Hot pepers can cool you down

Lacking the initiative lately to do much more than sip something cool very slowly while staring into the steamy space rising over the crystal blue ocean, I’ve decided to indulge myself in the a/c for a moment and pen an off the cuff entry about Foods That Keep You Cool When It’s Roasting, Baking, Simmering and COOKING Out There.

This lack of initiative and subsequent burst of creativity arrives on the heels of the summer doldrums gracing our island. Instead of the much ballyhooed hurricane, it having petered out into a pathetic whimper without ever having blessed the citizens of Hawaii with a good dousing and break from the infernal dead calm, we got humidity instead! What’s to become of us? ‘Tis the absence of humidity on Maui that has always given me such an air of superiority when chatting about the weather with people from Florida, Chicago or Texas. Now we’re in the same sticky weather boat.

Not typically one to defy Mother Nature or ask for unnecessary trouble, (okay, okay, I do oft ask for trouble but Mother Nature I leave pretty much to herself) I don’t mind admitting a good swift wind and sideways rain might have been welcome about now. Secretly many people were hoping for the ‘cane and were a wee bit disappointed it didn’t do it’s thang. Now we’re not only hot, we’re bored. After all, drama is the spice of life!

But in boredom I get to thinking… We don’t grow peaches on Maui either, and since they have humidity and peaches in Atlanta, could that mean if it’s hot and humid in Maui maybe I should adopt one of those little peach trees. With proper nurturing and more hot and humid summers like the one we’re having now, I could harvest about 500 pounds of truly delicious, juice-dripping-off-your-chin delectable fruits every year. Then, local chefs could use them in fabulous dishes that would keep us cool when it’s hot and humid! If I sell them at $2 pound, it would pay for the adoption as well as the cost of my server for a year. Something to think about…

One good thing about the heat, it sets your mind to wandering. I’m finding myself lately feeling as if I’ve been transported to some exotic sub-tropical destination like Casablanca or Tonga where languages other than English and pidgin are spoken. In my wanderlustig state, I subsequently long for exotic Foods That Keep You Cool When It’s RBS & C Out There. After doing a google search and perusing a few other food websites, I’ve come up with these suggestions.

In Hot Weather, Eat Foods with High Water Content, Don’t Cook,Spice It Up and Have a Cool Drink

• Watermelon! Nearly 90% water, no fat and always refreshing on a hot summer day
• Any juicy fruit (not the gum) such as peaches, oranges, apples, grapes, starfruit, dragonfruit
• Vegetables such as cucumber, radishes, lettuce, and leafy greens such as spinach and arugula, or fresh herbs such as mint and basil contain a high amount of water. Beside that they actually thin the blood, assist the body in releasing heat, which in turn cools you off.
• Spices, such as fresh ginger, red chili, cayenne, wasabi, or black pepper, warm you up at first, but actually help cool you down after you sweat a little in reaction to the flavors.
• Don’t cook! Keep the heat down in your household and your body by conserving energy and eating either raw or Pulehu (cooked over open flame) outdoors. However…
• Limit meat consumption in hot weather. It’s too hard for your body to digest.

Here are some recipes using the above suggestions and ingredients for staying cool in the heat and humidity. Make this salad of arugula, grilled ricotta and watermelon which I pilfered from Babette’s Feast website. Although Babette didn’t recommend it I’d drizzle with lavender dressing from the Ali`I Lavender Farm found at many local outlets including the Kapalua Spa Gift Shop.

Delightfully refreshing salad of watermelon, arugula, ricotta

Another option would be to toss cubes of watermelon with crumbled feta, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of fresh basil leaves for an equally refreshing salad. If you aren’t up to carving a melon, use the more typical tomatoes.

Next, you might whip together a nice cold soup or liquid salad, like gazpacho. This tasty dish covers the full gamut of cool-down ingredients using cukes, bell peppers, onion, celery, cilantro, hot pepper and tomato juice. I’m cooling off just thinking about it! The last time I made it, Cary Buttons, from Maui Prime, suggested I add teeny little bay shrimp to the mix, which he happens to sell in his store.

For a heat battling main course whatever you do don’t cook! Pick up some fresh ahi or other fish from Maui Prime and enjoy with lots of wasabi and ginger, which will heat you up then cool you down.

For dessert I suggest dishing up a little lemon, mango or pineapple sorbet with fresh juicy fruits in season. (Try the homemade hand swirled gelatos from `Aina Gourmet Market at the Honua Kai.)

Sip slowly nice Sangria. I like this super fruity version and my guests do, too:

1 Bottle of your favorite white wine (or red if you choose)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
1 Lime cut into wedges
1 Peach cut into wedges
1 Cup sliced strawberries
1/2 Cup lemonade or limeade
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 shots of apricot, peach or “berry” flavored brandy  - or use Cointreau
2 cups ginger ale
One Maui Gold pineapple cut into pieces with juice

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sliced peaches, strawberries limeade/lemonade, sugar and brandy. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale and ice just before serving.

Another nice pour with this light and refreshing repast would be mojito. (Sorry, Mary!) We actually like the premixed version sold by Barcardi which the great chef Cary Button, turned us on to, enhanced further by putting into a blender with some ice and fresh mint, whirling ever so briefly, then enjoying fully. The mint will cool you down and the liquor will help you ignore the heat.

If all that fails, go to Alaska and hang out with the glaciers. Or just stare at this photo and cool down.

Be cool and enjoy!!