Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, Chick Pea Curry

As with many of my recipes, they come to fruition out of chance, hence the moniker ‘something from nothing.’ In this case, it just so happened that chance came in the way of an enormous cauliflower.  As much as I love my Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup (and I highly recommend you try it), I was dreaming of another dish from the past.  When I used to travel into the NYC for work my commute took me through Grand Central Station.  For those NYers, you know that pre-pandemic there used to be a plethora of food choices on the bottom floor, convenient for those of us running for a train.  I would sometimes frequent the Indian take out joint for their vegetarian options.  One of those was a cauliflower curry, which sometimes had chick peas.  (Side note: I would try to eat my Indian food before boarding the train or wait until I got home.  Because quite frankly the deep curry aromas, although alluring to me, would be overwhelming to others as they perfumed and permeated the entire train.)

My luck, I always stock my pantry with various beans. Chick peas: checked.  I also had some sweet potatoes on hand, and they seemed like a likely player in this mix.  Plus they would add some much needed color to this dish.  (Cauliflower: white, Chick peas: beige, Coconut milk: white. Sweet potatoes - happy orange!)

Now, you know that I do not proclaim to be an expert in Indian cooking or spices. Far from it.  I stick to what I know and use my instincts on quantities and combos.  That said I feel like I’ve been batting 1000 on my Indian dish experiments thus far. So, I was feeling pretty confident I could make this dish tasty.

Since I only had the germ of an idea on how to bring this dish to life, I was working through the prep and cooking method as I went along.  Typically, I try to make most of my recipes fairly simple without too many steps or without a laundry list of ingredients.  Nothing turns me off from trying a new recipe from another chef as 20 ingredients, or a choreographed dance of steps.  This one does require a few more than my usual but still all quite manageable.  And I’m sure it will go faster for you since while I was riffing on how to do make this I also had to measure, write it down, photograph and then make sure I didn’t get any curry on my camera lens.

Admittedly, the amounts I made were for a small dinner party or a large very hungry family.  It’s been just JuanCarlos and I round these parts, so we might be eating this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It made a ton.  When I wanted to use up the cauliflower I didn’t realize how enormous it was when I added the sweet potato and chick peas.  But you can either cut it down by a quarter or make a large vat of this and freeze it, as I did. It held up pretty well.

Also, you will note that I cut the onions and ginger in two ways. Sometimes the different sizes not only add a texture but it also delivers another flavor depth.

Ingredients 

1 lg (1000g/35oz) Cauliflower 
5 c (523g/19oz) Sweet Potato, cubed
2-3 med (431g) onions (half diced 1.5c/half large cubes 1.5c)
2 29 oz cans of Chick Peas
1 Qt Vegetable Stock or water (I used the water I cooked the cauliflower/potatoes in)
2 13.5 oz cans Coconut Milk
1/2 c oil
100g ginger 5-6 t grated, rest sliced
2t turmeric
2.5 t cumin
3 t cumin seeds
3 t rounded curry
1/2 t red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on your heat level)
4-5 t salt
1 c Aquafaba (chick pea liquid)
2 heaping T tomato paste

Instructions

1. Measure out all your spices.

Top row: Salt, Curry Middle Row: Turmeric, Cumin, Tomato Paste Bottom Row: Cumin Seeds, Red Pepper Flakes

2. Prepare all the vegetables: Break cauliflower into large florets. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into cubes. Dice and slice onions, grate and slice ginger so you have everything ready.

Now you can more clearly visualize the Happy Orange that the sweet potato brought to the party.

3. In salted boiling water, cook both cauliflower & potatoes until semi soft.  Not mushy, you want them to still have a firmness to them.  Strain and place on a baking tray to let cool. Keep the water to use as stock.

Remember to not overcook these. They should be tender but still slightly firm. You can also add an onion and celery to the water to create a veggie stock to use later.

4. Meanwhile, sauté diced onions in oil with salt until soft, approx. 10-12 minutes.

5. Add all the spices and ginger and let toast together 3-4 minutes.

Once the onions are softened, add all the spices and ginger.

6. Add tomato paste, let lightly brown then add cubed onions and 1 c of aquafaba.  Let this cook until softened for 5-7 minutes.

