HEALTHY COOK

Keep Your Cool in the Kitchen

by CAROL CORLEY

When summer’s heat and humidity strike our beautiful subtropical home, the last thing we want to do is heat up the kitchen. So how do we survive our challenging summers yet still remain healthy? Yes, we can have salads, but they get old. How about cold watermelon soup? Or cucumber chicken? How about a spicy meat dish that cools from inside out? Some foods are cooling — watermelon and other melons, cucumber, berries and summer fruits, bananas, avocados, coconut, lettuces. Some people feel spicy foods cool us. I’m a bit skeptical but willing to give it a try. As for meat and proteins, cold chicken strips, wraps, and cold sandwiches can be cooling, especially by adding slaw and cucumbers. And dessert offers so many frozen choices that you will run out of summer before you run out of ideas. Foods to avoid on a hot day are those that increase metabolism — spinach, brown rice and other whole grains, carrots, ginger, eggs, oatmeal, almonds. But in Florida, most of us have air-conditioning, so if you like a food, eat it. Historically, and before air conditioning, old Florida served foods in the summer like large mouth bass and other fish, wild citrus, foods with Spanish influence like Garbanzo soup with dried chick peas, vegetables, and saffron. They also served wild game, beef, lamb, pork. Native American foods included wild game and wild plants, and they included mollusks, fish, snails, shellfish, alligator, rattlesnake, turtles, maize, squash, beans, honey, persimmons, and much more, as noted by foodtimeline. org. Here are a few cool dishes that are a bit easier to prepare.

Cold Watermelon Soup

(Adapted from food.com) Ingredients: Watermelon, 4-5 cups peeled and cubed Lime juice, 1/3 cup fresh Honey, 1 tablespoon Mint leaf, 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped fine Wine, 1/3 cup dry white Ginger root, 3/4-inch minced Jalapeno peppers, 1 halved, seeded, chopped, if desired Tabasco sauce to taste Directions: In a blender, combine all ingredients except tabasco sauce and process until smooth. Chill at least 4 hours covered. Serve in chilled bowls with tabasco sauce on the side.

Spicy Thai Steak

(Adapted from foodandwine.com) Ingredients: Steak, 3 pounds skirt steaks cut into strips or steak of choice Basil leaves, 1/4 cup Cilantro leaves, 1/4 cup Garlic cloves, 6 peeled Asian fish sauce, 2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce, 2 tablespoons Lemon zest and lime zest, 1 teaspoon each finely grated Olive oil, 1/2 cup Directions: Combine basil, cilantro, garlic, fish and chili sauces and process in a small food processor until finely chopped. Add zests and oil and pulse until smooth. Rub the marinade on steaks and keep in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you want it quicker, you can let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grill steaks on a preheated grill at moderately high heat, turning occasionally. Cook until medium-rare, and let steaks rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice across the grain and serve. Note that marinade can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator. It can also be used with chicken or shrimp.

Frozen Margarita Pie

(Adapted from bonappetit.com) Ingredients: Butter, 6 tablespoons unsalted, melted Graham crackers, 10 Sugar, 3 tablespoons Salt, 1/2 teaspoon Heavy cream, 3/4 cup chilled Limes, 5, for 1/2 cup juice Sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz Tequila blanco, 3 tablespoons Directions: Add to food processor graham crackers, sugar, half the salt, and cooled melted butter. Process until the texture of wet sand. Place in a 9” pie pan,