a heat-free dinner

My friend Sarah has fed me many times and I hadn't returned the favor in a long while, so a dinner was in order. We agreed on a date and all seemed fine, but then a heat wave overtook the city and it was suddenly 100 degrees outside. Because our top-floor apartment turns into a furnace in the summer, it was about 100 degrees inside as well. Not only was I sweating through my clothes, my appetite had evaporated. All I wanted was watermelon and cold beer, and that's not really a meal. Right?

Instead of moving our date to an air-conditioned restaurant like a sane person, I decided to tough it out. I would make a cool, refreshing meal and wouldn't even look at the stove. No grilling, no boiling, no baking. Now, what to make?

Chilled shrimp always comes to mind when I think about hot-weather food for some reason. Maybe because I have happy memories of eating it poolside? Being on a post-vacation budget, I wasn't willing to shell out (heh) for a pound of the pricey little suckers. But I could afford a can of salmon, which makes a tasty little salad atop crackers, or if you're me, Triscuits. I thought about making a salmon crostini, but that would require toasting bread. Triscuits it would be.

We ate our crackers with the salmon spread and some guacamole, plus cold deviled eggs straight from the refrigerator (I broke my own rule and boiled the eggs the night before), handfuls of cherries, and radishes and snap peas with tarragon butter. Sarah kindly brought a bottle of cold rosé, which we drank like water. Dessert was framboise ice cream floats. (More on those later.) It was a tasty but slightly odd combination of things; I think my lack of appetite threw me off a bit.

Did we still sweat? Ladies glisten, they don't sweat. Oh, who am I kidding? I was shvitzing like a pig. But the cold food and good conversation was a wonderful distraction, at least.

Heat-free dinner

Deviled eggs

Salmon salad on Triscuits
Guacamole
Radishes with tarragon butter and salt
Cherries

Framboise ice cream floats

Salmon salad
This spread is great for sandwiches too.
(Serves about 4 people)

2 6 oz. cans Alaskan salmon (in water), drained
1/3 cup mayo
1 handful dill, minced (tarragon, basil, parsley, or cilantro would be fine)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely minced
salt and pepper

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.