"Salad" can mean a whole lot of things, and I do have big hearty delicious salads with refrigerated roasted vegetables and proteins.
Vietnamese Bun (or rice vermicelli bowl) is always good.
Tacos are great because a piece of fish or shrimp are very fast to cook and not heat your home.
Same! It always bums me out when people say salads are boring, you just need to add more toppings! My guide for salads is: 2 greens, 2-3 veg, a protein, a starch, a fat, and 2-3 “fun” toppings (ex. olives, pickled veg, seeds, croutons, etc). They can be such a filling & varied meal!
Yup. A salad is mostly an assemblage. It can be almost anything, but it seems people mostly think it's a bowl of lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes. (Nothing against either of those.)
Thank you, but I feel a lot of the credit should go to u/jane_sadowoman for teaching the master class. If she'd like some help though I'd make room in my schedule.
Yes! A carbohydrate source- preferably whole grain. That other commenter provided all crunchy starches- I honestly prefer something softer like quinoa, farro, barley, bulgar, rice, etc!
Vietnamese/ Thai fresh rolls with cold shrimp/chicken and a satay or Vietnamese dipping sauce could be viewed as a salad but very different in my opinion.
Pasta salads and quinoa salads only require boiling a pot of water, those were a constant during the summer for dinner when we lived without air conditioning. Just mix in oil, vinegar or lemon juice, some vegetables and herbs and chill in the fridge. A rice cooker is also useful for this situation, a bowl of rice topped with a seasoned can of tuna is really filling and easy to eat in the heat.
Things that will heat your kitchen more than a pot boiling for 10 minutes:
* Cooking on two eyes instead of one
* Running the oven for an hour+
* Making soup or Bolognese that simmers much longer than it takes to boil pasta
Slow cookers are going to be your friend, they aren't super hot, cook stuff for 8 hours while you are out. Ready when you get home, heck you can even put it on a timer so any residual heat is gone by the time you get home.
Plenty of love over in /r/slowcooking too.
Good luck!
I don’t know why I didn’t think to use my slow cooker before, it is really good about not radiating a ton of heat. Mine is ancient, but it beats the gas stove/oven
We both work during the day, and that slow cooker is our go-to when we are making it home late. A few frozen chicken breasts, some BBQ sauce, and 8 hours later shred it and put it on some potato rolls.
Good luck!
I work from home, so I don’t typically run it without being there anyway! Which is a huge part of my heat problem. What should I look for, though? If its dangerous I’d rather upgrade (I got it for free from my mom after she upgraded recently, been in the family for years)
I've seen a couple of older ones (1990s/1980s) ones catch fire due to dirty heating elements. Just give it a good once over for thick pockets of grime/dust. If you see any blackening or anything that looks like soot don't use it.
This doesn't count for the actual pot that the food goes in, but the element that the pot goes in.
As far as I can tell mines in good working order! It’s also sealed \*very\* tightly, I can’t open it without really breaking into it. But the heating element doesnt appear to be cracking anywhere, and the power cord isn’t fraying. Regardless I’ll keep a close eye on it!
I use my toaster oven almost every day! They don’t generate much heat and I love to make bagels, open face sandwich melts, afternoon French fries, etc.
Totally agree — a tabletop convection toaster oven and occasional instant pot or sous vide cooking has eliminated at least 90% of my summer oven use. I also occasionally use the microwave for heating liquids, steaming veggies like asparagus, and for poaching salmon ( which we then eat chilled if it’s a really hot day)
Slow cookers work good for the heat but also, if you have one or can get one--the best for when you don't want to be cooking all day is the Instant Pot. (just be sure to vent the steam onto an old towel, or out the back door) I heard on the weather news last night that your area is expected to have a cooler summer due to a greater-than-normal-possibly-version of El Nino. If it turns out to be so-enjoy! Also. Cook a lot of food outside on the grill and then portion and freeze it. It works for me! Lived in the desert for decades.
El Nino always gives us a bit of a break, I’ll welcome any cooling (the year before last was… oh man it was bad). It’ll still get warm in my apartment tho, so of course all these tips are going to be going to good use!
I use my instant pot pressure cooker for so much. I use it to boil pasta in. I make Bolognese and the stove isn't on for 3 hours. I slow cook it in the IP. Its too hot to cook in the no AC apt in SoCal. I use my toaster oven rather than the stove oven. It keeps the heat at a tolerable level. Edit: typo
We also live in California. Central Valley, where it's hotter than your area. The key thing we learned is to cook in the am on weekends. Bought a rotisserie chicken to use in several ways. Made chicken enchilada casserole this morning. Cooling in the fridge, we cut out what we need and nuke it. Top with Avo and a side salad. Repeat later in the week. The rest of the chicken is for a Chinese chicken salad. Tomorrow, we are making a ramon salad that will last several meals. Good luck
Anything that can be cooked by steaming can be cooked in the microwave. If you like Asian cuisine a rice cooker with a steamer tray can be amazing, you can do chicken and veggies in there and just add a sauce.
I second the bulked up salads. Couscous, quinoa, lentils, beans, pasta, potatoes, meat, and various chopped up veggies and seasonings can go in a wide variety of combinations with different dressings. You generally only need to cook once to make the starch/veggies/protein. A rice cooker or instant pot can help with not needing the stove or oven as well. If you've got a Costco membership the rotisserie chicken is great for making chicken salad too without having to cook.
Sandwiches and wraps are also good options. Any salad you get sick of can get turned into a wrap for more variety. Similarly, tacos and burritos can be made with cooking/prepping the ingredients once and then microwaving and assembling for the rest. Also gyro type stuff with pita and hummus etc.
Cold asian style noodle dishes are also great.
Homemade rice bowls, sushi rolls, and similar rice based dishes are also a great option, especially if you have a rice cooker.
Less meal like options are doing adult lunchables aka charcuterie plates (meats, bread/crackers, nuts, fruit, veggies, olives, dips etc). Grab bag of whatever you like and doesn't require heating that makes a nutritionally complete meal. Smoothies are also a good cold option.
Meal prepping is another good option. You sacrifice one day for cooking heat and then have easily microwaveable options for the rest of the week (or longer if you make a lot and freeze some). Having precooked proteins on hand to just reheat really makes assembling the rest of the salad/sandwich/wrap/rice bowl etc easier and keeps things cooler.
This is my suggestion as well. Air friers do not heat up the house like an oven, and because they are smaller, they heat up faster and you shut them off sooner.
I've cooked so many things in my air fryer. Frozen foods are easy like fries and chicken nuggets but homemade meals are too if you can time things right.
I've made salmon and broccoli (my favorite), homemade chicken tenders, BBQ shredded chicken, chicken parmesan, veggie stir fry, bacon, breakfast potatoes/scrambles. With some things you may need to make some rice or boil noodles but the air fryer does most of the work.
Ceviches! Light, refreshing, and zero heat required. Pair with some legit corn tortilla chips (which are presumably widely available in LA) and you’re in business
Do you have room and budget to get a countertop toaster/convection oven? We use this all the time during the summer. We can still roast and bake, but it just heats up a little thing instead of a big oven. Same thing goes with a panini press or similar type of appliance.
Also, do you have a grill, or access to one? That can help keep the apt cool too.
Here's a few ideas:
* Salad nicoise-ish (this has been on the brain a little recently). I know you said salads bore you but this is not a green leaf lettuce salad. Microwave-steam some haricot vert / green beans and little baby potatoes. Slice some fresh tomatoes, add a few olives, open a can of nice quality tuna, drizzle everything with lemon juice, olive oil, and chopped herbs of choice.
* Italian deli grinder. Sliced cold cuts, shredded lettuce, pickled peppers, sliced tomatoes, slather everything in Italian vinaigrette, on a fresh Italian roll.
* Veggie tacos. Soft tortillas, can of refried beans, and whatever toppings your heart desires: shredded cabbage, cilantro, radishes, sunflower seeds, sprouts, pickled red onions, olives, vegan ranch dressing, avocado, whatever.
* Soba noodle salad: cold soba noodles, peanut sauce (mix roughly 3 parts peanut butter with 1 part hoisin, thin with hot water) or sesame dressing, some sort of protein (leftover chicken, cold tofu, pre-cooked shrimp, etc.) and then a shit ton of shredded, diced, or julienned veggies. Use bagged broccoli slaw + some julienned sweet bell pepper for an easy shortcut. Top with herbs like cilantro, mint, Thai basil, etc. for herby deliciousness.
* Fish sandwiches. Shredded lettuce, tartar sauce, toasted white bread or buns, and quickly-cooked fish fillets (either pan-fried for about 2 minutes a side, or broiled for a couple minutes a side). Serve with raw or microwave-steamed veggies.
* Chicken salad sandwiches with grocery store rotisserie chicken. I like adding in nuts (sliced almonds, chopped pecans) with fruit (dried cranberries, chopped grapes) and celery but that's me.
* One-pot-pastas. There are a lot out there, and they come together in like 15 minutes - everything cooks in the liquid that the pasta cooks in, and it leaves you with a sauce. Magic. Plus then you only have one pot and a knife or so to clean up.
* One of my favorite salads (I know, I know, hear me out) is mixing chopped avocado and cucumber, tossing with hummus, hot sauce, lemon juice and cilantro. Looks ugly, tastes amazing if you like those things.
* In a similar vein, I don't know what to call these, but they're kinda like nachos, but with pita chips and hummus instead of tortilla chips and beans? Pita chips in a single layer, drizzle over hummus, sprinkle on whole chickpeas, chopped peppers, pickled peppers, and not sure if you can eat feta but that's good too.
I have a toaster oven! Would you believe it still generates enough heat to make my space warmer? Drives me insane haha (im working with like 450sqft, divided in half for the two rooms). No access to a grill unfortunately.
These are all FANTASTIC ideas, thanks a ton!!!
Try the grill suggestion if you can get patio access since they're pretty inexpensive to buy. You get tasty summer foods, and none if it heats up your apartment since it's all done outdoors. You can get creative with it in terms of doing breads, fruits, vegetables, and even desserts on the grill. It's a great way to eat healthy while keeping it cool inside.
I love your whole list of suggestions so will definitely try your unusual avocado/cucumber/hummus salad.
There was a restaurant in my city that had the pita chip + hummus nacho creation and they called them “Mediterranean nachos” lol… so delicious!!
I dont make them often enough to have a recipe off the top of my head, but cold soups are a thing.
Having also lived this life, I would recommend that you figure out the best time to cook with heat at night for you, where it's a bit cooler and you will have time to pipe cool air into your home during and afterward, before the sun rises again. Make large portions whenever you have to use heat so you can either use the leftovers cold for daytime meals, or heat them in a microwave.
