Heat Wave Cooking Strategies

Like much (most?) of US we're having a heatwave. Not as bad as some places, but pretty bad- 97 today, heat index 105).
Curious as to folks' strategies. We're trying to cook as little as possible- we have an 1882 house, so no central air, but decent window units.
Obviously grilling is a good option, and last night we did chicken yakitori. Doesn't heat up house, but not super fun standing next to blazing grill turning skewers on a torrid evening.
Decided to do cold poached salmon with a dill/mustard saice So put the sous vide setup on back porch. No reason to have a pot of 115 degree water inside for an hour.
Lots of cold salads (cucumber, fennel, etc) and room temp things like caprese. If we need starch trying to do quick cooking things like soba and somen (and chilling). Cold melon and peaches.
Curious to know what others do (or rather do more of) in hot weather.

[Jenise]

We think along similar lines, Dale. I just got home from a long day out (86F here, where it was only 72 yesterday) in Skagit County. I hit up several produce stands and am now long on tomatoes, armenian cucumbers, cherries, and chiogga beets. The beets are simmering right now and will become a cold salad with chevre cheese. Last night I cooked all the new potatoes I grew recently, put some on a chicken tray bake and turned the other 92% into a cold potato salad. The beet greens will get wilted shorty for another salad, (dressed simply with olive oil, lemon juice and grated cheese).

Though some cooking is necessary to make the cold foods I want, I'm setting us up for hot weather dining ourside for the rest of the week. I also brought home fresh boysenberries and three melons. We're set. Probably won't eat meat again until Friday. Or at least I won't. Whatever my druthers about the produce department, I have to pump Bob full of calories and protein.

I don't change strategies all that much. I need to eat!

I might try to do things on top of the stove more, and maybe limit the oven cooking. But Saturday night pizza is a sacred ritual when we're home, and I keep that going through the summer. AC does just fine for taking off the edge. And at least in the various places we've lived, our ovens haven't heated up the house/apartment all that much, only when you're standing right in front of it, which I can survive for a few minutes. It's all part of the passing seasons.

Of course my wife is a big climate change doomsdayer, so who knows what will happen if things keep getting worse.

We are at 65 degrees this morning and it is a gift after living in 117 to 119 last week and the week before with hot nights. I have all my windows open to cool down the house. It is going to 97 this afternoon, a relief from the past few hell days.
Our large AC/heat unit takes care of most of the house very well. A smaller unit dedicated to the kitchen and laundry room also keeps kitchen area cool, so I cook what I want. I eat a lot of salads, mostly at lunch, and lots of in-season fruits for breakfast, so dinner is what I feel like cooking. Since I cook on Saturday for the coming week, I do not worry about it so much as far as the heat goes. I love to cook, but nowadays, not every day. I plan my next week's meals on Wednesday or Thursday to make sure I have what I need. A friend and I go to Farmer's Market every Saturday, so I usually make changes or add a few things depending on what I find there. Right now, I have 6 huge tomatoes a neighbor gave me...each one weighs from 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. Not the tastiest tomato I have had, but roasts up nice and sweet, So, I use those roasted tomatoes for numerous things, putting in pasta, soup, eggs, or snacking. I was also gifted a trout which I am going to cook, then break up the meat to have for salads. My sweet hubby would eat anything I made and loved it all. He loved leftovers, so now I get overwhelmed with all the food I make, but it all seems to work out.

We are making more salads and avodine (cf. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=56896&p=495106&hilit=avodine#p495106 ). Pan-fry instead of bake or roast, if possible. But really not changing much; we like what we eat and it's only a little inconvenient to be too warm for a bit.

Our AC will keep up*, but I'm carbon conscious enough to not want to have AC fighting with oven (and while modern ovens are comparatively efficient, having 5 cubic feet of 400 degree air is definitely heating your house).
Of course pizza can't be foregone, but at least it cooks quickly (or we have an Ooni).
We also up the salads.
Jenise, I didn't do it, but beet salad was in my thoughts other day. I used sauce from a Nigella Lawson recipe for my poached salmon, the NYT article for hot summer meal included a beet salad with Danish blue cheese. I realized when I was a kid Danish blue cheese was the blue we saw most often, now I don't see in supermarket, a couple domestics plus Gorgonzola, occasionally Stilton or Roquefort. I need to find some for nostalgia,.

* the one time I don't think AC could keep up is Betsy cooking sourdough. Ovens are preset to go on at 500 an hour before she gets up, so bread pans preheat. So probably 1.5+ hours of a very hot box, challenge for AC, we just don't do on hot weeks

[Jenise]

I have air conditioning, but we only installed it only three years ago and mostly to deal with heat dome issues during fire season which didn't even exist until about five years ago. Otherwise, we live on south-facing waterfront--nature's most amazing A/C. The house cools down overnight so we typically keep the house closed up until early afternoon and then opening the sliders on the water side of the house to bring in cool air pushing north with the incoming tide. In normal (not smokey) hot weather we find ourselves only putting the A/C on in the evening to cool down the upper level of the house (our bedroom!) where the heat has built up during the day.

My problem isn't so much cooking in the heat as cooking while hot. I'm a lot less worried about hearing up the kitchen as I am heating up Jenise! Hot weather absolutely zaps my energy. I'm more attracted to cold, simple foods for eating outside on the patio. It's a bonus that the best summer produce for that kind of eating is available during this weather.

Of course pizza can't be foregone, but at least it cooks quickly (or we have an Ooni).

Pizza does cook quickly, but it's the pre-heat time to get the oven ready, like with Betsy's sourdough!

We're also carbon conscious, but it's not like we wouldn't have the AC on during these heatwaves anyway, regardless of whether the oven is on.

Crazy stuff all around and I guess only getting worse.

Jenise,
"My problem isn't so much cooking in the heat as cooking while hot. I'm a lot less worried about hearing up the kitchen as I am heating up Jenise! Hot weather absolutely zaps my energy."
I totally get this, I am not a fan of "HOT", we are in triple-digit days again, nights in the 70's or 80's so I do not open the bedroom window right now.