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Brigid Bergin: You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergin in for Allison Stewart. We all know the deal in the summer; it is hot, and if you live in a smaller space that don't have central air conditioning, cooking in this heat with your oven or stove top can be like a sauna or a steam room, but there are plenty of ways to eat cold dishes that remain tasty, healthy, and filling, say, a hefty shrimp salad or cold noodles or a chilling gazpacho. With me now to talk about cooking cold dishes, how to stay cool in the kitchen, and to take your calls is Emily Weinstein, editor for the New York Times food and cooking section. Emily, welcome back to All Of It.

Emily Weinstein: Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.

Brigid Bergin: Listeners, we want to hear from you. How do you cook in the hot weather while also staying cool? What's a go-to, no oven, or stove recipe? You can call or text us at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692 or you can reach us on Twitter or Instagram @AllOfItWNYC. Maybe you're just struggling to stay cool while cooking in this heat. Do you have questions? Is there a recipe you like or you want to try or maybe an ingredient that you want to use and you're not sure how? We can take all those questions. We have lots of suggestions and ideas, I'm sure. Let's just start really broadly, Emily. It's hot, it's really hot.

Many people's favorite dishes often involve turning on the oven and roasting and baking, especially for dinner. What would you say to someone who feels like they still need to cook something hot for dinner, even in this heat?

Emily Weinstein: It's hot out there. [laughter] Hey, look, there are, of course, ways to still cook and to not heat up your entire kitchen because eating in a way that is pleasant and pleasurable in this weather, you have two main factors to consider. One, you just have to consider your own physical feelings of malaise. I know I come inside from a hot day and like, "I'm not hungry for stew. I'm just not. I'm not." You also have to think about what's going to heat up your kitchen because you might have great intentions and you're happy to bake that pie and it's going to be great, and then the oven cranks and you're hitting 350 and you're like, "Why did I do this?" [laughter]

There are ways, of course, to cook and to cook quickly. I'm thinking of proteins like most seafood. You can cook seafood. Now, the smell in your kitchen is another question, especially if you're thinking about an apartment here in New York City, but you're just turning on the heat really fast, right? Mostly I would say, hey, there are amazing meals that you can make that just don't even require turning on the burner in the oven at all.

Brigid Bergin: Do you have a go-to dish that you're eating right around now because of what's in season or something that is cold that is comforting for you?

Emily Weinstein: Oh, gosh. This time of year, I go really crazy on tomatoes and corn. I love sweet summer corn. I think it's so delicious. I'm always thinking of ways to make it into dinner. Corn salads, maybe we'll have something left over that I have cooked, chicken, and also tomatoes. I love summer tomatoes so much. I could eat them every day. I probably do eat them every day. I'll do things as simple as making a gigantic caprese salad, like the size of a platter. In my house, we call this the super caprese and we'll include tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, of course, classic caprese, lots of herbs, but we'll also sometimes add stone fruit.

We'll add peaches, which are really, really delicious with mozzarella cheese, and a salad like that. Sometimes we've added salami, you could add prosciutto if you want to make it nice. There are all these ways to add to that platter that make it feel like a meal and a really fun meal. I've never put that down on the table and not seen total delight on everybody's faces. Then all you need is a fresh loaf of bread to go with it, and that's dinner.

Brigid Bergin: It sounds spectacular. As you're talking about it and you've mentioned the corn and tomatoes, I am similar at this time of year. I feel like I could eat just blueberries, corn, tomatoes, and stone fruit, and then I would be just a completely happy person, but you have to be able to get those items, you have to be near a farmer's market. Are there any other produce at the farmer's market at this time of year that you think stand out and are really shining because this is their time of year?

Emily Weinstein: It's an outrageous time of year. I'll say too, I'm not always even getting to the farmer's market. In my perfect world, I would go to the farmer's market constantly, but I've got a job, I've got children. I'm not always getting there, but I do find that at supermarkets even, you're still able to find this delicious seasonal produce. It's not the same thing as the farmer's market exactly, of course, but you can still find fabulous corn at a supermarket this time of year, not all year. What else is great at the farmer's market? It's a fabulous time for lettuce and greens of all kind. I find it revelatory whenever I buy that first summer celery.

Celery is an ingredient that tastes completely different when you're getting it really delicious summer from the farmer's market versus the very commercial celery you get all year round at the supermarket. Eggplant, gosh, all of it. All of it.

Brigid Bergin: Yes. [chuckles] We are talking on All Of It here in WNYC about how to stay cool when you are cooking in the summer. I am joined by Emily Weinstein, the food and cooking editor at the New York Times. Let's go to Melissa in Queens. Melissa, welcome to WNYC.

Melissa: Hi, good afternoon.

Brigid Bergin: What are your tips?

Melissa: My one big tip is a microwave. I know they're not in fashion. I used it now to make rice, and then to heat up Asian slaw sauces. You put a little vinegar, some soy sauce, some sugar and salt, and some sesame oil. You whip that up, heat it a bit in the microwave, and then you're done. Then you buy a bunch of cucumbers or a bunch of zucchini, chop that up, pour the sauce over it, and that's dinner.

