Summer Eating

Wow, it took a while, but summer is definitely here.   My garden is slowly catching up after a cool, wet spring, and today I impatiently picked a few not-quite-ripe raspberries and some extra large snow peas that were hiding in the copious foliage of the 6 foot tall vines. 

The shift in weather brings with it a necessary shift in eating, too.  Although we have air conditioning and I close the curtains and blinds as the sun bursts through the kitchen windows around mid-day, the back of the house still gets hot quickly.  Obviously I limit the use of the oven as much as I can, baking only at night and roasting in the toaster oven if I can get away with it. Even just simmering a pot of soup or boiling water for pasta (or canning) on the stove can make the kitchen air thick and sticky.  I've found over the years that I use my crockpot more in the summer than in the cooler months.  It doesn't really heat up the kitchen, and there is minimal effort involved.  I also barbecue.  A lot.  And we eat lighter things like salads, or grilled pizzas.  Actually, I've made a lot of naan bread this summer, and that's just a topping or two away from do it yourself pizza.

I'm always on the look out for summer friendly meals that we'll all eat*.  Today I came across a post on Chow about playing with stuffed potato skins, changing up the fillings to make a variety of tasty treats.  I love potato skins!  The post (here) was put up in March, but I can see these being an easy go-to for a hot day.  A side of fresh salads and a cold drink would definitely round the meal out.  And even Little Mister, my 6 year old who eats a lot of things, but not ground meat and never cheese (except on pizza), said that he'd like to try them... with his own filling - black beans, corn and salsa.  Sure!  Sounds great!

* For more ideas, check out these two fabulous posts (and don't forget to follow their blogs for a wealth of inspiration throughout the year)  -
http://mixingbowlkids.typepad.com/family_bites/2011/07/meal-planning-monday.html
 - great summer meals for the whole week
http://www.simplebites.net/frozen-treats-cherry-limeade-popsicle-recipe/ - part of a week long series of posts about frozen treats (because dessert is part of dinner too!)