Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

Hot weather food ideas


Travis

Recommended Posts

As the weather heats up, my appetite lessens and I lose any desire to cook. Just looking for some new ideas for cold food for the upcoming hot weather. Here's one to start, which we ate today. Super easy, no cooking, not expensive all bonuses.

Prosciutto and melon.

Next?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blender gazpacho (chilled tomato soup) and cold cucumber soup--both suggestions from a friend yesterday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hot weather food to me means gazpacho. Every year I get a craving for it and make 2 or 3 batches before the craving fades (until next year). Despite the fact that it's been raining in Pátzcuaro all of a sudden and it's a little chilly, I can feel the urge to make gazpacho. Gazpacho, good bread, and maybe some cheese--it's a meal.

Salpicon is a cold meat dish very well suited to summer meals that requires only a little cooking. Cook beef (falda or aguayon work best) cut in chunks in a little water with onion, garlic and a sprig of cilantro. Shred the meat by hand and mix with tomato, onion (purple onion recommended) and cilantro, all chopped like pico de gallo or salsa cruda, seasoned to taste with a little olive oil, vinegar, salt, a pinch of oregano. Decorate with plenty of avocado slices and serve on tostadas, with minced chiles serranos available so people can prepare their own. This makes a nice picnic dish, even if the picnic is only in your back yard.

Salads of all kinds. Try a bed of lettuces decorated with leftover beef or chicken, tomato, cucumber, cooked vegetables, cheese, nuts, kalamata olives, etc. Drizzle with balsamic/olive oil dressing.

Pasta salad.

Make a meal of little dishes--plates of olives, cheeses (goat, manchego, etc.), good bread, pickles, raw or cooked vegetables like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, hummus or other bean puree, etc. You get the idea--just assemble a lot of little items that people can pick and choose among. My husband loves this kind of meal. Conversation flows as you nibble, and gradually you get enough (but not too much) to eat.

Hope this helps--

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of these complaints about heat are puzzling. The complainers must have homes which face the wrong direction or cannot let in the night time cooler air and close it in for the day. If your walls are thick, the home should hold the coolness and allow you to live comfortably. Older homes are better than some of the newer ones with thinner block walls, instead of double brick and thicker plaster typical of older construction. It is also advantageous to have flat roofs painted white, instead of darker colors of impermiabalizante coatings. Of course, you should have not west-facing windows unless they are well covered by patio roofs and also shaded by shrubbery or trees. In fact, the entire west side of the home should be protected from the setting sun by adjacent construction or other means.

Our home has some walls two feet thick, acting as heat sinks, and stays cool. It also has interior patios and courtyard, giving every room ventilation from two sides, allowing quick cooling in the evening and through the night. Some of those sources of ventilation are covered and can be open even in the rain.

So, we are fortunate to be able to cook inside every day and can comfortably eat whatever we wish in any season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to hot weather cooking. I often make this chicken salad for our main meal--it is really easy, super-delicious, extremely flavorful, and all but addictive. I tweak the recipe just a little, adding 1 minced chile serrano, to the already wonderful mix of ingredients. Napa cabbage is hard to find, so I substitute ordinary white cabbage, finely shredded.

Hmm...I might have to make this today. Just re-reading the recipe makes my mouth water.

Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb poached chicken breast, sliced thin (can use any chicken meat desired)
  • 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage (can use regular)
  • 3 cups peeled jicama cut into strips
  • 1 small sweet red peppers, cut into strips
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, including stems
  • .
  • Dressing:
  • 3 Tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Thai fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup sugar or sugar equivalent from substitute (I use Splenda)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Asian chili sauce (such as Sriracha, salam oelek, or other hot sauce)
  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
  • Mint leaves
  • Cilantro leaves

Preparation:

Mix all salad ingredients together
Mix all dressing ingredients (EXCEPT the peanuts) together
Toss dressing with salad, chill for 1 hour
Add peanuts just before serving

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to hot weather cooking. I often make this chicken salad for our main meal--it is really easy, super-delicious, extremely flavorful, and all but addictive. I tweak the recipe just a little, adding 1 minced chile serrano, to the already wonderful mix of ingredients. Napa cabbage is hard to find, so I substitute ordinary white cabbage, finely shredded.

Hmm...I might have to make this today. Just re-reading the recipe makes my mouth water.

Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb poached chicken breast, sliced thin (can use any chicken meat desired)
  • 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage (can use regular)
  • 3 cups peeled jicama cut into strips
  • 1 small sweet red peppers, cut into strips
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, including stems
  • .
  • Dressing:
  • 3 Tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Thai fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup sugar or sugar equivalent from substitute (I use Splenda)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Asian chili sauce (such as Sriracha, salam oelek, or other hot sauce)
  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
  • Mint leaves
  • Cilantro leaves

Preparation:

Mix all salad ingredients together

Mix all dressing ingredients (EXCEPT the peanuts) together

Toss dressing with salad, chill for 1 hour

Add peanuts just before serving

Sounds great! I just cut & pasted it and will try it soon. My mouth was watering too!

maw

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a recipe I got from Shira- it is really good!

Cold Zucchini Soup
Make 24 hours ahead- Serve chilled.


1 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1 large chopped onion

1 Tbsp. garlic

8 cups chicken stock (or 8 cups vegetable stock)
5 (7 in.) zucchini, sliced
1/4 cup dill
1 Tbsp. curry
8 oz. light sour cream or plain yogurt

*This soup can be made with any vegetable: broccoli, cauliflower,
yellow squash, asparagus-- whatever's in season.

1. Heat oil and brown onion and garlic in a soup pot.

2. Add chicken stock (or water and bouillon), zucchini, dill and
curry. Cook until zucchini is tender.

3. Once cooled, transfer soup to a blender and puree with sour cream or yogurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest bennie2

im lost, never heard of dusty chicken, or used a micro wave. think i will bake TWO pieces of fish @ a time so i dont have to use oven 2 days in a row. when it comes to kitchens/food planning i am really dumb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shred or dice leftover dusty or other take-out chicken. Boil up some pasta, and during the last few minutes dump in some frozen vegetables of choice. Drain, dump in bowl and add chopped onions. Stir in mayonnaise and spices of choice. Eat sort of warm or chill. Make enough for several meals because it is even better the next day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One I have been thinking of is "English Trifle". To me it's like summer in a bowl. Maybe because in our family the pound cake was covered in jello. Then layers of fresh summer fruit like strawberries, English "Bird's" custard, fresh whipped cream and some chocolate flakes (Cadbury "Flake" if you got it.) I used to make "Zuppa Inglese" as well "Englishman's soup" - it has a lot more cream and a lot of dark rum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites





Here is a recipe for gazpacho I have used for several years and make often during April and May that I adapted from Allrecipes.com


maw




"For the ultimate gazpacho, you must peel, seed, dice, salt and drain really good, vine-ripened tomatoes. So what if you don't have time to fuss with fresh tomatoes? I've found the canned variety makes a fine substitute. Another advantage: Fresh tomatoes start to deteriorate as soon as the soup is refrigerated, but canned tomatoes are unaffected by the chill."








Quick Classic Gazpacho



  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 liter tomato juice or v-8
  • 1 seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/4 inch dice
  • 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 tsp.minced garlic
  • 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup or more chopped fresh cilantro
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • hot sauce or siracha to taste

Process 1/2 cup of tomatoes, along with the water and oil, in a blender or food processor until pureed. Transfer to a large bowl, along with tomato juice & remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper & hot sauce to taste. Refrigerate for 12 hours for best flavor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...