You can really start to see all the deep flavors developing. Building up flavors at each level creates a much more flavor packed dish.

7. Add chick peas, stock, coconut milk to the pot and stir together and bring to a soft boil.

I love coconut milk. And in Indian spiced dishes it adds a cooling agent to all the spice.

8. Cut the larger cauliflower florets into smaller bite sized pieces. Then add the cauliflower and sweet potatoes to the pot and simmer to let all the flavors merge.

Taste for additional seasoning.

Serve with rice, add pepitas to top for crunch.  The first time I made this dish I opted for paella rice instead of Basmati because I wanted more of a chew the to starch. Short grain rice definitely offered that chubby quality I was looking for.  Plus I needed to experiment with it for a dish I’m offering up to my customers. So win win on that front. The second time I made this was for a small dinner party with my sister and brother in law. I serve basmati rice and it was equally delicious. How can any type of rice be bad when it’s goal is to soak up goodness?

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Chick Pea Fritters - Gluten Free Treat

You know why it’s important to learn baseball when you are younger? So you can hit life’s curveballs when you are older. You never know when the universe is going to toss one at you. But rest assured, a few will be pitched your way. Some are serious and life altering, Some are less severe but still require adjusting. Some curveballs are disguised as opportunities. Actually, let me rephrase that. Most of life’s curveballs actually ARE opportunities.

This past summer, I had an awesome gig come across my plate. I was hired to cook for a family of 7 adults, providing lunches and dinners for a two week period. (The family ended up loving what I provided that they extended it for entire month.) This was a huge undertaking in every sense of the word. And there were plenty of fastballs and curveballs pitched my way.

Curveball #1: Refrigerator and freezer needs. I have 2 refrigerators with 2 regular freezers plus 1 full freezer. Yet that was not going to be enough. But as luck would have it our neighbors sold their house, moved out and the new owners weren’t moving in for a month. Coincidence or Fate? I say lifesaver as I packed their fridge and freezer to the brim.

Curveball #2: The clients many food restrictions which required a complicated menu planning.

Curveball #3: The management of each meal, heating instructions, and color coded labeling system. With so many containers being delivered, the only way they would know what to heat up was having a color coded labeling system so they knew what dish went with what and for when. They would also need instructions for re-heating and for sauces/dressings. M/L = Monday Lunch, F/D = Friday Dinner and so on.

Other challenging parts of the gig was that I had to deliver the food over an hour away twice a week which required a well orchestrated shopping-cooking- delivery schedule, using various coolers and pack out lists to ensure nothing was left behind. Add to that the various food restrictions which included what proteins some of the guests ate and others did not. This meant that I had to come up with two mains for every meal. Ensuring that every person had sufficient protein was like solving a Rubik’s cube. Oh, did I mention, gluten free? That part is easy for me since I’ve been gluten free for over a decade. So, I won’t even count that.

There were other curveballs but I think you get it.
Big, Big, Big. And I’m always up for a challenge, especially one that requires logistical thinking. I have the detail oriented mind to tackle this type of task. All bragging aside, it’s actually one of my super skills.

I am a very visual person. In order to tackle this monster, I needed to see it. At first, I starting handwriting the menu and the to do lists. Then I typed it into the computer. But soon realized that it was a living, breathing beast which needed to be shifted and modified constantly. Moving items around on the computer wasn’t as effective since all the columns kept getting out whack. I knew the only way to confront this monster of a task was the old fashioned method of sticking it up on a wall. I needed a system that would allow flexibility, full visibility and the ability to easily move food offerings around without shifting others out of place (as what happens in a Word Doc). This could be the next new meaning of a Moveable Feast.
I printed out each offering, cut them into small strips and added painters tape to the back. It was the only way to switch out an item easily after staring at the entire menu and realizing that I might be serving rice 3 days in a row. Or that if I moved a dinner to another night then I wouldn’t have the spicy slaw as a leftover for lunch 2 days later. Rubik’s cube or mathematical conundrum? Anyway, this system worked beautifully and allowed me to see the whole scope of the project and ensure the client was happy with the diversity of offerings. I left it on the wall as art!

My moveable feast. A ‘place and stick’ menu system that kept me from going batty.

I literally used it everyday to keep me on track

Everything was going along swimmingly until one day the client made a late decision switch which left a protein hole for the vegetarian in the family.

