Cooking and Eating in Summer

[Rosyrain]

I often don't cook in the summer. I'm a crockpot big batch person anyway because of my schedule. In the winter I would warm up my meal, but if I am hot I will eat it straight out of the refrigerator to cook myself down. It's amazing how many things can actually pretty pretty good cold when you are hot.

I agree with DaningLady, almost anything can be eaten cold when it is hot outside. I live in the Pacific Northwest US, and we do not see high temperatures very much either. When it does get miserable (and I mean anything above 80 degrees!) then it is cold salads, and cold foods for us. I like to make chicken salad wraps, cold garden chef salads, or make something on the grill outside. We love to bbq around my house.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Is that so about Boston? My sis lives there. I reckon I am going to have to bottle some sunshine for her. She looks forward to coming home every year to get away from some of the cold months. She's not doing particularly well physically so she gets help with her cooking. A Caribbean family takes care of her and she often speaks of a nice soup most weeks of the year. I guess in the colder months it's warmly received.

Trust me when I tell you.
That this past winter is in the history books as one of the worst & most brutal ones that we've had of all time!
It has even crippled our transit system almost to a standstill, and it took over a month to recover and for things to return to normal!!

 

[Diane Lane]

It's starting to get warm here - and by warm I mean we'll be lucky to actually enjoy the rest of spring without hitting 90 degrees and oppressive humidity. Once the heat is on I don't even want to eat some days let alone cook. I look for things that are simple to prepare that don't require spending time in a hot kitchen.

One of my favorite things is to make caprese. I also try to keep bean thread noodles and spring roll wrappers on hand so I can make rolls and not have to cook. I'd like to learn more about cooking outdoors (the old fashioned way) and I'd love to have a solar oven. (BTW, I don't grill/BBQ)

How do you escape the heat of summer, and what do you like to eat when it gets hot?

I keep forgetting to look for the spring roll wrappers when I'm at the store. Do you know which section they're usually in? These sound good for here, because it gets oppressively hot in the Summer, and I don't like the have the AC on any more than I need to, so I do tend to limit my cooking, especially to early morning and late night. I will still grill, but only occasionally, since I can't handle the outdoor heat much anymore. I'll have to look for a good recipe for these, and try it out.

 

[kana_marie]

BLTs are my favorite. Well, BLTs or sandwiches of any kind..

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yeah, I love that you can make cold meals by cooking the least amount possible for something cool and refreshing!!
Tuna sammies are good as well with potato chips!!

 

[ChanellG]

I keep forgetting to look for the spring roll wrappers when I'm at the store. Do you know which section they're usually in? These sound good for here, because it gets oppressively hot in the Summer, and I don't like the have the AC on any more than I need to, so I do tend to limit my cooking, especially to early morning and late night. I will still grill, but only occasionally, since I can't handle the outdoor heat much anymore. I'll have to look for a good recipe for these, and try it out.

It depends on the size and type of store, but I think most major grocers now have an Asian section or at least an ethnic foods aisle. You can also get them at places like World Market and through mail order. It was oppressively hot here just yesterday when the humidity kicked in! It was only in the 80s outside, but my body wasn't ready for the change. Amazing what a little moisture can do.

 

[ChanellG]

BLTs are my favorite. Well, BLTs or sandwiches of any kind..

Yeah, I love that you can make cold meals by cooking the least amount possible for something cool and refreshing!!
Tuna sammies are good as well with potato chips!!

I don't eat much bread, but I recently got into making tuna wraps in tortillas. I want to try making lettuce wraps, though I'm also looking at ways to make tuna salad without mayo, which I don't like so wouldn't keep on hand. I forgot about the BLT quickie - have to pick up some more soy "bacon."

 

[Rosyrain]

I keep forgetting to look for the spring roll wrappers when I'm at the store. Do you know which section they're usually in? These sound good for here, because it gets oppressively hot in the Summer, and I don't like the have the AC on any more than I need to, so I do tend to limit my cooking, especially to early morning and late night. I will still grill, but only occasionally, since I can't handle the outdoor heat much anymore. I'll have to look for a good recipe for these, and try it out.

Spring roll wrappers are usually in the frozen Asian food section of the store. We have a lot of Asian people around here and so there are a lot of markets specifically for Asian food, as well as a lot of Asian food at the regular grocery stores. I like using lumpia wrappers as well because they are bigger, but they can be much harder to find if you do not have a FIllipino community in your city.

 

[Diane Lane]

Thanks, I'll be going to the store soon, and will have a look see and hopefully can pick some up. I always keep tortillas on hand, and often have pitas here, as well. I think the spring roll wrappers will help me cook less, so I'll start looking for some recipes on the different ways I can use them.

