morning and refrigerate until ready to use.
Poke bowls are an extremely versatile option when it comes to serving cold meals. Try adding tuna or cold salmon, grilled shrimps or diced cooked chicken breast, hard boiled eggs and other proteins to the mix along with other favourite vegetables and greens. Top with pumpkin/sunflower seeds, nuts and a favourite dressing.
Grilled Peach, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Sandwich
Despite requiring a bit of stove-top action, this sandwich is too good not to include. You’ll need to use a skillet or frying pan but they don’t give off too much heat.
Everyone loves the simplicity of a good sandwich, from kids to adults alike. Combine salty prosciutto with fresh juicy peach slices, gooey mozzarella, and a sprinkle of fresh rosemary on pan-grilled crusty sourdough or French baguette, and you’ll have a Mediterranean-inspired treat that’s sheer genius.
Take A Dip In A Cold Soup
Sometimes the heat is so enervating that we just want something simple and light. That’s when we opt for cold soup. Adding fresh bread or crispy biscuits with cheese, or vegetable crudités and a dip, makes it a complete meal.
For a great selection of 40 cold soup recipes, you’ll want to check out this link (some involve a bit of cooking). One of our personal favourites is the chilled cucumber soup, not only because it’s so refreshing, but also because it’s possibly the easiest soup I’ve ever made!
You can also explore a selection of 37 easy to prepare summer dip recipes here.
Super-Sized California Crab Roll
This last cool food option is a big crowd pleaser. It’s a recipe for making super-sized imitation crab California rolls that turns out to be a kind of gigantic burrito. Try serving these along with an icy cold pitcher of thirst quenching Margarita mocktails (or the real deal)!
We’re Getting Hungry
Now that we’ve made ourselves totally hungry, we’re off to make a cool, crunchy Greek salad with vine-ripened tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, feta, red peppers, fresh garden herbs, and an olive oil–lemon vinaigrette. Toasted pita bread and hummus add a nice hit of protein.
We might follow it up with a bowl of homemade strawberry ice cream, too. Yet again, it’s another super easy recipe that anyone can make and it’s even more delicious because it uses fresh local strawberries which are now in season. Enjoy!