OS Summer Cooking

Toonie

How about making Pourgouri (A Cypriot dish)

Ingredients for 4 people

2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 oz (25 g) vermicelli
8 oz (250 g) bulghur wheat
1 1/2 glasses (300 ml) chicken stock
salt and black pepper
4 rashers of bacon cut into pieces

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the bacon until the fat is brown. Remove from pan.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and saute the onion for a couple of minutes until it softens but does not brown.

Stir in the vermicelli, breaking it with your hands.

Continue to fry with the onion for a couple of minutes until it begins to absorb the oil.

Rinse the bulghur wheat under the cold tap, then add to the pan. Add the stock and seasoning.

Cover and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes or until all the stock is absorbed.

Leave to sit for 10 minutes before serving it.

parsonswife8

On very hot days, we will be having anything from rice salad, potato salad, coleslaw, beetroot, avocado, cold meats, grilled chicken breasts, smoked salmon, tuna salad, griddled salmon, tinned mackeral, tuna, stir fries, something on toast, hamburgers, gammon, egg and chips, fish fingers and mash with mushy peas, stuffed mushrooms, omelettes, toasted sarnies-chicken mayo, bacon and avocado, cheese and ham, cheese and tomato, BLT etc
And lots and lots of salad.

boo81

You have given me some good ideas, thanks peeps!

Definately need to try the bulgur wheat recipe out, it sounds fab.

I just wish my OH liked anything to do with salad. He will tolerate potato salad but thats about it. I think roasted veg is the way to go :-)

Psykicpup

I have a west facing kitchen window - which is lovely in the morning but sooo hot in the afternoon/early evening, which means when I get in from work the last thing I want is to stand out there in the patch of light through the window which *****'s law is right in front of the cooker!:eek:

Could you all suggest some summer slow cooker recipes or any other inspirational ideas for cooked meals (not salads as we often have these for lunch) for these lovely summer evenings. :A

calleyw

What other appliances do you have?

Slow cooker
Electric Steamer etc etc.

As that could help take some of the heat (:rotfl: pun was intended) out meal times.

You don't just have to cook stews in slower cookers. You could poach chicken etc.

If you have an electric steamer you can pop chicken pieces/salmon etc on the bottom tier and potatoes on the next one up turn it on and leave the kitchen. Prep a salad just as serving up.

Yours

Calley

meritaten

er - why dont you invest in a fan or an electric cooler? also keeping blinds closed during the day will help keep the kitchen cool.
I had this problem when we had a static caravan - It got so hot during the day I didnt really feel like cooking in the evening.
so we got into the habit of closing all the curtains while we were out all day. then about ten minutes before doing supper I would switch the fan on. also the oven doesnt heat the room like the hobs do - so if a cooked supper was wanted then it tended to be something which went in the oven. with salad!!! potatoes went first in the microwave then in the oven for 15 minutes to crisp the outside. chips, I am afraid, came from the local chippy! but i could have done oven chips. or the grill doesnt heat the room much either - I always grilled the burgers, bacon etc.
I appreciate that you arent on holiday - but hope any of my suggestions help!

Gigervamp

I was going to suggest closing the curtains during the day as Meritaten said.

If you have a gas bbq, you could cook the meat on that. Couscous is good to have instead of potatoes, pasta or rice and all you need to do to prepare that is boil a kettle.

elfen

Could you do something like gammon, which is pretty quick, or chicken breast with new potatoes and peas?

rachbc

venetian blind - then you can adjust the slats so the light is let in but the glare is cut - and like other suggest keep it closed during the day.

tessie_bear

id suggest a blind as well...not to eat but to keep the heat out...we are the same and i pull the blind down as soon as i think in the afternood/evening and it really works....as for summer food salad with nice meat and crusty bread...steak/chops/chicken breast griddles and served with boiled pots and seamed veg or salad hth