Brigid Bergin: Melissa, those are great suggestions. Emily, what do you think, is the microwave an overlooked tool to keep your kitchen cool?

Emily Weinstein: Oh, absolutely. I'm glad Melissa brought this up because I use the microwave even all year round to cook vegetables. I'm buying broccoli, I'm cutting the florets, I'm putting it in the microwave to steam it. I cook corn in the microwave all year round, and it doesn't heat up your kitchen. Also, slow cookers. People who have slow cookers love them in the summer. I think we think of those as you make stews, but there're all kinds of things you can do in slow cookers and it doesn't heat up your kitchen for a moment. Instant pots, electric pressure cookers, the same deal. If you have these appliances, now is a great time to take them out.

Brigid Bergin: We got a text that says, "Fight climate collapse and get a hot plate-size induction burner." There's been a lot of debate on the gas stove versus induction stove. Presumably, that induction burner is another tool for keeping your kitchen cool.

Emily Weinstein: Yes, absolutely. It's funny, I don't immediately think of it because I don't have one yet. Although I think the next time I buy a stove, it's probably what I'm going to be doing, but that's absolutely right. You still get that steam in your kitchen, of course, from the bubbling pot, but no, an induction burner is a great idea.

Brigid Bergin: We have a text from Helen in Forest Hills, and she writes, "I'm searching for new recipes for Swiss chard. I've gotten it every week in my CSA. Recently I've binged on making," I think it's blitva, a Croatian recipe of potatoes, olive oil, garlic, and chard. Any other interesting ideas for Swiss chard?

Emily Weinstein: Gosh, you can use Swiss chard in any recipe that calls for a stiff cooking green like kale, spinach even, maybe not baby spinach, but mature spinach, collard greens. I think first off, if you're online searching for recipes, widen your aperture right there. Off the top of my head, I think it's delicious stir-fried. I think chard is delicious in soup. You can make a lovely green pureed soup. It is very versatile. You can make a salad, I guess, with chard, the same way you'd make a kale salad.

Brigid Bergin: Yes. Before this segment, we solicited some questions from our colleagues here at WNYC and we have a fun little Slack channel all about cooking, and one producer, Zoe, had a question about summer squash. She wrote, "I hate summer squash. I was gifted 20 and I know shallow frying them in oil for pasta will make them taste good, but that sounds hot and annoying. Are there any other options to serve that summer squash and keep things cool?"

Emily Weinstein: Oh, God, I'm gifted [laughter] in summer squash. Keep things cool. I do think that that sort of sauteing is the most delicious for summer squash. Grilling is also good, of course, if you have a grill and that's an option for you. It doesn't save you a lot of time and you're still in the kitchen, but there are some really fabulous recipes out there, including one on NYT Cooking where you're grating the summer stuff of squash, zucchini, and you grate it, and then it goes slowly in the pan and it caramelizes.

I think it takes quite a while, maybe like 40 minutes, but at the end, you're left with this fabulous zucchini mush and it's delicious. You toss it with pasta and you sprinkle it with cheese and you've got an amazing supper.

Brigid Bergin: Oh, that sounds delicious. You hinted at this, but another question that we got. We talk about seafood is really synonymous with summer, but it might be challenging to cook in a small space. Another of our WNYC colleagues, Elisa, asked about cooking fish in the summer and how to cook fish in the summer without it being a smell issue forever. Any suggestions there?

Emily Weinstein: It's a tough one, especially if you have a sensitive nose, if you pick up on everything. Actually, the microwave would be a great place to start. You can steam fish in the microwave really beautifully. You can steam fish in the stove. Topped up really beautifully steamed fish turns up in all manner of cuisines. You're still cooking the fish, but you don't have that really stinky frying moment. Open those windows, hope for the best. I find that my kitchen smells a little bit less when I'm cooking fish in the oven, but we're avoiding the oven right now, resolutely avoiding the oven.

Brigid Bergin: Let's talk about one of the recipes on your list, that shrimp salad. Why is shrimp such a good ingredient in a salad?

Emily Weinstein: I love shrimp, so I think it's a good ingredient in everything. A nice thing about shrimp, and we recently published a package full of no-cook recipes on NYT Cooking, we put that in there because you can actually just buy shrimp pre-cooked for this salad. It's the same poached shrimp or steamed shrimp you would get for shrimp cocktail. Right off the bat, you don't have to cook a thing. Even if you're not so worried about heating up your kitchen, it's summer. If it's a weekend, you don't want to be in the kitchen all day, you want to be enjoying the weather.

Or if you do cook it yourself, if you buy the shrimp raw, it cooks really quickly and you're just simmering a pot of water, leaving the shrimp in there for a few minutes, and it's done. It's really breezy.

Brigid Bergin: Sure.

Emily Weinstein: It takes dressing really well. It's really delicious.

Brigid Bergin: What are some of the other flavors or extra ingredients that can enhance that taste of cold shrimp?