Curveball # I lost count: Need an additional protein but no time to go shopping.

So, how do you sneak in extra protein at the last minute using only what you have available? Legumes to the rescue.

I decided the fastest, easiest solution was to make chick pea fritters. Don’t ask me why I thought this would be fast and easy since I had never made these before. But the idea seemed similar to other pancake like food, so that equaled a decent plan. Naturally, it had to be gluten free. This really wasn’t that earth shattering of an idea. It only felt dramatic because I had less them 8 hours to solve the problem and make the food using only available items, in order to make it for the next day’s morning delivery.

Here’s how it went down.

But just a few ingredients: Chick Peas, Gluten Free flour, jalapeño, egg, scallions and cilantro.

Ingredients

(Makes 14 - 3” round Fritters)

1 39 oz can Chick Peas
3 T Gluten Free Flour (or Chick Pea flour. If you aren’t concerned with GF, then regular flour can be used)
1 Egg, beaten
2+ Tbsp Jalapeño pepper, minced (add more if you like more heat)
1/3 c Cilantro packed leaves, 3 T chopped
1/2 c Scallions, sliced
1 t Salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/8 t red pepper flakes, optional
coarse sea salt to finish

Tahini Dipping Sauce
1/2 c tahini
6 T ice water
3 T Lemon juice/zest
2 T scallions, sliced
1 t jalapeño, minced
salt to taste

Instructions

1. Slice, chop and mince the aromatics.

Mise en place: Chop, slice and have all ingredients ready.

2. Mash the chick peas, leaving some larger and smaller pieces for texture.

3. Add the jalapeño, cilantro, scallions and mix.

4. Then beat egg with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and add to chick pea until combined.

5. Add the flour 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the egg is absorbed but still it wet enough to hold it together.

Squeeze a bit into a ball to ensure it holds together.

6. Using an scoop, choosing the size you desire. If you want them as appetizers make smaller ones. If you want them as a side dish, make them larger. Depending on your style and also how you will be serving them, it’s up to you whether you scoop and free form them or scoop and press into a cutter for perfectly equal fritters. Once you decided, scoop, flatten and place them on the sheet tray for fast work. Again, you can choose super flat so they are crispier, or slightly fatter for the thicker more substantial bite. Your choice depending on your needs/desires. Remember, my recipes can be followed exactly or simply be a guide for you to create and make your own modifications. However it is important that when forming these pack them tight so they hold together.

Choose your tool

Scoop for free form, or scoop into a mold

Size matters…

7. Refrigerate for 1/2-1 hour or freeze for 15-20 minutes. This step helps to get the fritters together then frying.

Prep makes easy work. Plus I do recommend placing them on tray to refrigerate or freeze before frying.

8. I like using a cast iron pan when I frying. The heat from the pan allows for a good sear. If you don’t have cast iron, use your best fry pan or grill pan. Working in batches so as to not drop the pan temperature, add oil and about 6 of the fritters. Turn with a small spatula. When done, remove and place on a paper towel and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

I prefer thinner fritters because I’m a sucker for crisper, crunchy food.

Golden brown and crispy. The paper towel absorbs any excess oil.

I made a tahini dipping sauce to go along with these. A little extra protein from the sesame. Below is the tahini sauce process.

Tahini

Whisk in ice water, and you can see how the water not only changes the consistency but it lightens up the color as well.

Add lemon juice, zest, scallions, jalapeño and whisk together.

Creamy topping. Try it on other foods.

The client immediately texted to let me know that her husband consumed almost the entire batch himself. Huge success. Happy customer, and now I have another little appetizer/side dish to add to my collection and to share with you.

A yummy combination.

You know me, my dishes are never just one use. They usually do double and triple duty. Serve up as an appetizer, or a side dish. You can even swap out toast and use them as a base for eggs. I made one poached egg and one fried egg to place on top of my fritters. I added a dollop of yogurt and some fresh parsley. A few apple slices rounded out this breakfast. I’d say I hit this curveball out of the park.

I fried my egg in a metal round the same size as the fritter to make it nice and tidy. If you use this method make sure to oil the inside of the mold so the egg removes more easily.

