This summer has been hot. I mean really hot. Not just “it’s summer in the South” hot, but the air feels heavy the moment you step outside. The humidity has been relentless, and the air conditioner at home has struggled to keep our house comfortable.
The people in the living room can feel the temperature climb when someone does something as simple as boil a pot of water for pasta. The air is already thick, and a pot of boiling water adds just enough heat and moisture to make the house feel stifling. As much as I enjoy cooking in my kitchen, I’ve been trying to avoid using it this time of year whenever possible.
For the past few weeks, I’ve planned most of our meals around the grill. Some days I intentionally cook more than we need so we have cold leftovers for meals the next day or so. Peanut butter sandwiches, fresh fruit, and leftovers have become the easiest way to avoid heating the house.
The idea really hit me when I was grocery shopping last week. Instead of deciding what sounded good for dinner, I based it on what would cook well on the grill and whether I could fit it all on the grill. I’ve been going through propane much faster than usual, which has meant adding propane to our weekly budget, but it’s worth it if it means keeping the house cooler.
Our summertime meals look a little different than our usual ones too. We’ve been filling the middle of the table with bowls of fresh, colorful fruits and sliced raw veggies instead of making hot side dishes. Instead of making oven-roasted or baked potatoes, we’ve been wrapping them in foil and throwing the packets on the grill. I’ve even resorted to tossing whole veggies on the grill, like bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I just slice them afterward and add them to plates. Everything has been simplified to cook nothing inside… except some rice once in a while.
Cooking entire meals on the grill has required more adjustments than I expected, especially given so many different preferences. The grill only has so much space, so I have to think through the entire meal before I even light it. Unlike cooking in the kitchen,I can’t decide halfway through cooking that I’d like to add another side dish. Every item has to fit in the available space, and everything needs to finish cooking at roughly the right time. It’s a very different method than moving between the stove and oven.
Our grill sits on our front porch, so cooking dinner comes with a front-row seat for summer weather. More than once we’ve watched dark clouds roll in while lightning flashed across the sky and the rain poured down. It’s equal parts beautiful and nerve-wracking.
Just as winter is the season I naturally plan meals around the warmth of the oven, summer has become the season when I plan almost everything around the grill. During the hottest months, my family’s kitchen stretches beyond the walls of our house and onto the porch, where baking sheets and casserole dishes are replaced with foil packets and kabob skewers. It’s a different way of cooking, but it’s one more reminder that we adapt to our surroundings.
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