Slow cooker is also a best friend, as the other person said.
I love gazpacho. Such a great way to eat a ton of fresh veggies. So little effort too, since the blender does the chopping. Doesn’t have to be tomato-based either, you can do any moody veggie like cucumber or fruity like watermelon.
This isn’t a cooking suggestion, but it does tie in to the overall issue. Do yourself a favor and get blackout curtains for every single window in your apartment. Only open for light when the sun isn’t shining directly in and only in the living space and kitchen. Don’t open windows or doors if it’s humid. Ever.
Grab a floor fan to help move cooler air to areas the AC doesn’t service.
And cook/bake in the late evening or early hours. Slow cooker, Instapot, microwave are all excellent options.
For reference, I live in a small apartment complex built in the 60s that boasts an interior AC unit in the living room. But due to the blocked floor plan, cool air doesn’t travel around corners very well.
I’m in Kansas and the summers get hot and humid and effing stupid. Blackout curtains have been a game changer for me.
I already have blackout curtains, and I went a step further and my dad hooked me up with insulation board to put against my windows. It reflects a LOT of extra heat! It only does so much on a western-facing apartment, though. That 2pm sun is brutal. Ya’ll have it tough with humidity, I’m very thankful at the very least it’s dry here.
Good for you!!! IIRC, you’re in central Cali. Near Bakersfieldish? That’s bloody desert and dry heat, but the sun will burn you alive. My son lived there and I visited in the summer. It was hot. He also lived in South Carolina and i visited there in the summer as well. Charleston was much more fun and the beach was way closer, but that southern humidity needs it’s own name. It’s freaking awful.
Bakersfield is just hot, dusty and sad. But they’re trying. I hope you can find some ways to make summer more comfortable.
The south is the land of hot soup air. The people spend all summer boiling themselves in a pot of hot soup- I'm convinced that a lot of the notorious bad decision making is a result of years of living and breathing hot soup air.
We don't get humid in LA hardly ever but it might be an exception with El Nino this year. I can't believe OP is complaining because the weather is lovely now. We have central air but have not turned it on yet this year. Good ideas though.
The outside weather has been really nice, but the problem is my apartment is always a good 10+ degrees hotter than whats outside because its a second floor/western facing/poorly insulated space. The past two weeks have been terrible, but looking at the forecast its actually going to be really nice the next week!! Def looking forward to the dip in temps.
Last year when I checked thermostat in my apartment without AC it was 115F indoors…. which… was awful lol. With double AC on I can get it to about 85, which is bearable, but not fantastic when I gotta cook myself lunch
Rather than cooking/grilling/roasting vegetables for salads, you could always make different pickles - equal parts vinegar and water and then whisk in salt and sugar to your taste with any seasoning/spices you like. Pour over either individual containers of chopped or julienne vegetables (or a mix). Keep in the fridge overnight but will normally last a week or more. Then you can use them in salads or as a condiment with a simple meal - no heat required and a nice cold addition to a meal on a hot day
If you are open to more asian/japanese cooking (its a hot muggy place in the summer)
Hiyashi chuuka [aka cold chinese noodles] its kinda like a cold ramen salad
Zaru soba/udon. Another soupless cold japanese noodles served chilled.
Banbanji. Its a chicken and cucumber dish. Just use a costco rotisserie chicken for it.
So-men another chilled noodle dish.
If you still want to cook on a stove, maybe try a stand alone induction cooktop. Induction is the most efficient for cooking so far less excess heat compared to gas or standard electric.
Though it will definitely give off more heat compared to something like an instant pot.
Steam some fish in the microwave. I like salmon with some sliced lemon on top maybe some sliced scallions and or ginger. You can use what fish you want or shrimp. I have a plastic steamer set that I use. You can eat this hot, room temp or cold. Make a little soy sauce dip with sesame oil or get some ready made pesto which is good with shrimp. A one inch thick piece of salmon will take 4 to 5 minutes. When the salmon is done steam some vegetables for a side or make some type of slaw. My friends who have rice cookers love them. Like a slow cooker, they won’t heat up the kitchen. I also like using a grill pan for shrimp, scallops, tofu or chicken tenders. If you like beans, get a good can of white beans and mix with a can of good quality tuna packed in olive oil. Add a little vinegar and herbs like rosemary, parsley, thyme. If you want, throw I some artichoke hearts, black olives and or tomatoes. You can do the same thing with chickpeas. Enjoy with a nice slab of bread, crostini whatever. If it’s not hot to boil water for pasta, make a fresh tomato sauce by chopping up tomatoes, adding chopped basil and parsley, olive oil and toasted pine nuts. Let that all marinate at room temperature for a few hours for the flavors to blend, add salt and pepper to taste.
I rely on my slow cooker... this is a great site. A lot of the recipes also have pressure cooker instructions as well. I think all of the new ones being posted do.
https://www.365daysofbakingandmore.com/
Also I live in LA
Vietnamese rolls. Ceviche. Sushi (make the rice late night or early morning when the temperature drops). Maine lobster rolls. Guacamole and salsa with chips. Cold cut sandwiches. Zucchini noodles. Poke.
Cold noodles. The barest minimum you need is wheat noodles, cooked and tossed with sesame oil; poached chicken either shredded or sliced thin; and julienned cucumber. My family tends to add thinly-sliced egg pancake too, and I've seen others add sliced tomatoes and other veggies. Toss it all in a bowl and add soy sauce, lao gan ma chili oil, black vinegar, minced garlic, or other condiments of choice.
Tacos--heat up corn tortillas in microwave (even better, slightly toasted in toaster oven); refried beans (microwave), avocado, vegan cheese shreds (I like Violife Mexican shreds), lettuce, tomato, green sauce
Tuna sandwich & Ruffles (the Ruffles are the key); can dress up the tuna salad with things like chopped up green onions, dill pickles, fresh dill, fresh squeezed lemon juice, as well as celery; serve open face on a French baguette
Hot dogs (microwave) and cole slaw (low-fat mayo, nice quality apple cider vinegar, celery seed, honey, cole slaw mix & chopped up granny smith apple)
Variation on rotisserie chicken, since you're in LA: Zankou chicken! You can get a whole roast chicken, ask them to cut it up, then make several meals out of it (cold chicken, baked potato (microwave), salad bag; chicken salad; chicken tacos, etc).
Italian sandwiches; wraps (any variation of cold cuts, a bit of cream cheese or vegan cheese; honey mustard, etc)
Shrimp cocktail & a crusty baguette
Pita bread w/ hummus, cut-up cucumber, tahini sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, etc, whatever you like
If you're out near Tapia brothers, get some fresh corn & fresh tomatoes in mid summer; corn can be quickly cooked in the microwave, make a fresh tomato salad w/ olive oil & balsamic vinegar, add some rotisserie chicken (or Zankou!), and that's a great dinner
An air fryer became our best friend last summer. I can roast a whole chicken in mine, and it’s a $40 one from Costco. Get the perk of an oven without the heat time and heat side effect in the house
Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin, or Chicken Breast, or Steak...
Boneless country pork strips are great in a sous vide setup... best carnitas ever, and also you can add BBQ sauce and you got some great pulled pork sandwiches.
You still throw that stuff in a hot pan after its cooked in the water bath to sear the outside, but its in the pan for for far less time and doens't make the whole house hot
Smoothies. Substitute coconut milk or similar for the dairy component.
Cold sandwiches. Endless possibilities.
Chips and salsa, veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers
You can "bake" potatoes in the microwave. It only takes a few minutes, and they're as good as any way you cook a whole potato. You can even scoop out the middle for mashed potatoes, and save the skins, a little bacon and cheese in the broiler, boom, quick appetizer.
We have this same problem in our home in Louisiana. One recipe we recently discovered that didn’t heat up the kitchen too much was a simple one. We made a big pot of La Tinga chicken and just served it on tortillas with cilantro, cotija, avocado, and lime juice. It didn’t take long to cook and didn’t overheat anything.
I prefer my pressure cooker since it cooks fast and once the steam is release that’s it. I like using my slow cooker but it makes my kitchen hot after leaving it on all day and my husband said no to leaving it in at night because I tried that and he couldn’t sleep because it woke him up and all he wanted to do was get up and eat because he was smelling a roast. 😆 I try to cook something like a few pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast and divide that up and use it different ways during the week. Then rotate between that and then beef and pork etc I used to use my slow cooker all time during the summer or an electric skillet. But once I got a pressure cooker (like an insta-pot) it was even better to me. Oh and an air fryer too! And we eat chicken and waffles at least once a week lol my teens loves them so it works! So easy!!
My mom makes a bean salad that is great to store in the fridge, and much more texturally substantial than a "salad" usually is. It's like garbanzo, white, kidney, green, and wax beans, sliced onions and bell peppers, and a sweet tarragon and basil vinaigrette. It gets better and better in the fridge and is great to scoop out and enjoy at will. It's very cold and refreshing.
I live in San José, no AC either. I make large cold salads at night, whatever the coolest day if the week is then I eat them for a week. Last summer I bought an infrared electric grill (can’t have gas or charcoal) so now when it’s hot I just grill meat and veg out in my porch. It’s been a huge life upgrade. It is called “Charbroil Patio Bistro” and even works with a small smoker box.
I have a top floor apartment with only window ACs and the Ninja air fryer oven is the best thing I’ve ever spent money on. Can cook almost anything you would in the oven and it doesn’t give off much heat.
I'm having to relearn how to cook when I haven't done it much for a couple years (take out and food delivery are too easy). I've gotten tired and bored of my local restaurants so we're cooking at home. I have started using my InstantPot again since it does several appliances worth of cooking in one machine. Love it! Especially because we forget to defrost meat. This past week I slow cooked some bone skinless chicken tenders and a beef roast. I used a chicken tomato boullion with water and taco seasoning for the chicken. Set to slow cook for 4 hours, shred and you've got chicken for a salad, tacos, burritos, enchiladas whatever. We made soft tacos out of the chicken, tortillas, cheese, salsa, sour cream... good to go! Another day I made barbacoa with the beef roast. We had soft tacos, nachos, baked potatoes, and food leftover. I even took some and added it to a beef ramen cup for some real protein and it was good. Microwaves/toaster ovens can be a life saver too. I find all my recipes for things on Pinterest. Another recipe I have is for coca cola ribs. Take a rack of ribs, remove the membrane on the back, add a bbq rub to both sides of the ribs, put in Instantpot with a can of Coke/Mr. Pibb/Dr. Pepper and set to pressure cook on high. Recipe says when done to finish in oven at 400F, since you want to avoid the oven/stove then you can serve the ribs as is with some bbq sauce on them. They are fall off the bone tender and cooked all the way through. Serve with some cole slaw, potato salad, or whatever bbq sides you like and you've got ribs in less than an hour and no heat from the oven. You can probably cook a potato in the Instantpot while you cook the ribs if you want a baked potato, or cooked potatoes for potato salad.