Left side fried egg, right side poached egg. Delicious, nutritious and packed with protein. Apple slices added a lovely crispy, freshness.

A happy husband

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A Summertime Cocktail Party with Neighbors

Hosting summer parties is such a joy. When the weather is superb, and the food is fine and the company is divine, well then, it’s simply sublime.

Such was the case with this summertime cocktail party with neighbors. Now before you start wondering, this was not a recent event, on the contrary. Usually whenever we host events my intention always is to share the festivities, and of course, the food choices/combos in a prompt, timely manner. Sometimes good intentions aren’t enough, which is why I never had a chance to post this event that took place back in 2019. That’s right, way back 2 years ago. At first, I felt remise not meeting my own self imposed ‘timely reporting duties’. But after some consideration, I am glad now about the delay. I think this post might have gotten lost in the soup given that none of us were entertaining in 2020, and therefore, could have been forgotten or overlooked. As I’ve often said, things happen exactly when they should. And so I believe this post is more timely presented now as we ponder hosting more gatherings during the warmer weather and for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend.

Let me first start by setting the visuals for you. We live in the most charming little enclave of Hartsdale, NY known as Manor Woods. By its name you can imagine that we are nestled within decades old trees that tower above us 40-50 feet. Our ‘hood also sports 4 dead end courts which means no through traffic, and ultimately super quiet streets. (Minus all the dog barking.)

Our backyard tucked under towering trees.

Our front yard guarded by this majestic Oak Tree.

Looking down from our backyard, more trees.

No way out, but we don’t mind. We love it here.

And if those weren’t reasons enough to live here, the neighbors are something special. A diverse group of considerate, caring, joyous people that truly enjoy one another’s company and look out for each other. Which is why for the past several years we have been swapping hosting get togethers at one another’s homes. As I mentioned, the last one we hosted was during the summer of 2019, and the weather was simply flawless for a Friday night of food, drink, good conversation and laughter. There is something so special about just hanging and savoring the moment, as well as the food. Relaxed and easy going with no agenda but to chill.

Smiles all around.

We had a few more people than our original group which brought the headcount to 18. And it was great to see the camaraderie among all. For this type of event, buffet-cocktail style foods are ideal. Fill up a large table with a good variety of eats and let people pick and mingle as they may. I pulled from some of my favorites and had fun arranging the table from high to low, from hot to cold. For more tips on outdoor hosting, give a gander at 5 Key Steps to Hosting a Garden Party.

Florals don’t have to be fussy, just pretty.

Fill the table, and remember height adds dimension and interest.

Everyone finding their space and favorite drink so we can all catch up.

Back then dipping was encouraged. And no, there wasn’t a line for food.

I do like to ensure that there is variety. If your party is scheduled for 2 hours then it’s true you don’t need as many options. But if it’s going to be longer, having only a couple of offerings simply doesn’t cut it. After a while the palate gets bored, and so do your guests. Plus, with so many people you need to have items that everyone can enjoy. The below menu seemed to hit all the right notes.

Here’s the menu:

Various Cheese & Charcuterie Board with grapes, olives, cucumbers
Fennel with Olive Oil & Course Salt & Cracked Pepper
Baby bell peppers with Chick Pea Mash
Endive Spears with Chick Pea Mash
Endive Spears with Peaches, Goat Cheese & Basil
Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese on Cucumber Rounds
Spicy Chorizo Pigs in a Blanket
Grill Meats
Watercress, Cucumber & Herbed Butter Tea Sandwiches
3 Dips with Potatoes, Carrots & String Beans
Rice & Quinoa Crunch Salad in Individual Cups
Puff Pastry Tomato Tartlets
Dessert: Homemade Ice cream balls

*Note: Since some of the above items do not have recipe links, please do not hesitate to contact me for simple instructions on how to prepare them. dana@2fishinc.com

Nothing better than Cheese/Charcuterie platters. Always and forever a crowd pleaser.

The freshness and simplicity of fennel dressed with coarse salted, cracked pepper and olive oil. Refreshing and super easy.

Mini bell peppers stuffed with Chick Pea Mash, Smoked Salmon/Cream Cheese/Cucumber Rounds, Watercress/Cucumber Sandwiches.

