No reason to heat up the house in this weather

It is certainly a little bit discouraging to be able to look outside at the beautiful flowers, green grass and beautiful trees and feel like a mole because the heat index is 108 degrees. It is discouraging because even a few minutes on the porch enjoying the beauty is enough to bring on a heat stroke.

Inside the house it is cool, but firing up the oven or burners is not something that is a good idea, so our food items have been quick fixes and cold sandwiches these past few days.

The garage sales that I love to frequent are a bit on the warm side and our outing this week for that purpose ended within a few hours.

Solutions and recipes are certainly something we all look for, so I am going to share a few things we have enjoyed this week.

BLT sandwiches are always popular, and we were able to purchase some “home grown” tomatoes at a local stand. They were bearable, so we microwaved our bacon (using paper towels), sliced the tomatoes thin and did the normal type of thing for this sandwich, placing it on bread, mayo on both slices and a slice of cheese added.

Mix up some canned tuna adding chopped onion and canned cream of mushroom soup. Place these on English muffins or hamburger buns and place  a slice of cheese on top. Place under broiler for a few minutes and you  have a tasty sandwich for hot summer days.

Boil a large batch of potatoes during early morning hours or late evening. Keep them refrigerated and they are great for potato salad, fried potatoes, casseroles. Just peel them as you need them and they last for several days.

You should also boil a dozen or more hard boiled eggs. They are great for egg salad, potato salad and just eating them as they are.

We had lettuce salad several days until the “Bear” complained that he was beginning to feel like a rabbit, but until you tire of them, hard boiled eggs, chopped ham, canned chicken, canned tuna, salmon and other goodies make great salads and there is no cooking involved.

For a sweet tooth, cover graham crackers with frosting, add canned fruits to prepared instant pudding or just eat bowls of fruit with whipped topping.

Do whatever it take to keep the house cool and the air-conditioner from working over time.

Remember to call or check on the elderly in your neighborhood. Sometime they get dehydrated or overheated without even knowing it is happening to them. This can cause serious problems for them and perhaps just a call or visit can save their lives.

 We have been drinking lots of iced tea, lemonade and water. This is a great idea also but it has a downside. We spend half the nights getting up and down to use the bathroom.

So  please try to stay cool and drink lots of water even if it makes a few extra trips to the bathroom. I guess as long as you have to get up and use the bathroom you know you are still alive.

See you next week.