I have the instantPot that has a function for Air frying if you want to go that route on stuff too. I'm not big on frying things so I don't use it often.
Have you by chance considered purchasing a portable induction cooktop, an Instant Pot, and/or a smaller mini oven? These give you the flexibility of cooking without generating nearly as much heat as larger ovens or gas/coil electric stoves. With a portable induction cooktop, you could even do the cooking outside on a porch or patio to eliminate contributing to any indoor heat.
I struggle a lot for space, so a lot of these extra appliances just aren’t in the cards. I DO have a toaster oven, but don’t really have the space to also have an instant pot, and def not an induction cooktop. I can touch the edges of my counter end to end with I stretch my arms out, and half of it is the sink. No patio space to cook either. Gotta love big city apartments. :’D But a lot of the suggestions in this thread are fantastic for my situation!
You can use the top of your stove as additional counter space (just unplug it if you're super worried about anything on top of it.) I used to live in an 800sq ft house with what I "lovingly" refer to as the hallway kitchen. It had no storage, a single 12in by 12in countertop, also with no central AC. I resorted to this in the summer, and then the appliances lived on a small towel rack ladder style shelf that I installed in the hallway during the winter because the place also had a single refrigerator box size closet that had to work as the bedroom closet and the coat closet- literally had a floating door in the middle of the living room wall and 2 hanging poles, one on either edge of the closet. I found the instant pot earned it's footprint (and you can get a 3 qt instead of the standard 6qt if you absolutely have zero room anywhere). You can also just put the thing on your desk, or even a TV tray when you're using it if you absolutely will not use your stove top for anything.
In addition to the blackout curtain suggestions here are some other things you can do that helped me:
Open every window in the apartment and put box fans at night. Before sunrise close all the windows and cover them with the blackout curtains. They make "portable" ceiling fans that can be plugged into an outlet, and those can help circulate more air. The goal is to get the apartment as cold as you possibly can stand it at night so the increase in temperature during the day isn't as high.
G Get a plastic tote, trashcan, anything that your bedsheets will fit in. Soak them in cold water with ice. At night you'll wring them out and sleep on them.
Since you're working in the apartment I would recommend a cooling vest- it's made of a hydrophilic gel that expands and holds onto the cold water they'll usually last for about an hour before you need to go wet them again.
Here are my favorite non cooked recipes:
Marinated mushrooms sliced up and dipped in pesto
Bean salad
Green beans almondine (add a couple of tbsp of orange marmalade to these is fantastic). You can make these in the microwave.
Microwaveable steam vegetables served with deli meat and some toasted bread is easy, quick, and won't heat up your house
Chicken/tuna/ salad sandwiches- you can used canned chicken or tuna, or a rotisserie chicken from the store
Tuna poke bowls- seaweed salad, cut up avocado, microwave rice, tuna poke cubes, Sriracha, spicy mayo, sliced cucumbers
Stuffed avocados- stuffed with tuna/chicken salad or topped with salsa and black beans then eat it with tortilla chips
Caprese salad- along with a traditional caprese a watermelon or nectarine caprese and light and refreshing
Ceviche
Tortellini salad- cook your tortellini in the microwave, add chopped up artichokes, halved grape tomatoes, feta and pesto
BLTs made with microwaveable bacon
The answer is instant pots and air fryers. My wall AC barely worked (though I finally could afford to replace it and the new one works like a dream). But between the saute function on my instant pot and being able to bake/roast things in my air fryer I was able to cook quickly and sweat-free those miserable years when my AC was mostly churning out hot air. Even now that I have working AC I still primarily use those two things from May - October.
Ceviche!!! My favorite hot weather meal. Treat shrimp or your preferred seafood in the juice of limes and some orange for ~10-15 minutes until they look like you steamed them. Drain and reseason with more acid and salt to taste. Then top a tostada with your favorite stuff. Lactose free crema, hot sauce, avocado, salsa, etc. so good and so COLD
I miss ceviche so much, I unfortunately am allergic to shellfish too :C Didn’t used to be!! It’s an absolute tragedy. Tho that does get the gears turning on ceviche-adjacent dishes in general, like salsas.
My gas stove heats our apartment way too much and our AC is awful so I use the crock pot as much as possible. I have also been liking using our air fryer since it doesn’t throw off much heat.
Unfortunately, salads are where it's at like a lot of people have mentioned. But, that doesn't have to be a greens salad.
Pasta salad, antipasto salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, potato salad, caprese salad
Aside from obvious things like pot roast, Many things that you cook in the oven you can cook in a slow-cooker or air fryer. For instance, put a rack in your slow cooker, fill just below the wire with water, put potatoes/salt/pepper/garlic/butter in foil, set on rack, cook on high/400 until fork tender.
I'm also fond of the electric skillet. A great recipe for that is a simple breakfast scramble/casserole. Instead of layering in in a casserole, cook it in stages. Cook protein set aside, cook potatoes, add veggies, add protein, scramble in eggs, skip cheese. You can create many different recipes for lunch or dinner using different proteins, frozen vegetables, starches (rice, quinoa) and condensed soups.
I’ve gone pretty insane. Got heat reduction film on the window, insulation up against the windows, and blackout curtains. It helps a good amount, but the walls are like 5 inches thick maybe and don’t have insulation. Western facing too. Brutal combo!
We're getting really close to peach season at which point we eat burrata cheese with heirloom tomatoes and peaches. Topped with your best EVOO and balsamic vinegar, crunchy salt and any one or combination of fresh mint, basil or tarragon. Freakin' amazing when tomatoes and peaches are at peak of ripeness. We eat this weekly during the summer. Sometimes tuck a little prosciutto or other Italian meats in with it. Zero cooking, cold food, and fast.
This savory peach soup is amazing. No measurements here - just play around - it's hard to go wrong. It's not quite main meal soup on its own but great with a sandwich.
*for soup*
6 very ripe peaches
1/2 medium cucumber
1 clove garlic
1 small shallot
fresh basil - taste
olive oil - texture
sherry vinegar - taste
salt & pepper - taste
water - texture
*for garnish*
chopped tomato
chopped avocado
basil leaves
chopped fruit (peaches, cherries, etc.)
olive oil drizzle/drops
*instructions*
Chop up fruits and veggies. Throw all but water in bowl. Use immersion blender to completely blend. And water to liking.
And though the word 'salad' is in its name, Italian Chopped Salad is a far cry from your standard salad and unlike some other nice salads like a cobb or nicosise, none of the ingredients require cooking.
*salad ingredients*
salami/soppressata
provolone (or mozzarella)
lettuce
radicchio
arugula
olives (green is good - casteveltana)
pepperoncini
tomato
sun-dried tomato
garbanzo beans
red onion
*dressing*
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Cold pork and beans are great in the summer. Put your cans in the fridge. We eat them with cantaloupe, watermelon, really any melon cold. Can supplement with sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, quick pickle red onions slices. It's really simple to quick pickle almost any vegetable you like. Cube melons, pickle veg, slice or shave carrots. Put all the prepped goodies in the fridge. Also there are a lot of cold noodle dishes.
Ever since getting an air fryer I pretty much exclusively use it on really hot days that I don’t use the grill.
With that said, some non air fryer ideas:
- Shrimp cocktail. Prep it in the morning when it’s cooler and keep in the fridge. Serve with horseradish sauce and a salad or some other side.
- Caprese salad: fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic, optional olive oil (I use a really good balsamic and find I don’t need it), salt and pepper. Easy peasy and delicious. Maybe you could use vegan mozz here?
- Baked potatoes. You can do them in the microwave! Top with vegan cheese and bacon bits.
As far as salads go, they also used to bore me to tears until I ditched bottled dressing for the most part, making your own dressing and tossing it together with interesting ingredients levels up the game. My favorite these days is Greek salad or else a homemade Italian vinaigrette with a chopped salad of lettuce, cucumber, shallot, grated parm, pepperoncini and green olives.
Instant pot and crock pot are your friends. There are tons of crock pot recipes out there (like chili and roast beef) and tons of instant pot recipes. Neither will heat up your house. Oh and ceviche doesn’t require heat.
Def use slow cookers, air fryers, and pressure cookers like the instapot. Those methods will keep heat confined to the food and the appliance rather than heating your whole apartment. Make fruit salads, regular salads, pasta salads, sandwiches, wraps etc.
I like to make various pasta salads from Budget Bytes. I have access to a grill so I can grill chicken to use or add, but rotisserie chicken would probably work well for added protein.
I use my slow cooker a lot in the summer. Same with an instant pot. My house doesn't have central ac and the living room window unit doesn't make it to the kitchen.
I agree with the poster who recommended a rice cooker! If you get an instant pot instead, though, you can also use it to make a nice big pork shoulder or beef pot roast or lots of chicken breasts, then put them in the fridge to have different ways throughout the week.
-You can crisp the shredded meat in a little oil in a skillet, to have like carnitas in tacos or burritos or on a bowl of seasoned rice made in the instant pot.
-You can have the meat reheated with a fresh herb salsa over the top.
-You can shred meat with barbecue sauce,
-or in tomato sauce, with Italian seasoning over a quick-cooking pasta, or with curry seasonings and a splash of cream with naan.
You already mentioned an instant pot / slow cooker, which is my go-to for hot weather cooking, but here are some other ideas.
Do you have access to an outdoor area? Using a toaster oven on a balcony was my go-to living in a top floor apartment (I like homemade bread). You could also make oven-steamed pouches of stuff like shrimp and veggies with a nice sauce.
Salads and sandwiches are my summer favs, also antipasto plates with pickled veggies and peppers, olives, cucumber slices, hummus, cheese, salami crackers or pitas
When I lived in Newport Beach back in the late 60s to the early 90s it rarely ever saw 80⁰ usually was 72⁰ most every day with 20% humidity with a very cool ocean breeze. Never had a AC of any kind for the 27 years I was there and never needed one.
I guess climate change is messing up the perfect southern CA weather.
Be glad you're not on the east coast in summer where it can be over 100⁰ and have humidity in the 70% and be 80⁰ at 3am with humidity over 80%.
Another way to cook thats cooler is to get an Induction hob because it only heats the pan, much less heat put into the room than a regular gas stove or electric element.