3 Dips a Dipping. A hearty take on a crudité platter. String beans are blanched, potatoes boiled, carrots are raw all served with 3 different dips that perfectly complement those veggies.

Pretty in Pink. I love playing with color. Rosy Prosciutto, pink Mortadella, red globe grapes and endive spears. What’s not to love here?

Mini spicy chorizo wrapped in puff pastry served with a mix of grain mustard, Dijon and yellow mustard.

Easy to grab and eat Rice & Quinoa Crunch Salad.

Now, I realize that this may seem like a ton of different plates, but for this amount of people for the length of the party (5-11p), the variety and quantity were much needed. Our guests included meat eaters, as well as no pork eaters, plus those who are gluten free. So having options is key to ensure that everyone is satisfied and has enough from which to choose.

Scott & Harry. White wine chilling. (Notice the bug spray between them. Important to have some key essentials available for a backyard party.

Manchego for miles.

All the dishes were well appreciated and loved, even by the kids, which is a great feat if I do say so myself. The best part about these food choices were that most did not require much attending. A couple of dishes were hot/warm but the majority were room temp. Place and walk away!

Mingle, chat, eat.. and text.

I can’t wait for our next get together. I’m really going to have to up my game and come up with a whole new offering. Or maybe since 2 years has passed they won’t mind having some repeat performances. I know I wouldn’t.

Hope you give some of these a try, even if on a smaller scale.

Vegan Chick Pea Mash

First things first, please do not be put off by the fact that I named this Vegan Chick Pea Mash. This recipe doesn’t contain any weird, mystery ingredients posing as something else. I would never do that to you. I’m not going to take some soy based crap and try to turn it into bologna. NEVER. This is vegan simply because it doesn’t have any animal products whatsoever.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to how this dish came to be. I love a good challenge. One of my skill sets is solution providing. I love figuring out a better way, an easier way or simply just A Way to accomplish a task. So, when I was hired to cater a Traditional British Style Tea Party the major request was to offer gluten free and vegan options. Normally this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but remember the typical Tea Party food is finger sandwiches, which do not sit squarely inside the gluten free and vegan circle. But I’m so glad I was put to the test because it yielded some good finds. Like this Vegan Chick Pea Mash.

Since the event was all about finger food, I needed to devise a bite sized morsel that would fit the vegan criteria. Chick peas are a hearty protein, and versatile thus the top choice in helping me solve this dilemma. Chick peas being what they are, dense and round, make them easy candidates for rolling off the plate, onto the floor and then ultimately squashed under foot. Goal: No rolling. So, how do you keep them from falling onto the floor instead of your mouth? Smash ‘em before they hit the floor. And so I did. But you can’t just scoop up smashed chick peas with your fingers! They needed a vessel, and colorful would be nice, too. Introducing the baby bell pepper brigade to the rescue. Perfectly suited to be filled up with the robust, chunky flavor of chick peas; smashed, of course.

Since I had a good variety of other food offerings in different flavor profiles, I wanted to ensure that this protein mash could stand on its own with savor. The first thing that came to mind was garlic and onion, but then kept layering more and more flavors as I cooked it, adding cumin and turmeric, cilantro and lemon juice. Here’s how it went down.

Ingredients

1 15 oz can Chick Peas
1/2 red onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 t ground turmeric
1/4 t cumin
1 T cilantro, minced
1/4 c Aquafaba (chick pea liquid)
1 T + lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 T olive oil

Instructions

1. In a large sauté pan, heat oil, add onions and cook until softened.

2. Add garlic, cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper and cook until the aromatics are nicely toasted.

3. Add the aquafaba and 1 T lemon juice and stir until combined.

4. Add the chick peas, let warm through and then using a fork or a potato masher begin to smash them. I like it chunky so I smashed some very well and other only lightly to give different textures.

5. Squeeze some more lemon juice to finish, then add the cilantro.

You can serve this dish warm, room temp or cold. It truly does work well at any temperature. As I mentioned, the first time I made this was a for a catered event, so making individual pieces was the goal. The baby bell peppers as the vehicle to steer them into people’s mouths was a great choice. The sweet, crunch of the peppers perfectly complemented the earthy flavor of the chick pea mash so much so that it is my preferred serving vessel.

