Sunday, August 21, 2022

Cooking Adaptations

In 96°F weather, who wants to heat their home with the side effects of preparing a hot meal? Who wants to boil pasta and create steam inside, or switch the oven on to 400°F to cook a roast dinner, or bake a cake? Who wants 'global' warming inside their house? (Hmm, I shouldn't even run a vacuum cleaner, since it will generate heat in the house - best excuse ever!)

I've resorted to using our outside gas grill to prepare dinner during this hot summer. I have an outdoor table, and carry my cutting board, vegetables, utensils, and condiments outside for my prep and supervision - chicken in a creamy sauce in a pan on the grid, boiling rice, Thai curry in a saucepan over the grill, sautéed potatoes, pasta. I don't experiment much with grilling meat directly over flames and grid, but I can still use my grill to whip up a meal in my outdoor kitchen. When the pasta is boiled, I drain it outside, letting the hot water drain through the colander onto the decking.


Plus, there are the added benefits of being outside to experience the sunset


I've been investigating no-bake desserts, too - some cheesecakes, ice creams and fridge (icebox) cakes, which may need a small amount of microwaving to cook the thickening agent, 5-7 minutes.

Will climate change drive us back outside, back to more primitive, down-to-earth ways, to cope ... ?