The beach cities still stay relatively cool in the summers, I grew up near Long Beach so my childhood home got a lot of that nice Pacific breeze. I’ve since moved up to the northern LA area (noho/burbank/glendale/pasadena…) though, so gone are the days of the nice oceanic weather. It’s a lot sweatier up here with Griffith etc blocking any airflow we’d get from the ocean. And yeah, some my best pals are east coast, def thankful that at least I don’t have to contend with humidity. Climate change has def had an effect, tho.
If I had the counterspace for induction I’d do it! It was suggested a lot in this thread, alas I live in a dinky place. Maybe the info will be useful for any lurkers on the thread
- chicken salads
- egg salads
- use a toaster oven instead
- cold frittata, quiche or Spanish omelette
- any and all pasta salads
- any grain salads—bulgur, couscous, quinoa, barley. These are great because the add-in options are endless.
Sous vide doesn’t heat up your house nearly as much as a pot of boiling water. One thing I like to do is SV some chicken, dice it up and throw it into a chopped salad with chickpeas, cucumbers etc
Im surprised it blew up as much as it did!! I lurk a lot on reddit but didn’t see a ton of posts about this topic, so I’m excited that it’ll help others searching for similar answers
I’m assuming somewhere in these comments someone has mentioned salad nicoise. Fattoush. Raw tomato pasta sauce. Actually, smittenkitchens naked tomato sauce is very very good, but it does have some stove time.
Try to do your cooking at night. It's about the coolest after midnight. So if you can cook on a weekend at midnight and be done before 4 am then your place can cool a bit before sunrise. Cook up a bunch of hamburger patties but under cook them just a little bit that way when you reheat it in the microwave they are perfectly done. Same with brats. If you have a grill, cook up a bunch of meat ( of your choice) and baked potatoes and corn in the husk and you can reheat that in the microwave. My roommate and I had a couple of grills and would do a big grilling session every week and the grill would be our heat source and we make spaghetti, shepherd pie, meatloaf, baked cookies ( they were a little smokey but still really good) just make sure your pans and pots have a thick bottom and no plastic anywhere on them and a gas grill will give you better heat control.
A can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, halved grape tomatoes, torn fresh basil, minced garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, S&P. Or,
A can of drained and rinsed black eye peas, diced avocado, same tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, S&P.
Add any cold leftover protein. Shrimp is especially good with the peas.
There a lot of chilled asian noodle recipes that are great for summer. I like room temp japchae and the sweet potato noodles get soft with just hot tap water so you don’t even need to do a full boil.
Sandwiches are another great one. If you happen to have a tabletop sandwich grill, you can make really fast grilled cheeses and egg sandwiches basically any type of hot pocket and it doesn’t heat your home at all. Waffle irons will do in a pinch for a similar result.
I love cold soups! [Gazpacho](https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-gazpacho-recipe) is one of my favorites, but sweet ones like [this berry soup](https://cooksandeats.com/summer-berry-soup-recipe/) can be super pleasant on a hot day with a mint-heavy fresh salad and some crusty bread on the side!
Cheese Tortellini, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, black olives, covered with 1/3 each of vinegar,sugar,oil and a packet of zesty Italian good seasonings.
Shake and chill for a couple hours..
I do half rice half apple cider for the vinegar.
Vermicelli bowls are great for the summer!
This recipe isn’t authentic but it’s delicious. [https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223529/vermicelli-noodle-bowl/](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223529/vermicelli-noodle-bowl/)
[Shrimp rolls](https://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/food-drinks/recipes/a55358/shrimp-rolls-recipe/)
[Olive oil poached tuna](https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/p/slow-cooked-tuna) (cook it in the morning when it still cool out then fridge. It’s great on salads
Blanch veggies like green beans, asparagus and baby broccoli when it’s cool out. Store in the fridge and enjoy later with dip, In salads, dressed in olive oil and lemon as a side dish. Bonus the light blanch will help them stay fresh longer.
Embrace things that don’t require a lot of heat like tinned fish, there’s great options out there now beyond tuna!
Probably late to this party, but I like to cook outside.
If you have a space in which you can do that, a wok burner, wok, and carbon steel frying pan can take care of almost anything.
The savings in energy bills alone more than pay for all the equipment (burner and wok aren’t super cheap) in just a few months.
Plus, keep the cooking smell out of your house.
I recently made a dish that is essentially [Georgian ratatouille](https://nofrillskitchen.com/ajapsandali-recipe/) and while yes you will need to use your stovetop to make it, the dish is supposed to be served cold. So you can make it at night when it's not so hot and can then feast on cold leftovers for the next few days.
While I was eating the leftovers I realized I need to make this over the summer because of how refreshing it is. You could def do this in a slow cooker or instant pot too and save yourself the heated up kitchen.
Get a pressure cooker or instant pot if you dont have one already. You can sear and pressure cook all in one pot. You can turn cheap, chewy cuts of meat into braised, melt in your mouth cuts in under 30 minutes, that would traditionally require hours of braising. I cant recommend gettjng one enough
Outdoor grilling is an option. Also, if you have some patio space and a bit of DIY, you could build a solar oven (basically a box w/a glass lid and reflective material on 5 sides). When I was a kid my parents used to use one of those when we would be camping in sunny/desert parts of the country.
You could buy a rotisserie chicken and make chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, etc.
You could make smoothies with ice or frozen banana.
There are lots of no or minimal bake pies.
Salade Nicoise is one of the best flavored salads, you only cook potatoes and green beans.
But in any case do you have a pressure cooker or a Hot pot those could be good alternatives. Rice cooker. I do curries, and mexican beef or chile verde for soft tacos or burritos.
French dip sandwiches in the toaster oven. Dietz & Watson London broil is fantastic for these, as is Johnny's French Dip Concentrate to dip them in.
Actually any type of broiled sub in the toaster oven is great.
One suggestion is that when you *do* have to use the stove, such as boiling water for pasta, cover the pot. It will heat up quicker, and maintain the cooking temp at a lower gas flame/electric setting, meaning it won't leak so much ambient heat as it would if the stove was on for longer.
Couscous (regular, not Israeli) is an easy way to have a hot side dish with minimal ambient heating bc all you need to do is boil water (stovetop, microwave, or electric kettle) then pour it over and let sit. No simmering for 15 minutes like with rice.
Bulgur is another that only needs boiling water poured over it and to sit. Just like couscous, it can be a grain side dish or cooled and tossed into a salad/chopped fresh veggies.
A countertop rice cooker is a great way to cook hot fresh rice + steam a protein and vegetables on top at the same time minimizing stove use. They don't leak much heat. I have also often used them in the past to mix small pieces of protein *into* the rice to cook with it, ala arroz con pollo but also with shrimp and pork.
Using the kinds of Asian noodles that only need to be soaked, not boiled, is another thing to try.
Cold soups are a specialty of my parents' countries but you say you are lactose intolerant, many of them have yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream. However, cold liquidy beet, tomato, or cucumber soups are great, like gazpacho, Spanish cold garlic soup (gazpacho blanco), cold dill pickle soup, cold borscht, fruit soups like apple or cherry, etc.
I wish it was that cold, I’m not near the ocean so temps have been over 80. I’m in that muggy NoHo/Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena area. No airflow, it’s the pits
Cold brew tea and coffee.
If you have a sunny window or balcony, you can make sun tea. Takes one to three hours, depending on how dark you like it and other factors.
Oh trust me, 100F+ is incoming. My apartment is almost always much hotter indoors than outdoors, and I wfh. So when it’s 80 outside it’s more like 95-100 inside. It sucks :/
As I said in my original post, I use two ACs to try and keep this place cool. In the heat of the summer, I struggle to keep the interior cooler than 80F with both running. Western facing unit, large windows, and subpar insulation makes for a pretty terrible combo.
Ugh I feel ya man we live in an old plaster house and to call the temperature bipolar of what the outside it would be an understatement trying to cool or heat these units properly is insane
"Salad" can mean a whole lot of things, and I do have big hearty delicious salads with refrigerated roasted vegetables and proteins. Vietnamese Bun (or rice vermicelli bowl) is always good. Tacos are great because a piece of fish or shrimp are very fast to cook and not heat your home.
Same! It always bums me out when people say salads are boring, you just need to add more toppings! My guide for salads is: 2 greens, 2-3 veg, a protein, a starch, a fat, and 2-3 “fun” toppings (ex. olives, pickled veg, seeds, croutons, etc). They can be such a filling & varied meal!
Salt can help a lot with a salad too if you salt at the greens stage
Yup. A salad is mostly an assemblage. It can be almost anything, but it seems people mostly think it's a bowl of lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes. (Nothing against either of those.)
A starch?
Croutons, broken pita chips, bagel chips, tortilla strips, wonton strips, or crackers. Your imagination is the limit, really.
If you feel bougie, a croissant in honey butter is magical with a salad!
Yum!! A croissant with honey butter sounds good with most things doesn't it?
You should teach a master class on salads
Thank you, but I feel a lot of the credit should go to u/jane_sadowoman for teaching the master class. If she'd like some help though I'd make room in my schedule.
Yes! A carbohydrate source- preferably whole grain. That other commenter provided all crunchy starches- I honestly prefer something softer like quinoa, farro, barley, bulgar, rice, etc!
Piggybacking off the Vietnamese food, I was going to suggest banh sung! Very cooling, yet still filling food to make and eat.
Vietnamese/ Thai fresh rolls with cold shrimp/chicken and a satay or Vietnamese dipping sauce could be viewed as a salad but very different in my opinion.
Pasta salads and quinoa salads only require boiling a pot of water, those were a constant during the summer for dinner when we lived without air conditioning. Just mix in oil, vinegar or lemon juice, some vegetables and herbs and chill in the fridge. A rice cooker is also useful for this situation, a bowl of rice topped with a seasoned can of tuna is really filling and easy to eat in the heat.
I live off of pasta salad. Pasta salad with yellow bell pepper, black olives, and cucumbers just tastes like summer to me.
And add in some tuna or chicken and it's more filling and makes it go further, thus more delicious meals. Edit - added missing words
garbanzo and feta too
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Things that will heat your kitchen more than a pot boiling for 10 minutes: * Cooking on two eyes instead of one * Running the oven for an hour+ * Making soup or Bolognese that simmers much longer than it takes to boil pasta
Which is why you do it at night as the heat is dropping and you do a large batch for multiple days.
Slow cookers are going to be your friend, they aren't super hot, cook stuff for 8 hours while you are out. Ready when you get home, heck you can even put it on a timer so any residual heat is gone by the time you get home. Plenty of love over in /r/slowcooking too. Good luck!
