Summer Tips for the Kitchen

Staying cool during a heat wave can be difficult! Especially when dinner needs to be cooked. The Consumer Energy Center provides tips and tricks to help your home stay comfortable no matter what the season. Source: http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/tips/cool_in_the_kitchen.html They recommend cooking extra meals on cooler days to be frozen and then using the microwave to re-heat them. They also recommend using skillets to cook if you need to and then covering any pans (to prevent the heat from filling up the kitchen). The best part of their tips is that they provide, nice "cool" summer recipies. There are several different options, I'm only attaching one "food' and one 'drink.' To see the others, you'll have to visit their site for yourself.

Ginger-Lemon Salad Soup

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 40 minutes if quick-chilled NOTES: Serve with chopsticks and a spoon, or a fork and spoon. MAKES: 4 servings

2 stalks (each 12 to 15 in.) fresh lemon grass 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger 1 quart fat-skimmed chicken broth or vegetable broth 2 ounces dried thin rice noodles (mai fun or rice sticks) 2/3 cup long, thin carrot shreds 2/3 cup long, thin daikon shreds 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves 2 tablespoons slivered fresh mint leaves Asian fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla) or salt

1. Rinse lemon grass; trim and discard stem ends and leaves, and pull off and discard coarse outer layer. Cut stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. In a 2- to 3-quart pan over high heat, combine lemon grass, ginger, and broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Quick-chill soup or cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

3. Meanwhile, in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart pan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rice noodles and stir to separate. Cook until tender to bite, about 3 minutes. Pour into a fine strainer over the sink and rinse with cold water until cool, about 1 minute. With scissors, cut noodles in 2 or 3 places to make smaller pieces.

4. In a bowl, mix noodles, carrot, and daikon.

5. Pour broth mixture through a fine strainer into four wide bowls; discard residue. Mound noodle mixture equally in centers of bowls. Scatter cilantro and mint on top. Add fish sauce to taste.

Per serving: 102 cal., 0.9% (0.9 cal.) from fat; 8.5 g protein; 0.1 g fat (0 g sat.); 16 g carbo (0.8 g fiber); 111 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Virgin Piña Colada

The tropical flavors of pineapple and coconut are perfect together blended with ice.

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup pineapple juice 1 cup crushed pineapple 1/2 cup coconut milk (canned or fresh) juice from one lime ice to top of blender

PREPARATION:

Blend ingredients until ice is slushy. Pour into frosted glasses and enjoy immediately.