Eating: What to eat when it is hot

It's hot. 
Big surprise, as it is summer in the south. 

I love summer and I love summer food, but I hate to cook when it is hot. 

So, we are doing our "summer routine". That is, my husband is lucky enough to be home at lunch, so we eat our main meal at noon.

It is great! The cooking gets done when it is still coolish, we are all together and we are not miserable at night. Instead we can sit outside and
play backgammon or watch a movie, inside in the cool,

lying like dogs on the cool leather sofas.

Here are some ideas for a lovely summer meal that does not involve too much heat:

• kitchen sink  salad (ours this week included greens, onions, watermelon, tomatoes, almonds, avocado,bell peppers and mushrooms)
• seared scallops, cucumber and avocado salad and squash fritters
• tomato, basil, balsamic vinegar and turkey sandwiches
• grilled chicken legs, watermelon, mac and cheese and of course,kitchen sink salad

This is pretty much what we are eating this week. I made a pork tenderloin on sunday for dinner and the carnivores at that with their salad and mac and cheese for lunch.

I ate salad and key lime pie.

Lovely!

Here's the recipe for an excellent key lime pie. It is my new recipe for one of my favorite desserts, which I get my mouth all set for about the second it gets hot in our neck of the woods.

Green eyed, bug eyed and waiting for some pie

An Excellent Key Lime Pie

1 graham cracker crust (recipe to follow)

3 eggs (seperated)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use the fat free)

1/2 cup key lime juice (they sell it at the grocery store)

3 tbl. Tequila

zest of about half a lime (I hate measuring zest)

Oven to 350. Beat yolks and add milk, lime juice and tequila (do not over mix). Beat whites until very fluffy. Fold into yolk mixture. Fold in zest. Pour into crust and bake about 15 minutes, or until set. Cool completely (about 3 hours). Serve with or without whipped cream (I prefer without). Yum.

Graham cracker crust 

1/3 cup of butter

1/4 cup of sugar

18 graham crackers, crushed 

Melt butter, stir in sugar. Pour over crushed graham crackers. Toss to mix well. Press into pie pan, chill about 20 minutes (I use the freezer) and you are ready to rock. Makes two 9 in. pie crusts. Yum.

I must say, the crust is a recipe from my crusty and funky Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. The filling recipe is a mix of several recipes that I have made over the years. A lot of people do not bake their key lime pie, but, I am a fan of not getting sick. So...

Hope you love it like I do. Well, maybe not quite that much....