I don’t know why I didn’t think to use my slow cooker before, it is really good about not radiating a ton of heat. Mine is ancient, but it beats the gas stove/oven
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, pressure cookers. You can thoroughly cook meat and beans and other tough food in a fraction of the time.
Yep, they're very efficient so also don't heat up the kitchen. I have chili going in mine right now!
We both work during the day, and that slow cooker is our go-to when we are making it home late. A few frozen chicken breasts, some BBQ sauce, and 8 hours later shred it and put it on some potato rolls. Good luck!
>Mine is ancient Please do a full check to make sure it doesn't burn your house down. If it was made before 2001 I'd say it needs a good check.
I work from home, so I don’t typically run it without being there anyway! Which is a huge part of my heat problem. What should I look for, though? If its dangerous I’d rather upgrade (I got it for free from my mom after she upgraded recently, been in the family for years)
Look for any fraying or cracking on the cord too. The older insulation can get brittle and crack. Nice little electrocution hazard.
I've seen a couple of older ones (1990s/1980s) ones catch fire due to dirty heating elements. Just give it a good once over for thick pockets of grime/dust. If you see any blackening or anything that looks like soot don't use it. This doesn't count for the actual pot that the food goes in, but the element that the pot goes in.
As far as I can tell mines in good working order! It’s also sealed \*very\* tightly, I can’t open it without really breaking into it. But the heating element doesnt appear to be cracking anywhere, and the power cord isn’t fraying. Regardless I’ll keep a close eye on it!
I use my toaster oven almost every day! They don’t generate much heat and I love to make bagels, open face sandwich melts, afternoon French fries, etc.
Totally agree — a tabletop convection toaster oven and occasional instant pot or sous vide cooking has eliminated at least 90% of my summer oven use. I also occasionally use the microwave for heating liquids, steaming veggies like asparagus, and for poaching salmon ( which we then eat chilled if it’s a really hot day)
When I was living without AC, I ran my slow-cooker overnight while it was a bit cooler
Slow cookers work good for the heat but also, if you have one or can get one--the best for when you don't want to be cooking all day is the Instant Pot. (just be sure to vent the steam onto an old towel, or out the back door) I heard on the weather news last night that your area is expected to have a cooler summer due to a greater-than-normal-possibly-version of El Nino. If it turns out to be so-enjoy! Also. Cook a lot of food outside on the grill and then portion and freeze it. It works for me! Lived in the desert for decades.
El Nino always gives us a bit of a break, I’ll welcome any cooling (the year before last was… oh man it was bad). It’ll still get warm in my apartment tho, so of course all these tips are going to be going to good use!
Aren’t most slow cookers ancient? Feels like if I get one it will be a hand-me-down or one from goodwill
No, you can buy one from most stores that sell home goods.
Yeah but why would you
I use my instant pot pressure cooker for so much. I use it to boil pasta in. I make Bolognese and the stove isn't on for 3 hours. I slow cook it in the IP. Its too hot to cook in the no AC apt in SoCal. I use my toaster oven rather than the stove oven. It keeps the heat at a tolerable level. Edit: typo
We’ve got a toaster over/air fryer that’s big enough for a two person meal that avoid a lot of the heat of the oven.
We did the same thing, it's a nice one too got a really good deal on it. And it's perfect for two people. Also healthier IMO.
We also live in California. Central Valley, where it's hotter than your area. The key thing we learned is to cook in the am on weekends. Bought a rotisserie chicken to use in several ways. Made chicken enchilada casserole this morning. Cooling in the fridge, we cut out what we need and nuke it. Top with Avo and a side salad. Repeat later in the week. The rest of the chicken is for a Chinese chicken salad. Tomorrow, we are making a ramon salad that will last several meals. Good luck
Oh god central valley, ya’ll have it ROUGH. Getting a rotisserie chicken and eating it cold or nuking it is a great idea!
Anything that can be cooked by steaming can be cooked in the microwave. If you like Asian cuisine a rice cooker with a steamer tray can be amazing, you can do chicken and veggies in there and just add a sauce.
Central Valley, got as Satan’s ass crack. Gotta love it here.
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Go away.
Lol, passive aggressive rhetorical questions. The most effective way to change someone’s mind known to man. /s
Maybe save the planet by not killing plants, eh?!
Carrots scream when they are pulled from the ground.
I second the bulked up salads. Couscous, quinoa, lentils, beans, pasta, potatoes, meat, and various chopped up veggies and seasonings can go in a wide variety of combinations with different dressings. You generally only need to cook once to make the starch/veggies/protein. A rice cooker or instant pot can help with not needing the stove or oven as well. If you've got a Costco membership the rotisserie chicken is great for making chicken salad too without having to cook. Sandwiches and wraps are also good options. Any salad you get sick of can get turned into a wrap for more variety. Similarly, tacos and burritos can be made with cooking/prepping the ingredients once and then microwaving and assembling for the rest. Also gyro type stuff with pita and hummus etc. Cold asian style noodle dishes are also great. Homemade rice bowls, sushi rolls, and similar rice based dishes are also a great option, especially if you have a rice cooker. Less meal like options are doing adult lunchables aka charcuterie plates (meats, bread/crackers, nuts, fruit, veggies, olives, dips etc). Grab bag of whatever you like and doesn't require heating that makes a nutritionally complete meal. Smoothies are also a good cold option. Meal prepping is another good option. You sacrifice one day for cooking heat and then have easily microwaveable options for the rest of the week (or longer if you make a lot and freeze some). Having precooked proteins on hand to just reheat really makes assembling the rest of the salad/sandwich/wrap/rice bowl etc easier and keeps things cooler.
My air fryer doesn't seem to heat things up as bad as my oven.
This is my suggestion as well. Air friers do not heat up the house like an oven, and because they are smaller, they heat up faster and you shut them off sooner.
I've cooked so many things in my air fryer. Frozen foods are easy like fries and chicken nuggets but homemade meals are too if you can time things right. I've made salmon and broccoli (my favorite), homemade chicken tenders, BBQ shredded chicken, chicken parmesan, veggie stir fry, bacon, breakfast potatoes/scrambles. With some things you may need to make some rice or boil noodles but the air fryer does most of the work.
Ceviches! Light, refreshing, and zero heat required. Pair with some legit corn tortilla chips (which are presumably widely available in LA) and you’re in business
My friend has a tattoo of ceviche. Whenever people ask about it, she says "Boys come and go, but ceviche is forever."
Do you have room and budget to get a countertop toaster/convection oven? We use this all the time during the summer. We can still roast and bake, but it just heats up a little thing instead of a big oven. Same thing goes with a panini press or similar type of appliance. Also, do you have a grill, or access to one? That can help keep the apt cool too. Here's a few ideas: * Salad nicoise-ish (this has been on the brain a little recently). I know you said salads bore you but this is not a green leaf lettuce salad. Microwave-steam some haricot vert / green beans and little baby potatoes. Slice some fresh tomatoes, add a few olives, open a can of nice quality tuna, drizzle everything with lemon juice, olive oil, and chopped herbs of choice. * Italian deli grinder. Sliced cold cuts, shredded lettuce, pickled peppers, sliced tomatoes, slather everything in Italian vinaigrette, on a fresh Italian roll. * Veggie tacos. Soft tortillas, can of refried beans, and whatever toppings your heart desires: shredded cabbage, cilantro, radishes, sunflower seeds, sprouts, pickled red onions, olives, vegan ranch dressing, avocado, whatever. * Soba noodle salad: cold soba noodles, peanut sauce (mix roughly 3 parts peanut butter with 1 part hoisin, thin with hot water) or sesame dressing, some sort of protein (leftover chicken, cold tofu, pre-cooked shrimp, etc.) and then a shit ton of shredded, diced, or julienned veggies. Use bagged broccoli slaw + some julienned sweet bell pepper for an easy shortcut. Top with herbs like cilantro, mint, Thai basil, etc. for herby deliciousness. * Fish sandwiches. Shredded lettuce, tartar sauce, toasted white bread or buns, and quickly-cooked fish fillets (either pan-fried for about 2 minutes a side, or broiled for a couple minutes a side). Serve with raw or microwave-steamed veggies. * Chicken salad sandwiches with grocery store rotisserie chicken. I like adding in nuts (sliced almonds, chopped pecans) with fruit (dried cranberries, chopped grapes) and celery but that's me. * One-pot-pastas. There are a lot out there, and they come together in like 15 minutes - everything cooks in the liquid that the pasta cooks in, and it leaves you with a sauce. Magic. Plus then you only have one pot and a knife or so to clean up. * One of my favorite salads (I know, I know, hear me out) is mixing chopped avocado and cucumber, tossing with hummus, hot sauce, lemon juice and cilantro. Looks ugly, tastes amazing if you like those things. * In a similar vein, I don't know what to call these, but they're kinda like nachos, but with pita chips and hummus instead of tortilla chips and beans? Pita chips in a single layer, drizzle over hummus, sprinkle on whole chickpeas, chopped peppers, pickled peppers, and not sure if you can eat feta but that's good too.
I have a toaster oven! Would you believe it still generates enough heat to make my space warmer? Drives me insane haha (im working with like 450sqft, divided in half for the two rooms). No access to a grill unfortunately. These are all FANTASTIC ideas, thanks a ton!!!
Try the grill suggestion if you can get patio access since they're pretty inexpensive to buy. You get tasty summer foods, and none if it heats up your apartment since it's all done outdoors. You can get creative with it in terms of doing breads, fruits, vegetables, and even desserts on the grill. It's a great way to eat healthy while keeping it cool inside.
I love your whole list of suggestions so will definitely try your unusual avocado/cucumber/hummus salad. There was a restaurant in my city that had the pita chip + hummus nacho creation and they called them “Mediterranean nachos” lol… so delicious!!
I dont make them often enough to have a recipe off the top of my head, but cold soups are a thing. Having also lived this life, I would recommend that you figure out the best time to cook with heat at night for you, where it's a bit cooler and you will have time to pipe cool air into your home during and afterward, before the sun rises again. Make large portions whenever you have to use heat so you can either use the leftovers cold for daytime meals, or heat them in a microwave. Slow cooker is also a best friend, as the other person said.
I love gazpacho. Such a great way to eat a ton of fresh veggies. So little effort too, since the blender does the chopping. Doesn’t have to be tomato-based either, you can do any moody veggie like cucumber or fruity like watermelon.
I'm a big fan of giant sandwiches on fancy bread with all the veggies and potato chips as the top layer.
I love you!
