10 Quintessential Ways to Get Cooking Without Sweating

When the temperature outside is soaring, the kitchen feels like an oven. It is said, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. But you cannot starve now, can you? Here are 10 Quintessential Ways to Get Cooking Without Sweating

1. Plan your Meals

Menu Courtesy: Uncluttered Simplicity

Mix your cooking and meal options, it makes cooking bearable. Innovate and plan ahead to make your summer cooking quick and cool. Sandwiches for breakfast, salad for lunch, shakes and juices are a big hit in summer. The stove will only radiate more heat in the kitchen

2. Cold Cuts

You may wish for a magic wand or a genie to lay the table with exotic food but every meal doesn’t have to be hot. Try cold meals like salads, gazpacho, sushi or custard that will cool you down from the inside.

3. Cold Brews

Swap your hot tea with iced tea and your steaming coffee for a cold brew. You do not need to heat water on the stove or in your kettle. Make a jug full and last for the whole day. This will take care of those thirsty pleas for refills.

4. Cook Early in The Morning

The best way to avoid the heat in the kitchen is by cooking early in the morning. Here in South India, we have only two seasons; Summer and more summer! Cooking early morning has become a tradition.

5. Super Salads

Concoct Salads that are cool and refreshing. There are so many choices and you can take your pick. My favourite is the watermelon, strawberry Caprese, pesto pasta, sweet corn, quick Greek salad, boiled potato, or the kids’ favourite fruit salad.

10 Quintessential Ways to Get Cooking Without Sweating

6. Scrumptious Sandwiches

If you follow the golden rule of Breakfast like a king, rustle up a quick sandwich with cucumber and tomato slices. Cucumbers keep you hydrated during summers. Recipe: Firstly, slice cucumbers and tomatoes. Lather some hung curd over the bread slices, pile on the cucumber and tomato slices. Sprinkle some pink salt and pepper. Your breakfast is ready. You can eat it right away or toast it in the sandwich maker. Calories of toasted bread aren’t any less than untoasted bread calories. But toasted bread has a lower glycaemic index which is good for diabetics.

7. Cold soups

Cold Soups like gazpacho, cold cucumber or tomato soup do not need cooking and are refreshing on the sultry summer days.

8. Induction Cooker

Make the most of kitchen appliances like the induction cooker that has no flame. Induction cookers create heat only in the pan you cook in. It works over electromagnetism and does not radiate heat. A suitable option in summer, it does not heat the air around but the heat in the pan is even and cooks faster than a stove. Save on time and save on heat.

9. Rice Cooker

Blame it on summer laziness or fatigue, if you don’t feel like spending hours cooking a lavish meal, you have this little genie in your kitchen that will save you from the searing stove. Yes, that’s what the rice cooker can do for you.

Rice cookers are not just limited to boiling rice perfectly. They are incredibly versatile. Yes, they are slow but you can stay cool while it cooks for you. You can cook rice, pulao, khichdi, risotto, steam idlis, momos or vegetables, boiled eggs, boil spinach for palak paneer. Make a frittata or a cake, make pancakes, mac & Cheese, cereal or quinoa and any other you would like to share.

10. Don’t Cook!

Yes, that is an option too. Ordering in food is a very common trend post the pandemic. People used order-in food to uplift spirits, celebrate an event, a special occasion or catch up with friends. Why cannot it be an excuse for avoiding cooking?