Sweaty and Burnt-Out? This Recipe Round-Up is Your Cool Down! 😎🍹
A complete guide to Summer recipes, without the heat
This week I asked my Instagram community to send in questions related to food, and anything else. One rose to the top…
“We just moved into a historic home without AC and I've been having to adapt my cooking to not overheat our already warm house. Do you have ideas for low-heat recipes, and are there any in your meal plans?” - Danielle
I love this question! So relevant for late summer when we’re hot, sticky, and tapped out!
Our family lives in an 1890’s farmhouse without AC, and we also struggle to keep the house cool. I try to cook on the grill, or make low-to-no-cook meals indoors. The summer meal plans are a good example of my flow (recipe round-up below).
Also, I wrote a book on this! If you don’t already have Feast By Firelight: Simple Recipes for Camping, Cabins, and the Great Outdoors, it’s a great resource (if I do say so myself) for outdoor cooking on the grill, camp stove, or cookfire. Plus, nearly all recipes include instructions for cooking indoors. It’s $9.94 on Amazon right now!!!
But there’s more! To get you started with some solid recipe inspiration, I’ll list a round-up of low-to-no-cook and grilling recipes from the June, July, and August Meal Plans (August plan dropping Monday, August 5th).
Following that, I’ll link to several additional, free recipes from my archives.
Finally, I’ll suggest a few extra tips for low-to-no-cook recipes and batch cooking protein.
Meal Plan Recipes
These are all located in the June, July, and August Meal Plans for paid subscribers. (Today’s the last day to upgrade with the current 33% discount - $3.99/mo!).
Pantry Recipes
Marinara Pantry Pasta with Tuna (or Chickpeas) and Capers: Short cooking time for pasta, and otherwise an assembly of pantry ingredients
Lemony French Lentil Salad with Tomatoes and Cukes: 20 minutes to cook lentils, and otherwise assemble and serve cold
Grilling & Campfire Recipes
Crispy Za’atar Grilled Chicken with Steamed Green Beans
Easy Grilled Salmon with Corn Salsa
Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti with Grilled Corn: Short cooking time for pasta
Fire-Roasted Piggies in Blankets with Veggie Kebabs
Coal-Baked Potatoes with All The Fixings
Fire-Licked Skirt Steak with Mamma’s Salsa Verde
Dressings, Desserts and Drinks
Dressings are a fabulous way to douse loaded, no-cook salads
Favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette
Honey-Mustard Dressing
Lemony Yogurt Dressing & Marinade
Blueberry-Cardamom Frozen Yogurt Pops: Tiny bit of cooking time for blueberries, but you can also skip this step
August Recipes (Arriving this Monday, August 5th)
Zucchini “Pappardelle” Pasta with Pesto: Gluten-Free, Vegan Pasta Dish
Easy, Classic Niçoise Salad with Variations (GF / V Optional)
Supergreen Vegan Pesto
If you haven’t joined my paid subscriber community yet, today is the last day to upgrade with 33% off ($3.99/mo) and get access to the August Meal Plan, past meal plans, recipe archives, and monthly discounts.
If cost is a barrier, please email me for partial or full scholarship options.
Archive Recipes
Pesto Garlic Bread: can be done on the grill or campfire
Bok Choy Wedge Salad: minimal cooking for bacon and dressing, both of which can be done on the grill or campfire
Low-To-No-Cook Tips
Generally, summer is about salads. I love making dressings in the blender that can be used for salads loaded with any combination of the following:
Protein: shredded chicken, hard-boiled eggs, canned seafood, canned beans
Nuts and seeds
Olives and capers
Thinly sliced or shredded vegetables
My twin sister and I were recently loving a classic Greek Salad with leftover grilled chicken, pitted kalamata olives, a good sheep’s milk feta, thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, and fresh greens. Mmmm mmm.
I also love batch cooking sauces that can be used throughout the week (or put up in the freezer for winter):
Pesto is a blender-friendly, no cook sauce that goes a long way. You can make a simple pesto pasta, spread it on focaccia and top with mozzarella, prosciutto, and tomatoes, serve it with grilled chicken, or make garlic bread!
Hummus and other dips like black bean dip are excellent no-cook dunkers loaded with protein and versatile to use. (I have a yummy, easy hummus recipe in Feast by Firelight, and a beet hummus recipe in Seasonal Family Almanac).
I also love to batch cook a key ingredient every other day or once a week, that I can use throughout the week:
Hard-boiled eggs don’t take long on the stove, and you can store them for up to 1 week and eat cold on salads, sliced on bread with butter and salt, as an egg salad, deviled eggs (try these Kimchi Deviled Eggs) and more.
Cream cheese and goat cheese are primary vehicles for mixing in flavor-boosters like fresh herbs, and my favorite, smoked salmon!
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or Braised Beef: This goes on salads and tacos. In the summer, the Instant Pot is your friend! It’s a fantastic way to cook hot food without heating up your kitchen. This is the one I have and trust me, it’s become an indispensable tool. Quick poll…
Submit Your Questions
I’d love to hear if you have a question you want to submit or a favorite low-to-no-cook summer recipes! Chances other people will have the same question or welcome your recipe inspiration. Share with us in the comments below!
Of course if you want to keep your question anonymous, just respond here by email.
Whew, is everyone feeling cooler now?!
Drinking the nighttime-breeze,
♡ Emma