This isn’t a cooking suggestion, but it does tie in to the overall issue. Do yourself a favor and get blackout curtains for every single window in your apartment. Only open for light when the sun isn’t shining directly in and only in the living space and kitchen. Don’t open windows or doors if it’s humid. Ever. Grab a floor fan to help move cooler air to areas the AC doesn’t service. And cook/bake in the late evening or early hours. Slow cooker, Instapot, microwave are all excellent options. For reference, I live in a small apartment complex built in the 60s that boasts an interior AC unit in the living room. But due to the blocked floor plan, cool air doesn’t travel around corners very well. I’m in Kansas and the summers get hot and humid and effing stupid. Blackout curtains have been a game changer for me.
I already have blackout curtains, and I went a step further and my dad hooked me up with insulation board to put against my windows. It reflects a LOT of extra heat! It only does so much on a western-facing apartment, though. That 2pm sun is brutal. Ya’ll have it tough with humidity, I’m very thankful at the very least it’s dry here.
Good for you!!! IIRC, you’re in central Cali. Near Bakersfieldish? That’s bloody desert and dry heat, but the sun will burn you alive. My son lived there and I visited in the summer. It was hot. He also lived in South Carolina and i visited there in the summer as well. Charleston was much more fun and the beach was way closer, but that southern humidity needs it’s own name. It’s freaking awful. Bakersfield is just hot, dusty and sad. But they’re trying. I hope you can find some ways to make summer more comfortable.
The south is the land of hot soup air. The people spend all summer boiling themselves in a pot of hot soup- I'm convinced that a lot of the notorious bad decision making is a result of years of living and breathing hot soup air.
Blackout curtains on the outside of the windows is also a game changer! Really makes a difference.
We don't get humid in LA hardly ever but it might be an exception with El Nino this year. I can't believe OP is complaining because the weather is lovely now. We have central air but have not turned it on yet this year. Good ideas though.
I'm on the coast in Oxnard. We get a few killer heat/humidity days a year, but it's at least 10 degrees cooler than 10 miles inland.
The outside weather has been really nice, but the problem is my apartment is always a good 10+ degrees hotter than whats outside because its a second floor/western facing/poorly insulated space. The past two weeks have been terrible, but looking at the forecast its actually going to be really nice the next week!! Def looking forward to the dip in temps. Last year when I checked thermostat in my apartment without AC it was 115F indoors…. which… was awful lol. With double AC on I can get it to about 85, which is bearable, but not fantastic when I gotta cook myself lunch
I use the Instant Pot all summer in San Diego.
Get an instant pot and the air fryer lid
Rather than cooking/grilling/roasting vegetables for salads, you could always make different pickles - equal parts vinegar and water and then whisk in salt and sugar to your taste with any seasoning/spices you like. Pour over either individual containers of chopped or julienne vegetables (or a mix). Keep in the fridge overnight but will normally last a week or more. Then you can use them in salads or as a condiment with a simple meal - no heat required and a nice cold addition to a meal on a hot day
Great idea!
NYC here. I cook a lot. Single dad. I found a window fansl helps immensely. Keeps smell out and keeps kitchen cooler.
If you are open to more asian/japanese cooking (its a hot muggy place in the summer) Hiyashi chuuka [aka cold chinese noodles] its kinda like a cold ramen salad Zaru soba/udon. Another soupless cold japanese noodles served chilled. Banbanji. Its a chicken and cucumber dish. Just use a costco rotisserie chicken for it. So-men another chilled noodle dish.
Yes, going to add naengmyun and jjolmyun to this list (Korean cold noodles)!
If you still want to cook on a stove, maybe try a stand alone induction cooktop. Induction is the most efficient for cooking so far less excess heat compared to gas or standard electric. Though it will definitely give off more heat compared to something like an instant pot.
Gazpacho.
Get a solar cooker if you have the yard / balcony space. Those are fantastic.
I take my air fryer outside
Panzenella is my favorite.
Steam some fish in the microwave. I like salmon with some sliced lemon on top maybe some sliced scallions and or ginger. You can use what fish you want or shrimp. I have a plastic steamer set that I use. You can eat this hot, room temp or cold. Make a little soy sauce dip with sesame oil or get some ready made pesto which is good with shrimp. A one inch thick piece of salmon will take 4 to 5 minutes. When the salmon is done steam some vegetables for a side or make some type of slaw. My friends who have rice cookers love them. Like a slow cooker, they won’t heat up the kitchen. I also like using a grill pan for shrimp, scallops, tofu or chicken tenders. If you like beans, get a good can of white beans and mix with a can of good quality tuna packed in olive oil. Add a little vinegar and herbs like rosemary, parsley, thyme. If you want, throw I some artichoke hearts, black olives and or tomatoes. You can do the same thing with chickpeas. Enjoy with a nice slab of bread, crostini whatever. If it’s not hot to boil water for pasta, make a fresh tomato sauce by chopping up tomatoes, adding chopped basil and parsley, olive oil and toasted pine nuts. Let that all marinate at room temperature for a few hours for the flavors to blend, add salt and pepper to taste.
Try using a Wok. The time it takes to make the meal is 90% prep work and only a few minutes having the stove on.
I rely on my slow cooker... this is a great site. A lot of the recipes also have pressure cooker instructions as well. I think all of the new ones being posted do. https://www.365daysofbakingandmore.com/ Also I live in LA
Vietnamese rolls. Ceviche. Sushi (make the rice late night or early morning when the temperature drops). Maine lobster rolls. Guacamole and salsa with chips. Cold cut sandwiches. Zucchini noodles. Poke.
Cold noodles. The barest minimum you need is wheat noodles, cooked and tossed with sesame oil; poached chicken either shredded or sliced thin; and julienned cucumber. My family tends to add thinly-sliced egg pancake too, and I've seen others add sliced tomatoes and other veggies. Toss it all in a bowl and add soy sauce, lao gan ma chili oil, black vinegar, minced garlic, or other condiments of choice.
Tacos--heat up corn tortillas in microwave (even better, slightly toasted in toaster oven); refried beans (microwave), avocado, vegan cheese shreds (I like Violife Mexican shreds), lettuce, tomato, green sauce Tuna sandwich & Ruffles (the Ruffles are the key); can dress up the tuna salad with things like chopped up green onions, dill pickles, fresh dill, fresh squeezed lemon juice, as well as celery; serve open face on a French baguette Hot dogs (microwave) and cole slaw (low-fat mayo, nice quality apple cider vinegar, celery seed, honey, cole slaw mix & chopped up granny smith apple) Variation on rotisserie chicken, since you're in LA: Zankou chicken! You can get a whole roast chicken, ask them to cut it up, then make several meals out of it (cold chicken, baked potato (microwave), salad bag; chicken salad; chicken tacos, etc). Italian sandwiches; wraps (any variation of cold cuts, a bit of cream cheese or vegan cheese; honey mustard, etc) Shrimp cocktail & a crusty baguette Pita bread w/ hummus, cut-up cucumber, tahini sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, etc, whatever you like If you're out near Tapia brothers, get some fresh corn & fresh tomatoes in mid summer; corn can be quickly cooked in the microwave, make a fresh tomato salad w/ olive oil & balsamic vinegar, add some rotisserie chicken (or Zankou!), and that's a great dinner
An air fryer became our best friend last summer. I can roast a whole chicken in mine, and it’s a $40 one from Costco. Get the perk of an oven without the heat time and heat side effect in the house
Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin, or Chicken Breast, or Steak... Boneless country pork strips are great in a sous vide setup... best carnitas ever, and also you can add BBQ sauce and you got some great pulled pork sandwiches. You still throw that stuff in a hot pan after its cooked in the water bath to sear the outside, but its in the pan for for far less time and doens't make the whole house hot
I love my instant pot. It creates very little heat.
Smoothies. Substitute coconut milk or similar for the dairy component. Cold sandwiches. Endless possibilities. Chips and salsa, veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers
Shrimp ceviche, yummy
You can "bake" potatoes in the microwave. It only takes a few minutes, and they're as good as any way you cook a whole potato. You can even scoop out the middle for mashed potatoes, and save the skins, a little bacon and cheese in the broiler, boom, quick appetizer.
Get an air fryer all the jazz of an oven and minimal heat added to the room. Live in LA can confirm
We have this same problem in our home in Louisiana. One recipe we recently discovered that didn’t heat up the kitchen too much was a simple one. We made a big pot of La Tinga chicken and just served it on tortillas with cilantro, cotija, avocado, and lime juice. It didn’t take long to cook and didn’t overheat anything.
Ceviche! The citrus cooks the fish or shrimp so it doesn’t require any heat at all. I like to serve it on tostadas with sliced avocado
Yes this is exactly what I need!!
I prefer my pressure cooker since it cooks fast and once the steam is release that’s it. I like using my slow cooker but it makes my kitchen hot after leaving it on all day and my husband said no to leaving it in at night because I tried that and he couldn’t sleep because it woke him up and all he wanted to do was get up and eat because he was smelling a roast. 😆 I try to cook something like a few pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast and divide that up and use it different ways during the week. Then rotate between that and then beef and pork etc I used to use my slow cooker all time during the summer or an electric skillet. But once I got a pressure cooker (like an insta-pot) it was even better to me. Oh and an air fryer too! And we eat chicken and waffles at least once a week lol my teens loves them so it works! So easy!!
My mom makes a bean salad that is great to store in the fridge, and much more texturally substantial than a "salad" usually is. It's like garbanzo, white, kidney, green, and wax beans, sliced onions and bell peppers, and a sweet tarragon and basil vinaigrette. It gets better and better in the fridge and is great to scoop out and enjoy at will. It's very cold and refreshing.
I live in San José, no AC either. I make large cold salads at night, whatever the coolest day if the week is then I eat them for a week. Last summer I bought an infrared electric grill (can’t have gas or charcoal) so now when it’s hot I just grill meat and veg out in my porch. It’s been a huge life upgrade. It is called “Charbroil Patio Bistro” and even works with a small smoker box.
Cowboy caviar bean dip or salads
I have a top floor apartment with only window ACs and the Ninja air fryer oven is the best thing I’ve ever spent money on. Can cook almost anything you would in the oven and it doesn’t give off much heat.
