It’s hot in Southern Colorado and, sadly, parts of it are burning. Last year, in May, Dave and I decided to move to Colorado Springs. A month later part of the Springs was burning and we watched, feeling helpless, from New York. Wildfires overtook Waldo Canyon and little did we know that we would be moving to that very area four months later. Every single day we see the burn scar.
Yesterday flames flared up in Black Forest and in Royal Gorge.
The view from our front door; Black Forest wildfire at 6pm Tuesday.
As I understand it, the Black Forest Animal Sanctuary was able to evacuate all of its furry residents. You can stay in touch with BFAS – and learn about ways to support animals impacted by the fire – by following their Facebook page. The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park reported on their Facebook page that all of the animals are safe. Let’s all keep the people and animals impacted by the wildfires in our thoughts and prayers.
The temperatures began climbing over the weekend and by Monday it was sultry.
Fortunately, there is a swimming pool – unheated – in our complex. It helped to beat the heat Monday, which I happened to take off from work.
Yesterday, however, it was back to the grind. I planned my meals for the day with the following thing in mind: keep cool. I had thawed tofu the night before so I pressed it early in the morning and then prepared a marinade of sesame oil, rice vinegar, hot curry powder, ground ginger and garlic. I set it in the refrigerator for the day with the intention to grill it that night – because I did not want to deal with a hot kitchen! Then it was time to put together my breakfast and lunch for the day. I went for fast and I went for cool.
I made a big ‘ole smoothie of almond milk, a banana, frozen rhubarb and blueberries, and ground flaxseed. I popped my Cuppow sippy lid on a mason jar and was good to go. I stuffed a lunch bag with raw snap peas and carrots, a small container of home fermented sauerkraut with pumpkin seeds, a big bottle of water, and a bottle of green kombucha. I sipped and nibbled on the goodies in the office throughout the day.
When I returned home I prepped some lettuce and peppers for the grill and sliced my tofu. I also thawed some potatoes that I had cooked up in the pressure cooker last month and subsequently froze.
I grilled the tofu on a grill pan (to avoid it sticking to the grill and/or slipping through the grate) for 20 minutes (10 minutes on each side). At the 10 minute market I added the sweet peppers to the grill pan. Ten minutes later I removed the peppers from the grill pan, transferred the tofu directly to the grill and placed the romaine lettuce on the grill.
Three minutes later, dinner was served!
How do you plan meals to beat the heat?
2 thoughts on “Beating the heat: A day of food”
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Your first paragraphs made my heart clench in my chest. Bushfires are not uncommon and often all-too-serious in Australia; my aunt lost her entire house in the 2004 bushfires in Canberra, and I will never forget the colour of the sky that day, nor how it felt to stand on my deck watching flames flicker in three separate directions, coming closer.
I hope things calm down and stay calm in your area, JL. Stay safe. x
Thank you, dear @wayfaringchocolate:disqus . Fire is terrifying (as is water, my folks their home and business a few years ago to flooding). I hope your aunt is faring well now. The fires are still burning and my heart aches for the humans and animals impacted by all of this.