Oh what to eat in this hot weather

I've just had 3 cream crackers with some Wensleydale and a small green salad followed by sultana bran and sliced banana. That's all I feel like in this heat.

My go-to meal is cold curried chicken recipe from my much beloved aunt (not coronation chicken, but that’s nice too) served with rice salad. I cook the rice and the chicken mix the evening before when it’s cool enough and then leave in the fridge overnight. Exact quantities are not my thing - adjust quantities to taste. It’s a great picnic favourite.

AUNTIE WIN’S COLD CURRIED CHICKEN
Rub chicken bits (breast, thigh, on or off bone) with curry powder. Brown in oil and then remove from pan. Chop some onions and sweat in oil in the same pan till transparent. Add a tablespoon or so of curry powder depending on how spicy you like curry. Add some flour to soak up the oil and fry for a couple of minutes. Add a bit of tomato paste. Keep pan on heat and add water until the flour/onion mixture thickens a bit. Put chicken bits in and simmer for 20-30 mins depending on the size of the chicken bits. Add water if it gets too gloopy, but don’t end up with it wet. Pull chicken meat off bone if using thighs. Taste and add salt if necessary. Remove from heat and chill.

Chop a cucumber into bit sized bits. Stir yoghurt, double cream and cucumber into the cold chicken gloop.

RICE SALAD
Boil some brown rice until nearly ready. Lob in some peas/sweet corn/diced carrot mix from the freezer. Br8ng back to the boil and simmer for a minute or so. Drain the rice, return to the pan, and then pour over a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon or so of white wine vinegar. Alternatively, use home-made French dressing. Cover with cling film and chill.

Salmon and broccoli with tagliatelle creme fraishe horseradish and lemon zest. Takes minutes to prepare and it's so tasty. I use fresh tagliatelle which only needs three minutes cooking time.

Some great ideas on here. I love a nice home made quiche, but not my DH, can’t be bothered to bake it just for me.

Having the allotment I feel obliged to munch my way through all its various offerings at every meal time. Breakfast was soft fruit and Greek yogurt whizzed up with a banana, lunch just now steamed veggies with half a container of ready made cheese sauce.

It was nice, but didn’t look as good as DH lunch- which was two sausage cobs.

Yesterday: Ribs in Chinese sauce , crusty cobs and huge bowl of mixed salad leaves with a very gloopy honey and mustard dressing.
Followed by fresh made beetroot brownies and ice cream

Tonight takeaway food from pub. Mines teriyaki salmon and salad. DH is his gammon and chips.

There's salad and then there's my salad! ?

Last night we had roasted red pepper sweet potato chunks and red onion - I stuck them in the oven earlier (and left the kitchen until they were ready) - on a bed of leaves with clementines cut in half, baby tomatoes quickly blistered in a pan in olive oil with a balsamic glaze, and toasted pine nuts as a garnish. I knew husband would be hungry so we had a couple of lamb chops on the side.

I make a salad dressing with kefir, olive oil, honey and dijon mustard.

New potatoes from the allotment. Frozen mixed veg and breaded chicken fillets tonight. Lunch is usually a sandwich and fruit.

Tapas night!
The closest we will get to Spain for a while!
A crisp white Rioja some mini chorizo sausages fried with little potato cubes, bruschetta with homemade pesto and lots of cherry tomatoes sliced on top, ( never refrigerate tomatoes ) slices of manchego cheese and Iberian ham, a bowl of green olives in lemon and herb dressing, roasted salted almonds, a small bowl of olive oil and balsamic glaze to dip little cubes of bread in and a baked Camembert to dip bread and crudités in.

I know bruschetta and Camembert are not Spanish, they are however delicious and I don’t care…. It’s too hot.

H1954

Salmon and broccoli with tagliatelle creme fraishe horseradish and lemon zest. Takes minutes to prepare and it's so tasty. I use fresh tagliatelle which only needs three minutes cooking time.

Right I’m having that tonight !!

Sago we had tapas on Sunday. I think it’s ideal for this weather. I already had a few bits in the freezer croquettes etc. In Sainsbury’s I came across a “tapas in a box” for £10 which was brilliant and I would recommend. Only thing I didn’t have in was Sherry.

Horrible lasagne with salad. DH suggested putting veg that he'd grown in the garden in it. It now tastes funny, but will eat it anyway. Can't bear wasting food.

Salad! at lunchtime with abit of leftover chicken.

Salmon with Jersey Royals and whatever tonight.

I've had a marvellous green Thai curry, I always prefer hot and spicy foods in hot weather.

We are having mussels with some French bread for dinner tonight. I might be tempted to have a glass of white wine with mine, but we'll see. (The mussels are vacuum packed, with the sauce, so really easy to deal with - just 8 minutes in the pan over a medium to low flame).

Shandy57 me too, but I have to limit them for health reasons. Friday night is usually curry night here, made in the slow cooker.

Monday- cheese omelettes with fried new potatoes, courgettes, lettuce, tomatoes.

Tuesday- a big prawn cocktail with home made Marie Rose sauce, low GI bread.

Today- cheese, potato, tomato and courgette gratin.

(Can you guess we have started picking tomatoes and courgettes in earnest?)

Er, Turkish take away - delivered.

kittylester I so would love that!

Thanks for all your lovely ideas.
If I was on my own, I would only have light meals but dh likes a main meal in the evening.
This evening we had chicken stir fry with lots of veg. No dessert and nothing more for us until 10 in the morning. We are trying the 16 - 8 fasting ‘diet’. Don’t seem to be losing any weight as yet. ?

I’ve had 10 year old grandson with me all day who is always starving. So he and DH have had sausages, new potatoes and baked beans. I made myself a prawn salad while it was all cooking and had a few new potatoes with it. Just too hot to think about heavy food although the menfolk didn’t agree.

Lunch was a light soup I made with some left over gammon and veg from my garden. Lemon sole baked with butter and white wine served with my peas and courgettes for tea. I eat water melon when it’s hot. I will use up some melon to mix with feta cheese mint and walnuts for lunch tomorrow. I can’t eat a big hot meal in this weather.

Mozella sliced with sliced big juicy toms and balsamic vinegar.

Pudding, two pancakes with banana sliced and fried in tiny bit of butter,brown sugar topped with vanilla ice cream and a slathering of maple syrup.

Mini Magnums!

Oh, had a couple of those as well.

Well, today it is going to be fish and chips. The builders are in today plaster boarding the extended kitchen and the kitchen is out of bounds.

We were not expecting them until tomorrow, that is why we were unprepared, so fish and chips, it is and eaten out of the wrappings.