How Do You Cook On A Hot Day?
We are puppy-sitting this rather adorable King Charles Cavalier. We get all the good gigs. He has spent the last two days eating a large number of Christmas decorations so I decided it was high time to take the Christmas tree down. None of us have been able to muster the enthusiasm so far, but it is clearly time. I decided to downsize Christmas while I was at it. Absolutely no-one, including the op-shops, wants Christmas decorations at this time of year, so I have repacked everything in the tubs, and made a memo to self for October to take the bags of unwanted Christmas decorations out and find them a new home. You never know, someone, somewhere might be feeling excited about Christmas by the time October gets here.
It actually turned out to be quite pleasant, listening to music, wrapping up delicate ornaments in tissue paper, remembering all the afternoons with wee children making Christmas decorations in years past. I am a mother very blessed with a wealth of good memories. Although writing that made me laugh. It's funny how you filter out all the fights and tantrums about who gets the glue or the blue piece of felt and the great big enormous mess that equals doing craft with children. Now I get the warm memories without all the crazy-making reality. Another wonderful aspect of ageing:)
Today is very warm and I am very pleased that I had an outdoor electrical outlet put in on my verandah. Currently cooking - dog food in the slow cooker, apricots drying in the dehydrator. Both appliances use a laughably small amount of electricity and are not heating up the house. Win-win. Once upon a time I also had a BBQ with a gas burner which I used to cook dinner on in the summer, but I didn't bring that to the new house. Now I have a house which is not open plan, so I can cook dinner in the kitchen with the door shut and the back door wide open, and still keep the rest of the house cool.
What tricks do you use to make dinner on a hot day?
My best trick is to tap away on the computer in the cool dining room while two daughters are making pad thai in the hot kitchen, listening to loud music, and they don't appear to be fighting at all.
Comments
Very best wishes for the new year. My only resolution is my on-going determination to use less plastics. Going well so far but family not yet on board!
Our house is quite cool so except for the maybe 3 days of extreme heat, cooking isn't really that much of a problem, but salads and get it yourself figure highly on the summer rotation. The downside is, the 90 odd days of cold in winter, when no-one (actually just me) wants to move far enough away from the fire to cook. Now that I think about it, could be more to do with my lack of interest in feeding the ungrateful hoards than the kitchen temp. ;)
cheers Kate
Jo, how do you prepre your apricots for the dehydrator - do you slice them or just halve them? I love my dehydrator, but haven't really had much luck with larger fruits. I know I can successfully do sliced red plums, and I do so love dried apricots.
Linda in NZ
Jamie says it for me. A perfectly lovely post, especially for one in the midst of a heavy snow and ice storm.Thanks!
Pam
Awesome! Really impressed as usual with your work, and I'll bet the dogs enjoy the homemade dog food? :-)
I use an undercover outdoor electric oven to bake bread and Anzac biscuits and dog biscuits (cheaper and better than commercial ones) even during heat waves such as what we are having right now. It works a treat.
Got any idea what to do with a couple of trays of Anzac Peaches? They don't bottle all that well because they're clingstones and tend to fall apart. I do my bottling outside too now and have already put away apricots for the winter (which I sadly had to buy - a sad tale of repeated frosts)!
Cheers
Chris
Fran, the BBQ seems to be the winner for outdoor cooking - makes sense, that is what it was invented for:) I love your all-year sparkly lights tree idea. Would love to see photos:) and extra credit points for fixing the fly screen and getting outdoor cooking power in one fell swoop..
Chris, a little benchtop oven? What a good idea.. peaches - dry them, they are my favourite dried fruit. If you don't have a dehydrator, do them in the wee oven on low heat. Or in the sun. It's certainly hot enough. Or make fruit leather. Yum.
With days of high 30°s, we know all about how to cook dinner without eating the house. A favourite is a variety of salads, wrap bread and chicken kebabs cooked outdoors on the BBQ. We have this every week during summer. And, after Christmas, mix it up with leftover Christmas ham, adding small potatoes steamed in the microwave, mixed in with sour cream and chives. The man also has a small gas element in which he stirfries things in a wok. And he takes the rice cooker outside.
What a gorgeous dog! How lucky to dogsit - to have the joy and fun without the long term responsibilities.