Summer Time and the Living is Easy

Wow! The weather has been ridiculous recently! Up in the high 90's to low 100's every day with wicked, wicked thunderstorms with violent wind and hail. The restaurant kitchen has been correspondingly hot. It rarely gets below 95F and at the peak of summer heat (such as the last two weeks) it approaches 120F. Tony and I have been nearly drowning in our own sweat. So, you can imagine my enthusiasm for cooking on my day off this time of year. Yeah, it's somewhere between slim and none, and none left town.

Quite paradoxically though, this is my favorite time of year to cook because all the summer fruits and vegetables are at their absolute peak of perfection. That's quite a problem I have: wanting to cook and hating to cook all at the same time. What's a guy to do?

Sunday I knew I wasn't going to cook. Primarily because of the scorching week we've had, but also because I knew I was going to spend several hours on Sunday morning out working in the yard, trying to get one of our flower gardens in shape. At 7:30 when I started, it was nearly 90 degrees and by the time I finished, I have no idea how hot it was. But I did know that cooking dinner was not an option.

Planning ahead, I chose a no-cook dinner of tomatoes, corn, and peaches from the market. And a good thing too. A violent thunderstorm ripped through just before dinner time leaving hail all over the yard and leaving us without power.

Dinner was awesome! The first tomatoes and corn of the year are something I look forward to each year, and who doesn't like a juicy peach?

Summer time: I hate the weather and cooking in the heat but with the abundance of great fruits and vegetables, the living is easy!



Tomato Cucumber Salad with Feta and Basil



A Light Grilling Adds Smokiness to Fresh Corn