(Un)Cooking for a Heatwave
How to avoid turning on your oven or hob ...
My gorgeous kitchen crew,
How are you doing? I am pressing pause on that promised cauli mac recipe, and interrupting with this emergency post.
I have friends in Paris, Dublin, Barcelona and London, asking for cooling recipes that do not require turning on an oven or hob. Their apartments already feel like ovens. Oh lordy.
Below, I’ve listed some banging recipes to help you through the hot week ahead.
Tips that work for me?
Hanging out in Lidl supermarket or Marks & Spencer grocery stores at midday for a dose of air conditioning! Especially if you have little paws to cool down.
Freeze and use “injury pads” regularly, by placing them on your body for some instant cooling.
Close your shutters/curtains during the day to block the sun’s rays from heating up your home
Keep windows open, get those fans spinning.
Have a few wet towels on the floor for pets. Ice their water bowls too.
Try to stay well hydrated - eat lots of fruit or watermelon to assist with hydration if you don’t feel like chugging water. Electrolytes are helpful.
Intense heat is enervating. Audiobooks are a welcome respite. Did you know that BorrowBox is a free app that Irish libraries use? You can download audio books for no charge, using your library card unique number. Lots of Booker Prize audio books to treat yourself to.
Go ahead and add to these tips, for other readers in need of inspo. What trick has worked for you?
In the meantime, go forth and make juggernauts of joy! First up? Something to sip and keep your cool. Keep reading.
See you next week for cauli mac lovebombs?
Love, light, SPF and slushies galore,
SJ
x
To sip:
Mango lassi (pictured above right)
Lemon sorcery and rooibos iced tea
Grapefruit and ginger slushie (pictured above left)
Iced gazpacho soup (pictured bottom right)
Chilled pea and mint soup (pictured top of page)
Hazelnut frappe (pictured above bottom left) Uses coffee ice cubes.
Iced hazelnut mocha for coffee lovers
To BBQ outdoors:
BBQ Broccolini & cooling kimchi cream
Cauli steaks (pictured above, bottom right quadrant)
Cucumber pickle for burgers
King oyster kebabs (pictured above, bottom left quadrant) One of my favourite meals
Portobello Shawarma with flatbreads and yoghurt
BBQ hispi with miso butter (top left)
Veggie burger (photographed top right)
Picnic ideas:
Energy Balls for the beach bag (pictured above, top left quadrant)
Sneaky Bean Bars (pictured above, bottom left) also great for airports
Soft boiled eggs, for picnics on the beach
Beetroot hummus for beach bags with crackers or carrots
Batch-prep Matcha Chia Puds (picturted above, top right quadrant)
Green omelet (pictured above, bottom right quadrant) Travels well, wrapped in foil
Other excellent heatwavy (not spendy) ideas:
Sprouted lentils (no cooking!)
Turmeric pickled onions to elevate any salad
A no-bake cake (chilled miso mudpie)
Kefir granita straight from the freezer (pictured underneath)
Goat’s cheese bonbons straight from the fridge
Pomegranate & Pistachio Halva (but you can sub it for almonds & dates)
Frozen Monkey Money
Acai beet bowls (pictured above right)
Black coffee granita (pictured above left)
Tahini, bananas, walnut and honey summer breakfast