The size of the baby bell peppers makes it an ideal cocktail party bite. And because the chick peas are smashed, no rolling off onto the floor.

You could also, place the chick pea mash in a bowl, place on a platter filled with baby bell peppers and cucumber rounds and use it as a dip. Either way, these made the perfect bite size treat. I recently decided to test drive this again at a backyard party we hosted for our neighbors using the peppers, and then two days later for a small family gathering using endive. Happy to report; it was a hit with every serving.

The tower of offerings. Chick Pea Mash, Salmon Roll Cucumber Rounds and Watercress, Herb Butter Tea Sandwiches.

Since I had some leftovers, I served them up again using endive.

Now, of course, this dish can be used in a variety of other ways. You should know me by now, everything I make has to do double, triple, well, multiple duties. I had some leftover and tossed it over warm pasta. Naturally, it was yummy. You can spread this on toast and add avocado or tomato or both. Go ahead. Start your creative engines…

Postscript: In reading some of the comments, it got me thinking about this recipe. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before but this can be a heartier substitute for hummus in a pita sandwich. It’s chunkier and therefore will be squish out less than traditional style hummus. Keep it vegan and add cucumbers, sprouts, olives, etc. Keep it vegetarian and add some feta cheese. Just thought I would share the ‘stuff it in a pita’ idea, which quite frankly seems like a no brainer that I’m surprised I didn’t think of before.

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When It's Hot... Jump into a Lettuce Boat

I don't know where you live but it's a scorcher right about now in NY.   We've been waiting for summer to really arrive and now it's officially a swamp.  Speaking of weather, I've been under it for some time now. So before this heat wave landed upon us (even though it's summer) I made a ginormous batch of soup.  I have been eating it for days. And since it was a ginormous quantity, I figured I would be enjoying it again and again as well as serving it to my hubby and sister.  But with the thermometer outside soaring damn near human body temp, I don't care how much soup I have left over. Frigging 95 degrees screams for something cooler.

I had some ideas. Well, I always have ideas.  Main one.  Use up the egads amount of tomatoes and basil I bought last week.  It's a fact that I am very easily enticed at the farmer's market by produce's beauty.  But in all fairness,  I bought them in anticipation of hosting guests for a Pizza Sunday Party. Those plans were foiled.  Which left me with more tomatoes and basil than two people can comfortably eat unless forced by some game show stunt. Since last week's basil-ed potatoes went over so well, I made another batch of that sauce and quickly got to figuring out the rest.

The abundance. Don't be fooled. That is only half the tomatoes and 1/3 of the basil I STILL HAVE!! (Plus some went into that ginormous soup. And don't forget to look at that beautiful blue bowl by Miller Pottery

I had romaine lettuce.  Perfect as boats to fill with good shit. (The heat made me curse.)
I had zucchini and yellow squash.  
I had hearts of palm and chick peas. Ever present in my pantry.
I had thoughts. (sometimes good; other times, well...)

Zucchini and Yellow Squash cubed.

Even though it was hot out, the zucchini and squash needed to be cooked in my opinion.  Reason: I just really wasn't feeling their raw essence for this dish.  Since it was cleaning day and the house was gleaming, no way was I going to make a mess of the stove.  In the oven went the squashes.  And a few tomatoes whole, too.  I roasted them at 400 degrees until nicely caramelized.

Oiled, salted and peppered for the oven roasting.

Everything else, cut up and ready.  I sliced up some more tomatoes raw.  One, because I had a ton, and two because I'm a fan of duality.  Warm tomatoes, cool tomatoes.

Once the  veggies were out of the oven, the only chore that remained; Assembly.  I don't need to hold your hand for this part, do I?  Take your leaf and stuff it with what you love. A little of this and little of that and drizzle some of that banging basil sauce a top.  (Chop up some leftover chicken, or toss in some tuna. Be creative.)

Assembly line. Fill your boats!

Light but satisfying.  Cool yet with just enough warmth to make it feel like dinner and not a snack.  Crap, I think I yanked this one out from nowhere, and hit it out of the park.  (The heat made me say that part, too.)  Jill and JC loved them. Yeah, I won't be eating soup.  I got me some leftover lettuce boats to my rescue.

When the weather is too hot to think.  Just jump in a boat and bring along whatever's in your kitchen.