Tahoe temps are soaring and cooling down is essential. The lakes overflow with people trying to escape the summer heat and everyone needs to eat and hydrate. Turning on the oven is the last thing anyone wants to do when it’s hot outside. Even starting the day with hot coffee or tea can heat up the body. Consider starting the day with ice coffee, best prepared and consumed with cream and sugar. If you’re not a coffee drinker, iced tea is a cool winner.
Refreshing drinks
There are many variations starting with simple black tea and lemon, but a Thai iced tea made with sweetened condensed milk will offer a sweet jolt. My father loved Arnold Palmer Half & Half Iced Tea Lemonade. Raspberry or blackberry iced tea is delightful any time of day.
Ahi poke bowls are a family favorite — cooling and scrumptious.
My neighbor, Lisa Kapellas, mentioned a delicious Vietnamese beverage she had while visiting the country. Soda Chanh is made with club soda, lime juice and sugar.
There are, of course, many ways to cool down with seltzer. Add ice and fruit juice for a refreshing summer beverage. SodaStream has made creating your own seltzer a breeze and reduces aluminum can refuse, as well. Mint adds something extraordinary to any summer beverage.
If you feel a bit dehydrated, replace your electrolytes with water, salt, sugar, lemons or oranges. Very chilled coconut water is cooling, as well. Watermelon juice is a summer ritual.
Cool as a cucumber
Eating cucumber is also an excellent way to cool down. Sliced with salt, they taste great on a hot day. And, sliced cucumber in ice water will help the body chill out.
Cucumber gazpacho might not be easy to take to the lake, but it’s delicious, cooling and easy to make. My recipe is simple: olive oil, cucumbers, onion, red pepper, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Chill it for a few hours and serve with an olive oil drizzle and crostini. It’s a meal.
Simple sandwiches
Sandwiches make life easy on the lake or hiking. They take little time to make and there’s no need to cook anything. A good quality sourdough with some greens, heirloom tomatoes, deli meat, cheese, pickles and — my favorite sando addition — pepperoncini.
I love grinders. They remind me of growing up on the East Coast, where we called them hoagies or subs.
Grill some veggies. I use portobello mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, red peppers and onions. Toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and grill until tender. Open a crusty loaf of bread and drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar or Italian dressing, add water mozzarella and top with grilled veggies. This is an outstanding sandwich.
I recently tried camel cheese from Dedrick’s Cheese (they have a stand at the Tahoe City, Truckee and Beckwourth farmers’ markets). It was unbelievably delicious. This would really offer a unique twist to my grinder.
No-cook meals
Lettuce wraps with chicken or shrimp make lunch or dinner a breeze. Adding a little garlic chili sauce and rice (made in a rice cooker to reduce any additional heat in the kitchen).
Ahi poke bowls are a family favorite — cooling and scrumptious. We serve ours with rice, nori, cucumbers, pickled red onions and red cabbage slaw. It’s a hit at any dinner table.
Spring rolls are another easy no-cook meal. With shrimp, tofu or veggies, they are so good: basil and some rice noodles rolled in a rice wrapper and served with peanut sauce or sweet chili sauce.
There are hundreds of ways to cool down without cooking. Enjoy.
Spring rolls
From the kitchen of Priya Hutner
1 package Asian rice paper wrappers
1 lb. shrimp or 1 brick tofu
½ C rainbow carrots, cut into matchstick-sized slivers or shredded
1 C red cabbage, shredded
5-8 scallions, sliced thin
1 C thin rice noodles, cooked
¼ C Thai basil leaves
Soak the rice paper in water and place on a plate. Lay basil first, then add a little of each ingredient and roll like a burrito. Cut in half. Serve with sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce or both.