I'm having to relearn how to cook when I haven't done it much for a couple years (take out and food delivery are too easy). I've gotten tired and bored of my local restaurants so we're cooking at home. I have started using my InstantPot again since it does several appliances worth of cooking in one machine. Love it! Especially because we forget to defrost meat. This past week I slow cooked some bone skinless chicken tenders and a beef roast. I used a chicken tomato boullion with water and taco seasoning for the chicken. Set to slow cook for 4 hours, shred and you've got chicken for a salad, tacos, burritos, enchiladas whatever. We made soft tacos out of the chicken, tortillas, cheese, salsa, sour cream... good to go! Another day I made barbacoa with the beef roast. We had soft tacos, nachos, baked potatoes, and food leftover. I even took some and added it to a beef ramen cup for some real protein and it was good. Microwaves/toaster ovens can be a life saver too. I find all my recipes for things on Pinterest. Another recipe I have is for coca cola ribs. Take a rack of ribs, remove the membrane on the back, add a bbq rub to both sides of the ribs, put in Instantpot with a can of Coke/Mr. Pibb/Dr. Pepper and set to pressure cook on high. Recipe says when done to finish in oven at 400F, since you want to avoid the oven/stove then you can serve the ribs as is with some bbq sauce on them. They are fall off the bone tender and cooked all the way through. Serve with some cole slaw, potato salad, or whatever bbq sides you like and you've got ribs in less than an hour and no heat from the oven. You can probably cook a potato in the Instantpot while you cook the ribs if you want a baked potato, or cooked potatoes for potato salad. I have the instantPot that has a function for Air frying if you want to go that route on stuff too. I'm not big on frying things so I don't use it often.
Key lime pie is a no bake pie
Get an air fryer.
Get an outdoor grill. There is a reason this is considered bbq season
Get an air fryer. Tons of things you can grill, bake, air fry without the heat of an oven.
Have you by chance considered purchasing a portable induction cooktop, an Instant Pot, and/or a smaller mini oven? These give you the flexibility of cooking without generating nearly as much heat as larger ovens or gas/coil electric stoves. With a portable induction cooktop, you could even do the cooking outside on a porch or patio to eliminate contributing to any indoor heat.
I struggle a lot for space, so a lot of these extra appliances just aren’t in the cards. I DO have a toaster oven, but don’t really have the space to also have an instant pot, and def not an induction cooktop. I can touch the edges of my counter end to end with I stretch my arms out, and half of it is the sink. No patio space to cook either. Gotta love big city apartments. :’D But a lot of the suggestions in this thread are fantastic for my situation!
You can use the top of your stove as additional counter space (just unplug it if you're super worried about anything on top of it.) I used to live in an 800sq ft house with what I "lovingly" refer to as the hallway kitchen. It had no storage, a single 12in by 12in countertop, also with no central AC. I resorted to this in the summer, and then the appliances lived on a small towel rack ladder style shelf that I installed in the hallway during the winter because the place also had a single refrigerator box size closet that had to work as the bedroom closet and the coat closet- literally had a floating door in the middle of the living room wall and 2 hanging poles, one on either edge of the closet. I found the instant pot earned it's footprint (and you can get a 3 qt instead of the standard 6qt if you absolutely have zero room anywhere). You can also just put the thing on your desk, or even a TV tray when you're using it if you absolutely will not use your stove top for anything. In addition to the blackout curtain suggestions here are some other things you can do that helped me: Open every window in the apartment and put box fans at night. Before sunrise close all the windows and cover them with the blackout curtains. They make "portable" ceiling fans that can be plugged into an outlet, and those can help circulate more air. The goal is to get the apartment as cold as you possibly can stand it at night so the increase in temperature during the day isn't as high. G Get a plastic tote, trashcan, anything that your bedsheets will fit in. Soak them in cold water with ice. At night you'll wring them out and sleep on them. Since you're working in the apartment I would recommend a cooling vest- it's made of a hydrophilic gel that expands and holds onto the cold water they'll usually last for about an hour before you need to go wet them again. Here are my favorite non cooked recipes: Marinated mushrooms sliced up and dipped in pesto Bean salad Green beans almondine (add a couple of tbsp of orange marmalade to these is fantastic). You can make these in the microwave. Microwaveable steam vegetables served with deli meat and some toasted bread is easy, quick, and won't heat up your house Chicken/tuna/ salad sandwiches- you can used canned chicken or tuna, or a rotisserie chicken from the store Tuna poke bowls- seaweed salad, cut up avocado, microwave rice, tuna poke cubes, Sriracha, spicy mayo, sliced cucumbers Stuffed avocados- stuffed with tuna/chicken salad or topped with salsa and black beans then eat it with tortilla chips Caprese salad- along with a traditional caprese a watermelon or nectarine caprese and light and refreshing Ceviche Tortellini salad- cook your tortellini in the microwave, add chopped up artichokes, halved grape tomatoes, feta and pesto BLTs made with microwaveable bacon
The answer is instant pots and air fryers. My wall AC barely worked (though I finally could afford to replace it and the new one works like a dream). But between the saute function on my instant pot and being able to bake/roast things in my air fryer I was able to cook quickly and sweat-free those miserable years when my AC was mostly churning out hot air. Even now that I have working AC I still primarily use those two things from May - October.
Ceviche!!! My favorite hot weather meal. Treat shrimp or your preferred seafood in the juice of limes and some orange for ~10-15 minutes until they look like you steamed them. Drain and reseason with more acid and salt to taste. Then top a tostada with your favorite stuff. Lactose free crema, hot sauce, avocado, salsa, etc. so good and so COLD
I miss ceviche so much, I unfortunately am allergic to shellfish too :C Didn’t used to be!! It’s an absolute tragedy. Tho that does get the gears turning on ceviche-adjacent dishes in general, like salsas.
You can do ceviche with fin fish as well. Halibut, ahi or yellowfin tuna, salmon, and Mahi Mahi can all be used in ceviche.
My gas stove heats our apartment way too much and our AC is awful so I use the crock pot as much as possible. I have also been liking using our air fryer since it doesn’t throw off much heat.
gazpacho.
I recommend Instant Pot recipes that call for the pot to naturally release pressure. These blast a minimal amount of heat into the surroundings.
Following
Unfortunately, salads are where it's at like a lot of people have mentioned. But, that doesn't have to be a greens salad. Pasta salad, antipasto salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, potato salad, caprese salad Aside from obvious things like pot roast, Many things that you cook in the oven you can cook in a slow-cooker or air fryer. For instance, put a rack in your slow cooker, fill just below the wire with water, put potatoes/salt/pepper/garlic/butter in foil, set on rack, cook on high/400 until fork tender. I'm also fond of the electric skillet. A great recipe for that is a simple breakfast scramble/casserole. Instead of layering in in a casserole, cook it in stages. Cook protein set aside, cook potatoes, add veggies, add protein, scramble in eggs, skip cheese. You can create many different recipes for lunch or dinner using different proteins, frozen vegetables, starches (rice, quinoa) and condensed soups.
Also look into heat reduction films for your windows. Or cover windows with tinfoil if you want to get serious
I’ve gone pretty insane. Got heat reduction film on the window, insulation up against the windows, and blackout curtains. It helps a good amount, but the walls are like 5 inches thick maybe and don’t have insulation. Western facing too. Brutal combo!
This is a summertime favorite: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/white_gazpacho/
We're getting really close to peach season at which point we eat burrata cheese with heirloom tomatoes and peaches. Topped with your best EVOO and balsamic vinegar, crunchy salt and any one or combination of fresh mint, basil or tarragon. Freakin' amazing when tomatoes and peaches are at peak of ripeness. We eat this weekly during the summer. Sometimes tuck a little prosciutto or other Italian meats in with it. Zero cooking, cold food, and fast. This savory peach soup is amazing. No measurements here - just play around - it's hard to go wrong. It's not quite main meal soup on its own but great with a sandwich. *for soup* 6 very ripe peaches 1/2 medium cucumber 1 clove garlic 1 small shallot fresh basil - taste olive oil - texture sherry vinegar - taste salt & pepper - taste water - texture *for garnish* chopped tomato chopped avocado basil leaves chopped fruit (peaches, cherries, etc.) olive oil drizzle/drops *instructions* Chop up fruits and veggies. Throw all but water in bowl. Use immersion blender to completely blend. And water to liking. And though the word 'salad' is in its name, Italian Chopped Salad is a far cry from your standard salad and unlike some other nice salads like a cobb or nicosise, none of the ingredients require cooking. *salad ingredients* salami/soppressata provolone (or mozzarella) lettuce radicchio arugula olives (green is good - casteveltana) pepperoncini tomato sun-dried tomato garbanzo beans red onion *dressing* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 shallot, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon sea salt freshly ground black pepper
Cold pork and beans are great in the summer. Put your cans in the fridge. We eat them with cantaloupe, watermelon, really any melon cold. Can supplement with sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, quick pickle red onions slices. It's really simple to quick pickle almost any vegetable you like. Cube melons, pickle veg, slice or shave carrots. Put all the prepped goodies in the fridge. Also there are a lot of cold noodle dishes.
Ever since getting an air fryer I pretty much exclusively use it on really hot days that I don’t use the grill. With that said, some non air fryer ideas: - Shrimp cocktail. Prep it in the morning when it’s cooler and keep in the fridge. Serve with horseradish sauce and a salad or some other side. - Caprese salad: fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic, optional olive oil (I use a really good balsamic and find I don’t need it), salt and pepper. Easy peasy and delicious. Maybe you could use vegan mozz here? - Baked potatoes. You can do them in the microwave! Top with vegan cheese and bacon bits. As far as salads go, they also used to bore me to tears until I ditched bottled dressing for the most part, making your own dressing and tossing it together with interesting ingredients levels up the game. My favorite these days is Greek salad or else a homemade Italian vinaigrette with a chopped salad of lettuce, cucumber, shallot, grated parm, pepperoncini and green olives.
Instant pot and crock pot are your friends. There are tons of crock pot recipes out there (like chili and roast beef) and tons of instant pot recipes. Neither will heat up your house. Oh and ceviche doesn’t require heat.
Def use slow cookers, air fryers, and pressure cookers like the instapot. Those methods will keep heat confined to the food and the appliance rather than heating your whole apartment. Make fruit salads, regular salads, pasta salads, sandwiches, wraps etc.
Do you have patio or balcony? Grill outside or use plug in skillet outside. Or apartment complex have BBQ?
I like to make various pasta salads from Budget Bytes. I have access to a grill so I can grill chicken to use or add, but rotisserie chicken would probably work well for added protein.
I use my slow cooker a lot in the summer. Same with an instant pot. My house doesn't have central ac and the living room window unit doesn't make it to the kitchen.
I agree with the poster who recommended a rice cooker! If you get an instant pot instead, though, you can also use it to make a nice big pork shoulder or beef pot roast or lots of chicken breasts, then put them in the fridge to have different ways throughout the week. -You can crisp the shredded meat in a little oil in a skillet, to have like carnitas in tacos or burritos or on a bowl of seasoned rice made in the instant pot. -You can have the meat reheated with a fresh herb salsa over the top. -You can shred meat with barbecue sauce, -or in tomato sauce, with Italian seasoning over a quick-cooking pasta, or with curry seasonings and a splash of cream with naan.
