Cool food (or what to eat when it's too hot to cook)

Recipes: Quick and easy tostadas, BLTs and BLTAs, Michelada, Salade Nicoise

We're heading into the hottest part of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Dog Days when even the thought of turning on the stove makes you sweat. Still, you have to eat, even though appetites are flagging and a cold beer sounds like dinner. Cool food with minimal cooking to the rescue! Here are three delectable dinner options that will stimulate those wilty taste buds without heating you up a bit.

Quick and Easy Tostadas

This recipe is adapted from one in Rick Bayless' fabulous book, Mexican Everyday. The overall concept of a tostada is a salad on top of a fried tortilla, and it's a complete meal in itself with protein, vegetables, and major crispy deliciousness.

• 1 can refried beans, heated in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, or in a small saucepan on the stove (this is the only cooking required)
• Half a rotisserie chicken, shredded **or** 6 oz. sliced ham, cut into strips
• 1 small Romaine lettuce heart, sliced crosswise into strips
• 1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks (only in tomato season, which is now!)
• A good handful of cilantro, chopped.
• 1/2 cup grated Mexican queso anejo or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream (you can use light sour cream), mixed with 2 tablespoons Mexican hot sauce, like Cholula. If you use a hotter sauce like Tobasco start with 1 teaspoon and add more to taste.
• 4 (or 6 for big eaters) store-bought tostadas (crisp fried corn tortillas) or homemade, if they are not available in your area. To make them at home, fry corn tortillas one at a time in 1/2 inch vegetable oil, about 15 seconds on each side, and drain on paper towels. They should be completely crisp when cool.
  

Lay 2 (or 3) tostadas on each dinner plate. Spread warm refried beans on each one, and then layer the meat, lettuce, avocado, and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle generously with cilantro and cheese. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the sour cream dressing over it all, and dig in!

That cold beer will taste great with tostadas, or why not try an icy margarita?

BLTs (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwiches)

What is more American than a BLT in summer, when tomatoes are to-die-for and it's hot, hot, hot outside? Here's another one of those easy options that's a whole meal in itself - protein, vegetable, and major deliciousness with a minimum of sweat equity.

• 4 slices applewood smoked bacon (my fave, or whatever good bacon you have)
• 1 large ripe tomato (any color), sliced
• A handful of fresh lettuce - butter, mixed baby lettuces, arugula, whatever you like - washed in cool water and spun dry
• Good sliced bread. I like oatmeal bread or 9-grain. Sourdough is also good if the crust isn't too hard.
• Mayonnaise

Fry the bacon in a small pan and drain it on paper towels. Or cook it in the microwave on paper towels. The bacon should be almost crisp but not overdone. (This is the only cooking required)

Spread 2 slices of bread with mayo. Lay half the sliced tomato on one slice, top it with 2 slices bacon, and top that with lettuce. Put the remaining mayo-ed slice of bread on top and slice the sandwich on the diagonal. Place it on a plate.

Repeat for the second sandwich. Go outside on the steps where it's cool, and eat. Yum!

Variation: BLTAs (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Avocado Sandwiches)

Same as above, except mash half of a ripe avocado and spread it on one slice of the bread instead of mayo. Repeat for the second sandwich.

That cold beer is also good with BLTs and BLTAs, but so is a Bloody Mary. Or how about a Michelada? Did you know spice helps keep you cool? Yep. Here's how to make a Michelada, a.k.a. cerveza preparada:

For each Michelada

Mix the following ingredients together in a tall glass with lots of ice.

• Juice of a lemon
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 dash soy sauce
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce
• A pinch of black pepper
• A pinch of sea salt

Pour in a 12-oz beer, mix, and enjoy!

Salade Nicoise

This composed salad is so easy and so deliciously beautiful, it's crazy. Except for boiling up a couple of eggs and a few potatoes, all the ingredients come out of cans. You can be creative and add things you like or eliminate ones you don't, but the potatoes, eggs, and tuna are standard.
Note: This recipe involves marinating some of the ingredients for 1 to 2 hours, so plan your time accordingly.

• 6 or 8 small red potatoes, cut in half and steamed just until tender
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• several canned artichoke hearts, marinated or not
• 2 eggs, hard boiled, cooled, peeled, and quartered
• 1 7-oz can of tuna in spring water, drained and broken into chunks
• A handful of cherry tomatoes, or 2 regular ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup olives, black or green
• 1/2 cup bottled red peppers, cut into strips
• 1 2-oz can rolled anchovies with capers (optional, if you love anchovies)
• 1 cup garlic dressing (recipe follows)

Garlic Dressing

• 3/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar, or 1/4 cup rice vinegar plus 1 teaspoon tarragon leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Combine mustard, sugar, salt, and a generous amount of pepper in a small bowl. Mix in the garlic. Add the vinegar and lemon juice and stir thoroughly. Add the oil and mix well. Whisk or shake vigorously in a closed container just before using. Makes about 1 cup.

To make the salad, combine the steamed potatoes, the sliced onions, and the artichoke hearts (if they're not already marinated) with the garlic dressing. Marinate the mixture in the refrigerator for an hour or two, stirring gently two or three times.

Line a large salad bowl or a platter with greens. Drain the marinated vegetables, keeping the dressing for use later. Put the tuna in the middle, and arrange the marinated potatoes, onions, and artichoke hearts, plus the tomatoes, olives, eggs, red peppers, and anchovies around it. Sprinkle a little of the garlic dressing over it just before you serve it, and also pass some of the dressing at the table.

Bon appetit!