Summer is officially here and with it lots of sunshine and heat. Even here in the gorgeous temperate Bay Area, we’re already seeing record temperatures. We huddle inside with the air conditioner (if you’re lucky), venturing out only once the sun goes down and there is relief.
The heat changes a lot about our behavior, especially in terms of what we eat and drink. You couldn’t pay me enough to turn on the oven these days. Even standing over the stove isn’t that appealing. So it’s all about the grill or “heatless” meals for me. And even beyond cooking methods, the style of food we want to eat when it’s hot also changes. A lasagna (even if I don’t have to turn the oven on to cook it) just isn’t appetizing when it’s a sweltering, humid 90+ outside. We turn to lighter fare: salads, cold pastas, light seafoods, cold tapas/charcuterie. Even our red meat dishes go lighter in the summer, changing from braises to burgers.