keep cool this summer

Saturday July 10, 2010

I wished for it to happen, and summer has finally arrived here in Vancouver with a bang. I’m all aglow, which according to my tenth grade gym teacher is just a pretty word for sweat. I’m sweaty, a little bit uncomfortable and loving every minute of it. Hello summer! Sweltering hot summer days in the pacific northwest happen often, but not often enough, so most people don’t have air conditioning here. Somehow we manage. I decided to put together a little list of recipes from my archives that will help to keep you cool without breaking into a sweat this summer. Enjoy!

Ice Creams & Frozen Treats
Get your hot summer licks here! Ice cream, sherbet and popsicles…these treats cool you off and taste so good that I just had to put them first.

Refreshing Drinks
For an instant cool down, sip on one of these instant refreshers.

Summer Salads
Who says that every salad has to be green? Here are some of my favorite salads to make for summer or anytime.

Cool Dips & Sandwiches
Kind of funny that my blog screams out sandwiches, but I hardly ever post about them. Well, no more. Here’s a list of some of my favorite sandwiches & dips.

Summer Meals
Yes, most of these meals use the stove and the oven, but they’re perfect for those cooler evenings (or if you are lucky enough to have air conditioning).

Filed in: summer
Tags: hot weather, recap

20 comments to “keep cool this summer”

1

vanillasugar July 10, 2010 at 8:28 am

i am so making that n. carolina slaw. oh yes.
i have a/c this year and i am thankful. we’ve had just unreal humidity here on cape cod.
i’ve been eating a lot of pineapple popsicles as meals. lol
2

Maddie July 10, 2010 at 9:39 am

Wow, I have a feeling that I’ll be returning to this post often over the next few months. I come home from the market with an armful of amazing ingredients, then puzzle over what to make. That dilemma is now solved—thanks for putting this list together!
3

Sues July 10, 2010 at 2:59 pm

This is a great roundup! I really want to make the lavender mint lemonade and lamb tacos… mmmmm 🙂
4

Megan Gordon July 10, 2010 at 6:56 pm

Oh my god…this could keep me busy for weeks. What a fabulous list. I’m having very old high school friends over next weekend for a BBQ and have started to think about salads and side dishes. This has proved to be inspiring. Thanks so much. Happy weekend!
5

Bijoux July 10, 2010 at 10:04 pm

This post is great! I will be needing to refer to many of the no-oven recipes as we are due for ‘heat wave part deux’ this coming week! And I am A/C deficient too. Glad to hear you are finally enjoying the hot Summer weather!
6

sarah July 11, 2010 at 2:03 am

I made ice cream for the first time last week. It was not as hard as I thought! And it was oh, so tasty. I made strawberry flavour, which made it clear that all commercially produced strawberry ice creams have never even seen a strawberry, let alone contain any! Thanks for the inspiration.
7

Joanne July 11, 2010 at 4:15 am

I love this collection of summer food! First of all, I could inhale all the ice cream…fantastic flavors. Second of all…wow. So much to cook and so little time.
8

Tanya July 11, 2010 at 5:43 am

I will echo what others have said: thank you, thank you, thank you for this round-up. I have several recipes on my “to-make” list today. We have had temps in the high 90s (ouch!) and cooking is not an option! Now, what to do with all those cukes coming out of the garden? 🙂
9

karen July 11, 2010 at 9:24 am

oh my, thank you for making this list! very convenient — although i have to admit that my favourite procrastinating activity is browsing through your recipe archives!
10

Kimberly July 11, 2010 at 10:06 am

This list is insane! Thank you so much for posting – I feel as if I hit the jackpot!
11

Dina July 12, 2010 at 12:52 am

Hi, I looooove ice cream but can never make for myself as I am almost useless in the kitchen except when cooking for survival. Your list and recipes are so tempting!
12

Liz July 12, 2010 at 8:00 am

I was just looking for good summer lunch recipes, thank you so much for this post!
13

Eva July 12, 2010 at 9:26 am

Awesome list! I can’t wait to try the lavender mint lemonade & the bbq chicken sandwich with the slaw! I now need to go buy an ice cream maker also!
14

Simply Life July 12, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Oh wow, I’m getting so hungry just looking at your blog!
15

stephchows July 13, 2010 at 5:50 am

totally tastiness overload!!
16

kickpleat July 13, 2010 at 11:36 am

The humidity in the east is harsh, vanilla sugar! I used to grow up near Toronto and the summers were plain evil. Popsicles make a fine meal, I think!

Thanks Maddie, glad I could help sort out some of your summer meals.

Thanks Sues, very good choices 🙂

Glad I could inspire, Megan!

Bijoux, it was a short-lived blast of heat. It’s sunny now, but a bit cooler. I don’t mind!

Sarah, ice cream is easy and yes, strawberry ice cream homemade is so good.

Summers are too short, Joanne! I agree, so much to try.

Yay, glad I could help Tanya! As for the cukes, I’ve got just a few cuke recipes since I’m relatively new to cuke-loving!

Karen, I’m so glad to hear that you love browsing through my archives. You don’t know how happy that makes me!

Enjoy the jackpot, Kimberly.

Thanks Dina! Ice cream is survival, isn’t it?

Glad I could help, Liz.

Thanks Eva, Simply Life and stephchows!
17

Shaheen {The Purple Foodie} July 19, 2010 at 12:06 am

What a fantastic round-p of recipes!
18

tiina { sparkling ink } July 22, 2010 at 12:16 am

What a list of perfect summer food. Gonna make the roasted tomato pasta salad!
19

kickpleat July 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Thanks Shaheen.

Tiina, it’s a good one. Enjoy!

Everybody Likes Sandwiches