 

[ChanellG]

Spring roll wrappers are usually in the frozen Asian food section of the store. We have a lot of Asian people around here and so there are a lot of markets specifically for Asian food, as well as a lot of Asian food at the regular grocery stores. I like using lumpia wrappers as well because they are bigger, but they can be much harder to find if you do not have a FIllipino community in your city.

Thanks, I'll be going to the store soon, and will have a look see and hopefully can pick some up. I always keep tortillas on hand, and often have pitas here, as well. I think the spring roll wrappers will help me cook less, so I'll start looking for some recipes on the different ways I can use them.

Spring roll wrappers are dried, not frozen. Those are probably egg roll wrappers, which need to be cooked and are most often deep fried. Spring roll wrappers are sold dry in stores that have an Asian food section and are soaked in warm water, drained or patted dry on towels, and then filled with the food items of choice - usally bean thread noodles or sushi roll type ingredients.

They should look like this:

And then you wrap them burrito style like this:

 

[Diane Lane]

Spring roll wrappers are dried, not frozen. Those are probably egg roll wrappers, which need to be cooked and are most often deep fried. Spring roll wrappers are sold dry in stores that have an Asian food section and are soaked in warm water, drained or patted dry on towels, and then filled with the food items of choice - usally bean thread noodles or sushi roll type ingredients.

They should look like this:

And then you wrap them burrito style like this:

I looked in the regular Asian food section of my local Kroger, and didn't see any spring roll wrappers. I'll try the other Kroger, or maybe even Walmart would have them. I can always hit Hong Kong Market if nowhere else has them.

@ChanellG, I used to work with a Vietnamese family and they would cook for us when we had home meetings, and it was delicious. I wouldn't mind trying both kinds, but i'd probably use the dried ones for Summer cooking. I did see seaweed sheets there, but none of these ^^^. I saw Ching-He Huang use those before, and really want to try them! BTW, do you know anything about the seaweed sheets? I wouldn't mind trying those at some point, but don't know how to use them. I'd probably try to use them similarly to the spring roll wrappers, if they would function in the same manner.

 

[kana_marie]

A good fruit salad, or a spinach leaf salad are great, as well. I'm guessing you don't eat meat? You can't go wrong at all, ever, with salads.

 

[Berties]

Spring roll wrappers are dried, not frozen. Those are probably egg roll wrappers, which need to be cooked and are most often deep fried. Spring roll wrappers are sold dry in stores that have an Asian food section and are soaked in warm water, drained or patted dry on towels, and then filled with the food items of choice - usally bean thread noodles or sushi roll type ingredients.

They should look like this:

And then you wrap them burrito style like this:

I've used a product similar to this before a few years ago ,I'm sure we called it rice wrappers ,I kept them in the office as they are so delicate ,we passed the disc through boiling water and you stuff them straight away but you serve them cold
My favourite variety and yes it sounds odd was fresh prawn and mint,with shredded crisp lettuce,a delicious summer roll

 

[ChanellG]

I've used a product similar to this before a few years ago ,I'm sure we called it rice wrappers ,I kept them in the office as they are so delicate ,we passed the disc through boiling water and you stuff them straight away but you serve them cold
My favourite variety and yes it sounds odd was fresh prawn and mint,with shredded crisp lettuce,a delicious summer roll

That doesn't sound odd at all, lol, that sounds like lunch! Can I have peanut sauce with that? The only thing missing was bean thread noodles. I've always thought the wrappers were rice, but unless there is more than one type, it appears they are made from tapioca. Either way, I love the convenience of them and that you can have them "cold."

 

[ChanellG]

I looked in the regular Asian food section of my local Kroger, and didn't see any spring roll wrappers. I'll try the other Kroger, or maybe even Walmart would have them. I can always hit Hong Kong Market if nowhere else has them.

@ChanellG, I used to work with a Vietnamese family and they would cook for us when we had home meetings, and it was delicious. I wouldn't mind trying both kinds, but i'd probably use the dried ones for Summer cooking. I did see seaweed sheets there, but none of these ^^^. I saw Ching-He Huang use those before, and really want to try them! BTW, do you know anything about the seaweed sheets? I wouldn't mind trying those at some point, but don't know how to use them. I'd probably try to use them similarly to the spring roll wrappers, if they would function in the same manner.

I was at Walmart yesterday and I didn't see the wrappers. Is there a World Market near you? They sell them, as does Whole Foods. There's an online Asian food grocer I get emails from; I'll try and remember to check to see if they have them.

I love Nori - the seaweed sheets. You can use them for hand rolling sushi, snipped or torn over rice, or in soup. You can get little rectangles of it roasted and salted for snacking.