In addition to the typical challenges of grad school, cooking in warm weather (sans air conditioning) became another obstacle that I had to face. I doubt that I am alone; I am sure there are fellow students who are trying to save on bills (or go green) by opting to not use air conditioners. With this sacrifice comes a new issue: how to cook appetizing summer food in the sweltering heat of an apartment or house.
While chatting with my mother a few weeks ago and expressing frustration over how to cook in the summer heat, she suggested making a pasta salad. She really sold me on the idea when she added that I could make a big pot’s worth to have leftovers for the week. Though that day was looking to be a scorcher, I lucked out since it was still early in the morning when we spoke, so I had time to cook while it was relatively cool. My advice for the optimal cooking experience is to plan ahead by looking at the forecast to see when it would be most comfortable to cook.
Cool days sometimes do not come as often as we would like, as has been the case lately on the East Coast. When such a day graces you with its presence, I recommend milking it for all it’s worth; if you have the time and ingredients, try cooking in bulk within the same day. You might try making two different pasta salads, or perhaps a pasta salad and some other type of salad (i.e. potato, bean, egg).
While I love lettuce-based salads in the summer, there are two significant benefits to choosing an alternative like pasta as the basis for your salad:
1. Cost: During a recent trip to Shaw’s, the cheapest lettuce I could find was a package of three hearts for $3.69; I was able to snag a box of pasta for $1.29.
2. Flexibility: Pasta allows more cooking flexibility for the busy student; half a package yields several servings, while the rest can be stored for another cool day without danger of spoiling. Lettuce-based salads may not heat up the kitchen, but you have a smaller window of opportunity for preparation.
Once you find a day to cook, half the battle is won since the cooking process (for pasta salad) is fairly simple:
After cooking the pasta uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, draining it, rinsing with cold water, and then draining again, you are free to customize it as you wish. That’s all there is to it!
Pasta salad is a pretty good idea. Other good options are omelets (fast cooking time, and have you ever thought about how cheap eggs are? 1.19 a dozen?) or scrambled eggs (if you fail to flip your omelet properly).
ReplyDeleteOr use a slow cooker. You don't have to do anything but prep your ingredients and throw them in, and slow cookers generate very little heat.
A grill, if you're lucky enough to have one (I do in my new apartment!). If not, see if you can get a tabletop grill: again, this will generate much less heat than the oven or stovetop.
A toaster oven. Seriously. They call it an oven for a reason. You can bake just about anything in there that you could in a regular oven, and it won't heat up the entire room. Sure, it's smaller, but you can adapt, and it's worth it not to be sticking-to-your-chair sweaty.