Hot weather food ideas?

That chickpea salad sounds amazing...I could live many a happy day eating chikpeas.

Try some Vietnamese noodle salads/spring rolls? You can usually just put the rice noods to soak in some water for a while instead of cooking them if they're thin enough. Some basil, veggies, lettuce, lime juice/chili sauce. MMMM.

Quinoa cooked in the rice cooker can make all kinds of salads too. Cook it with curry and add nuts/raisins or add olives/feta/tomatoes/parsley or basil (after cooking/cooling) for a more Mediterranean flavor.

Yesterday I made a salad with bulgur, lemon juice, cukes, feta, chickpeas, parsley, dried cranberries.

whoops i basically said what jaq said but with more words :-/

My mom made a "salad" last week that was cut up uncooked broccoli covered in mayo.

Cook pasta or rice or potatoes late at night or early in the morning when it's not as hot, then make pasta salad/rice salad/potato salad for laters?

Gazpacho

If you don't have an electric kettle, let me recommend that for getting boiling water without having to use a stove eye! Couscous without a hot kitchen.

Oooh, I love my electric kettle! I bought it for the summer and it DOES THE TRICK. Also rice cooker. If you have a toaster oven, use it to make fish.

yeah i like cold potato salad (not the mayo kind) or cold potato/spinach curry with yogurt

Fennel/Cucumber/Tomato/Feta/Mint salad.

good salad list from bittman
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html

If you have a slow cooker, you can make hard "boiled" eggs in it - fill with water and however many eggs will fit, set on low and leave it for 60-90 minutes. And if you have a porch or deck or balcony and don't have an exterior power outlet, run an outdoor extension cord out there and put your rice cooker/slow cooker/heat-creating appliance outside. Just be safe about it, well-supported, no water pouring on anything or puddling underneath, etc.

Actually, I'll bet on a sunny day in NM, you could cook eggs in a covered glass or metal pan. The water temperature only needs to be > 154 F.

btw, a long narrow strip of jicama in the middle of a vietnamese spring roll is A++

Another treat I love when it's hot (and your mother's broccoli kind of reminded me of this, Abbott) is to peel broccoli stems, cut the marrow into long strips and soak them in rice wine vinegar and then serve them w/sesame seeds.

do not ignore soba noodle salads

Seriously. Even just cold soba w/tofu and scallions is excellent.

Another treat I love when it's hot (and your mother's broccoli kind of reminded me of this, Abbott) is to peel broccoli stems, cut the marrow into long strips and soak them in rice wine vinegar and then serve them w/sesame seeds.

Most days, I love the stems more than the florets. I'll definitely try this one.

i have no idea how to make it but ceviche imo

I think it is dead sea animalls + limes + time = denatured nom

but obv I would cross ref some recipes to make sure I wasn't brewing up a big batch of food borne illlness

I usually just eat lots of watermelon tbh :/ but my parents make a mean cucumber salad - chunks of cucumber, covered in chinkiang vinegar, some soy sauce, some sesame oil, maybe some pepper oil. also boiled peanuts are good when cold

Also, while it's spring, make pea soup to be eaten cold. I had a pea/asparagus soup recently and it was sublime.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/06/24-almost-no-cook-mains-to-beat-the-heat.html?ref=title

salad of black beans, avocado, tomato, cilantro, lime juice, shredded cheddar is a go-to summer meal for me

chickpeas/lentils/feta with tahini dressing is another one that's pretty good

I have been eating hummus every day for weeks.

What is *also* deluxe is if someone gives you a bunch of home-cooked leftovers you can just pop in the microwave, but you can't really count on that as a meal source.

summer cake suitable for leaving party? can't stand the person who's leaving, but hey, I'm making the cake and I want to enjoy it. Considering this, in solidarity with Nigella: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/tropical-chocolate-cake-120

Oh, that cake looks lovely. Thank you Crabbits for posting that link--definitely going to try a few of those.

We've been hosting a gathering every Tuesday; tonight I'm going to make hummus, tziki (sp?), and an attempt at papri chaat served at room temp with cold yogurt. Also some leftover rajas that spouse made yesterday, as a dip with tortilla chips.

Slow cooker has actually been a handy beated the heat kitchen appliance, and of course the grill.

would someone make that cake for me, ty

would much rather make it for you than for its actual recipient!

Maybe you could PUSH IT INTO HIS/HER FACE (just kidding, that would be a waste of a delicious cake. Maybe you can make a fake cake with some cool-whip and shove that into his/her face).

Sorry, the heat is making me aggressive.

It's cooling now - or rather, they are (made one for housemates as well). The icing would be pretty ideal for face-pushing.

I do not recommend this cake! It was an uneasy compromise between cheesecake and actual cake, so it just tasted kind of lumpy and un-moist The icing was good in theory (like eating uncooked meringue. Why not!) but the coconut essence taste was too strong.

halibut ceviche
guacamole
caesar salad
bloody mary/pilsner or mexican beer

Going to try making peach gazpacho this weekend.

http://www.savorysimple.net/peach-gazpacho-kitchenaid-blender-review/

Or watermelon:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/08/watermelon-gazpacho.html