Not having a working air conditioner in my car focuses the mind a bit. I had invited my parents over for dinner tonight and I told them it was going to be a variety of salads, because the air conditioner in our house struggles to keep it below 80 degrees when it is this hot, and I don't plan on using the oven until, say, September. To beat the heat, I was at the grocery this morning at 7:00 a.m., and I had everything done and in the refrigerator by 9:30 a.m. I went through my Everyday Food collection and made my list last night, so I was ready bright and early this morning. Which was good, because it was 85 degrees by 7:30 a.m. But I've been terrible at making meals lately, so I knew by inviting people over, I'd get motivated.
I made a pasta/tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, a chicken/artichoke salad, a tuna/apple salad, a corn/radish/chilies salad, and a TexMex 7-layer dip for a little something different. Oh, and fresh blueberries and strawberries with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I love "cooking" this way, and hopefully I will do a little better, at least for the next week or so, now that I've gotten started.
Corn and radish salad from July/August 2004 (pretty, but a little bland, needs something)
Pasta salad, inspired by
rigatoni with tomatoes and mozzarella, from June 2004, heavily modified.
8 layer dip, June 2010 (this was as delicious as it was pretty)
The chicken salad was a bit bland, but the apple/tuna salad was excellent. I used a
recipe from Allrecipes for it, and I'll definitely make it again.
Did I mention it was hot here?
Posted with Blogsy
Hot here, too. I made sautéed Italian sausages with red peppers and onions. I'm considering cutting up the watermelon now.
ReplyDeleteYour salads all look so pretty!
What a great roundup of salads! I'm all for salad dinners in hot weather (my black bean and corn salad is up for tonight). I think we naturally dial back on the calories when we're hot (except for my 23-year-old son, who seems to need to maximize calories at any and all opportunities).
ReplyDeleteYummy, great job with all the wonderful food. It is hot here,too. And HUMID!
ReplyDeleteMeredith
Looks yummy - will try the tuna salad with apples. So glad your parents (and their home)are fine. This past week we spent the hottest part of the day at the bookstore, in the library, at a movie (Brave), grocery shopping - afterwards we go to the pool and then dance and taekwondo in the evenings. Hope you get the ac in your car fixed soon so taht you can get to B&N and read books, drink lattes and knit - oh, wait that's what I would do if I were you. But a girl can dream, no? Have a great weekend!
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