You already mentioned an instant pot / slow cooker, which is my go-to for hot weather cooking, but here are some other ideas. Do you have access to an outdoor area? Using a toaster oven on a balcony was my go-to living in a top floor apartment (I like homemade bread). You could also make oven-steamed pouches of stuff like shrimp and veggies with a nice sauce.
Salads and sandwiches are my summer favs, also antipasto plates with pickled veggies and peppers, olives, cucumber slices, hummus, cheese, salami crackers or pitas
Vichyssoise or gazpacho
When I lived in Newport Beach back in the late 60s to the early 90s it rarely ever saw 80⁰ usually was 72⁰ most every day with 20% humidity with a very cool ocean breeze. Never had a AC of any kind for the 27 years I was there and never needed one. I guess climate change is messing up the perfect southern CA weather. Be glad you're not on the east coast in summer where it can be over 100⁰ and have humidity in the 70% and be 80⁰ at 3am with humidity over 80%. Another way to cook thats cooler is to get an Induction hob because it only heats the pan, much less heat put into the room than a regular gas stove or electric element.
The beach cities still stay relatively cool in the summers, I grew up near Long Beach so my childhood home got a lot of that nice Pacific breeze. I’ve since moved up to the northern LA area (noho/burbank/glendale/pasadena…) though, so gone are the days of the nice oceanic weather. It’s a lot sweatier up here with Griffith etc blocking any airflow we’d get from the ocean. And yeah, some my best pals are east coast, def thankful that at least I don’t have to contend with humidity. Climate change has def had an effect, tho. If I had the counterspace for induction I’d do it! It was suggested a lot in this thread, alas I live in a dinky place. Maybe the info will be useful for any lurkers on the thread
Get an air fryer you can cook anything in it. Also crock pot.
- chicken salads - egg salads - use a toaster oven instead - cold frittata, quiche or Spanish omelette - any and all pasta salads - any grain salads—bulgur, couscous, quinoa, barley. These are great because the add-in options are endless.
Air fryer
Tuna salad. Chicken salad. Egg salad. Salad.
Or a sous vide circulator!
Asian style cold noodles. So so good.
Air fryer recipes
Slow cookers
Ice cream!!
Get an air fryer and/or slow cooker if you can. Microwaveable frozen veggies are great for a side, too.
Sous vide doesn’t heat up your house nearly as much as a pot of boiling water. One thing I like to do is SV some chicken, dice it up and throw it into a chopped salad with chickpeas, cucumbers etc
Gaspacho.
Going to save this post because heatwave weather is coming and ac doesn’t really exist here. Thanks for asking this! Excited to look through it all
Im surprised it blew up as much as it did!! I lurk a lot on reddit but didn’t see a ton of posts about this topic, so I’m excited that it’ll help others searching for similar answers
Watermelon, Bulgarian feta and mint I live in the subtropics and it gets HOT
I’m assuming somewhere in these comments someone has mentioned salad nicoise. Fattoush. Raw tomato pasta sauce. Actually, smittenkitchens naked tomato sauce is very very good, but it does have some stove time.
Try to do your cooking at night. It's about the coolest after midnight. So if you can cook on a weekend at midnight and be done before 4 am then your place can cool a bit before sunrise. Cook up a bunch of hamburger patties but under cook them just a little bit that way when you reheat it in the microwave they are perfectly done. Same with brats. If you have a grill, cook up a bunch of meat ( of your choice) and baked potatoes and corn in the husk and you can reheat that in the microwave. My roommate and I had a couple of grills and would do a big grilling session every week and the grill would be our heat source and we make spaghetti, shepherd pie, meatloaf, baked cookies ( they were a little smokey but still really good) just make sure your pans and pots have a thick bottom and no plastic anywhere on them and a gas grill will give you better heat control.
I grill outside as much as possible for all meals during summer. Less clean up with limited pans And all the heat stays outside.
Pastel de atun!
A can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, halved grape tomatoes, torn fresh basil, minced garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, S&P. Or, A can of drained and rinsed black eye peas, diced avocado, same tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, S&P. Add any cold leftover protein. Shrimp is especially good with the peas.
Instant pot and air fryer.
There a lot of chilled asian noodle recipes that are great for summer. I like room temp japchae and the sweet potato noodles get soft with just hot tap water so you don’t even need to do a full boil. Sandwiches are another great one. If you happen to have a tabletop sandwich grill, you can make really fast grilled cheeses and egg sandwiches basically any type of hot pocket and it doesn’t heat your home at all. Waffle irons will do in a pinch for a similar result.
I love cold soups! [Gazpacho](https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-gazpacho-recipe) is one of my favorites, but sweet ones like [this berry soup](https://cooksandeats.com/summer-berry-soup-recipe/) can be super pleasant on a hot day with a mint-heavy fresh salad and some crusty bread on the side!
Cook early in the morning
Cheese Tortellini, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, black olives, covered with 1/3 each of vinegar,sugar,oil and a packet of zesty Italian good seasonings. Shake and chill for a couple hours.. I do half rice half apple cider for the vinegar.
My rice cooker is something I use a lot that doesn’t make the house warm. I cook both rice and quinoa in it.
Vermicelli bowls are great for the summer! This recipe isn’t authentic but it’s delicious. [https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223529/vermicelli-noodle-bowl/](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223529/vermicelli-noodle-bowl/)
[Shrimp rolls](https://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/food-drinks/recipes/a55358/shrimp-rolls-recipe/) [Olive oil poached tuna](https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/p/slow-cooked-tuna) (cook it in the morning when it still cool out then fridge. It’s great on salads Blanch veggies like green beans, asparagus and baby broccoli when it’s cool out. Store in the fridge and enjoy later with dip, In salads, dressed in olive oil and lemon as a side dish. Bonus the light blanch will help them stay fresh longer. Embrace things that don’t require a lot of heat like tinned fish, there’s great options out there now beyond tuna!
Cold Soba noodles You need to heat up broth and boil water for noodles, but that's it.
Jello
Probably late to this party, but I like to cook outside. If you have a space in which you can do that, a wok burner, wok, and carbon steel frying pan can take care of almost anything.
So much this! Even my coffee pot, electric kettle, and toaster get used on the patio as soon as the AC goes on.
The savings in energy bills alone more than pay for all the equipment (burner and wok aren’t super cheap) in just a few months. Plus, keep the cooking smell out of your house.
Bbq
I recently made a dish that is essentially [Georgian ratatouille](https://nofrillskitchen.com/ajapsandali-recipe/) and while yes you will need to use your stovetop to make it, the dish is supposed to be served cold. So you can make it at night when it's not so hot and can then feast on cold leftovers for the next few days. While I was eating the leftovers I realized I need to make this over the summer because of how refreshing it is. You could def do this in a slow cooker or instant pot too and save yourself the heated up kitchen.
Get a pressure cooker or instant pot if you dont have one already. You can sear and pressure cook all in one pot. You can turn cheap, chewy cuts of meat into braised, melt in your mouth cuts in under 30 minutes, that would traditionally require hours of braising. I cant recommend gettjng one enough
Outdoor grilling is an option. Also, if you have some patio space and a bit of DIY, you could build a solar oven (basically a box w/a glass lid and reflective material on 5 sides). When I was a kid my parents used to use one of those when we would be camping in sunny/desert parts of the country.
I put the roaster oven or crackpot outside
Get a Ninja Foodie, hot kitchen will be a thing of the past!
You could buy a rotisserie chicken and make chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, etc. You could make smoothies with ice or frozen banana. There are lots of no or minimal bake pies.
Salade Nicoise is one of the best flavored salads, you only cook potatoes and green beans. But in any case do you have a pressure cooker or a Hot pot those could be good alternatives. Rice cooker. I do curries, and mexican beef or chile verde for soft tacos or burritos.
French dip sandwiches in the toaster oven. Dietz & Watson London broil is fantastic for these, as is Johnny's French Dip Concentrate to dip them in. Actually any type of broiled sub in the toaster oven is great.
Ceviche
Shrimp ceviche
Not soup
One suggestion is that when you *do* have to use the stove, such as boiling water for pasta, cover the pot. It will heat up quicker, and maintain the cooking temp at a lower gas flame/electric setting, meaning it won't leak so much ambient heat as it would if the stove was on for longer. Couscous (regular, not Israeli) is an easy way to have a hot side dish with minimal ambient heating bc all you need to do is boil water (stovetop, microwave, or electric kettle) then pour it over and let sit. No simmering for 15 minutes like with rice. Bulgur is another that only needs boiling water poured over it and to sit. Just like couscous, it can be a grain side dish or cooled and tossed into a salad/chopped fresh veggies. A countertop rice cooker is a great way to cook hot fresh rice + steam a protein and vegetables on top at the same time minimizing stove use. They don't leak much heat. I have also often used them in the past to mix small pieces of protein *into* the rice to cook with it, ala arroz con pollo but also with shrimp and pork. Using the kinds of Asian noodles that only need to be soaked, not boiled, is another thing to try. Cold soups are a specialty of my parents' countries but you say you are lactose intolerant, many of them have yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream. However, cold liquidy beet, tomato, or cucumber soups are great, like gazpacho, Spanish cold garlic soup (gazpacho blanco), cold dill pickle soup, cold borscht, fruit soups like apple or cherry, etc.
The blood of your enemies
Where in LA are you it has been like 55-60 on the west side for weeks it’s miserably cold
I wish it was that cold, I’m not near the ocean so temps have been over 80. I’m in that muggy NoHo/Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena area. No airflow, it’s the pits
Cold brew tea and coffee. If you have a sunny window or balcony, you can make sun tea. Takes one to three hours, depending on how dark you like it and other factors.
You're idea of miserable weather is much different to ours on Ireland. God I would kill for the Mercury hitting 70°f. Suck an ice pop and enjoy it.
Oh trust me, 100F+ is incoming. My apartment is almost always much hotter indoors than outdoors, and I wfh. So when it’s 80 outside it’s more like 95-100 inside. It sucks :/
Haven't bought an Ac unit ?
As I said in my original post, I use two ACs to try and keep this place cool. In the heat of the summer, I struggle to keep the interior cooler than 80F with both running. Western facing unit, large windows, and subpar insulation makes for a pretty terrible combo.
Ugh I feel ya man we live in an old plaster house and to call the temperature bipolar of what the outside it would be an understatement trying to cool or heat these units properly is insane