It's entirely TOO hot for proper cooking which means we cannot be bothered to read recipes. I recently threw together a salad based on Nigella's Vietnamese Chicken-Mint Salad, but with some serious changes. I used to make the salad almost precisely according to her recipe, leaving out only the fish sauce because, honestly, fish sauce tastes like FEET. Old, dirty feet. That have been walking in sewage. But then I realized it might be nice to twist it up a little with a few Mexican influences. So here's what I did: I finely sliced green cabbage. I used 3/4 of a smallish head. You could use 1/2 a large head; it could be red or Napa, I suppose. You could use a whole tiny head. Whatever makes your heart happy. This salad is FLEXIBLE. I threw in five chopped green onions, some julienned carrots, a few handfuls of corn, and a LOT of chopped cilantro. (Nigella's recipe calls for copious amounts of mint. I only like mint in small doses because otherwise I feel like I'm eating toothpaste. The cilantro serves as an herb, but almost as another salad green. Add less if you're not a fan.) This would also be tasty with some sweet peppers sliced in, but I was out of them.
I also threw in a roasted chicken breast, shredded. (I picked this up from the rotisserie counter at my market, of course.) For a dressing, I mixed a drop or two of garlic oil with olive oil, the zest and juice of one lime, lots of coarse salt and pepper, cumin, and a whole chopped jalapeno. (I scraped the seeds out because I was sharing this salad. If you like things hot, leave them in. You could also try a poblano if you want it a little mellower.) This got whisked together and drizzled on top. Now, if you're savvier in the kitchen than I am, you will have noticed that this is really not enough dressing. (There should be a nice ratio between the lime juice and the olive oil, and one lime's worth of juice isn't quite enough.) So, I will confess--and this is JUST BETWEEN US--that I opened two packets of Taco Bell fire sauce and threw them in. I KNOW. It's tacky, low-rent cooking, but honestly, what's a girl to do if she is out of limes? Turns out the fire sauce was a fabulous addition, so I suppose you could throw in a few spoonfuls of salsa and get the same effect. (A little Tabasco in the dressing might not go amiss either.)
I tossed it all together and threw it in the fridge to let everything hang out until the next day for lunch. YUM! The beauty of this is that it's a few minutes' work for a few days' worth of lunches. And when you're feeling supremely lazy, there is nothing nicer than being able to head to the fridge with a fork to find lunch already waiting for you. (It would also make a very tasty alternative for coleslaw if you're worried about mayonnaise in the heat. Also, I suspect that with all the veggies and olive oil, this might actually be rather good for you.)