Emily Weinstein: Oh, man, hot sauce. I love the combination of shrimp and hot sauce. I'm thinking of herbs mostly. I'm still in salad mode, I'm thinking of dill and basil and mint. Shrimp and mint is a delicious combination. When people think of summer produce, of course, they think of the things we've talked about: tomatoes, peaches. Herbs are resplendent in summer.

Brigid Bergin: Absolutely.

Emily Weinstein: That's a moment where you can grow herbs on your windowsill if you wanted, and you just have access to all these greens that make your cooking come alive.

Brigid Bergin: We've gotten some tweets in. One of our listeners tweeted, "Ceviche, the ultimate no-cook meal, fresh seafood, citrus, tomatoes, cilantro, presto." We also got a tweet recommending vegan gazpacho in the Vitamix. A couple of cold weather recipes. "I've also become a huge fan of a ceviche maker out in Queens. It's a Peruvian ceviche and she uses hominy in it and it is just absolutely, absolutely amazing." Let's talk about salads because you can't talk about those cold-weather meals without talking about salads. It's a great option. You've outlined a few of the recipes. What flavors and textures do you think people should be thinking about to make a really great well-dressed salad?

Emily Weinstein: Oh, wow. I think with a salad, making a great salad is, in fact, all about the textures. That's the principal thing you have to think about. You have to think about the leaves of the lettuce. If you're adding tomatoes, juicy tomatoes, you always want to have some crunch in a salad. That could be nuts, it could be breadcrumbs, obviously, croutons. I love homemade croutons. They're not hard to make. If you're going to have a crumbly cheese, you probably want to have sturdier lettuce that can stand up to it. You just want to be thinking about all those different elements and how they play against each other.

Brigid Bergin: One of the salads that I know is major list is this cucumber salad with roasted peanuts and chili.

Emily Weinstein: Oh, yes.

Brigid Bergin: Can you tell us a little bit more about what makes cucumber such a great base in the salad?

Emily Weinstein: Oh, gosh, yes. I was thinking more about leafy salads, but yes, there is a whole world of salads. That cucumber salad is inspired by cucumber salads you see across East Asian cuisines in particular. Cucumber is amazing. It's instantly hydrating. It's so cooling. It's one of those ingredients where on the hottest day, you can eat a cucumber and relax into it. It's so refreshing. When you smack a cucumber, when you create craggy edges instead of slicing it neatly, although slicing it neatly works too, you just create all these nooks and crannies to soak up dressing.

This particular dressing, if I'm remembering right, it's peanut sauce, there's chilies in it. You're getting just these really, really big flavors that play nicely against that mildness of the cucumbers themselves.

Brigid Bergin: I have to ask because, and I'm showing my cooking ignorance, but when you say smack a cucumber, what exactly do you mean?

[laughter]

Emily Weinstein: Sorry. I wouldn't expect everyone to know that. When I think of smacking a cucumber, it's when you're smushing it and there are different ways to do it. When you cut things with nice, tidy, even edges, you're not giving sauce or their flavorings something to grab onto. Actually, when I was talking about croutons, one of the reasons I love homemade croutons is because you can cut the bread in ways or you can tear the bread so you get lots of little craggy edges, and that's just more space to soak up the olive oil and salt.

Brigid Bergin: Which is, of course, the reason you're eating the crouton, to begin with.

Emily Weinstein: Yes, absolutely. [laughter] It's the same principle too with vegetables.

Brigid Bergin: That's so interesting. We have another text that came in, "I caved and bought an air fryer two years ago to have a small-scale oven during the summer. It doesn't heat my kitchen nearly as badly and I can still bake a few things in my hellish top-floor apartment." That sounds like a really good workaround and solution. Any ideas for air fryers and things that people might be able to use them for to keep the kitchen cool but still maybe add a hot element to one of these salads?

Emily Weinstein: Gosh, if I were cooking with an air fryer right now, I would be thinking about cooking proteins. Chicken and steak are really obvious examples that you can then keep in your fridge, slice as you need, and then all you need to do is add a salad of any kind on the side or even just sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper and you've got an instant meal. I would think that would be a really good friend to have the air fryer right now.

Brigid Bergin: We are taking your calls for suggestions, for questions about how to keep cool during the summer while you are cooking amazing food, whether you are getting great produce at the market or other ideas that you want to suggest for us. I'm talking with Emily Weinstein, the New York Times food and cooking editor. The number, 212-433-9692. You can also text or tweet at us. We'd love to hear what you're doing to make dinner for you, for your family, and maybe for your party and while keeping your apartment from overheating this summer.

Emily, there's some other great recipes. We mentioned gazpacho, but let's take a moment for gazpacho. It's another popular dish that is really great in the summertime and generally takes a basic set of ingredients. Do you have a favorite gazpacho recipe or a go-to gazpacho recipe?

Emily Weinstein: I would say this because I am the editor of NYT Cooking, but I love the NYT Cooking recipe. It's called Best Gazpacho. I really feel it's the best gazpacho. Commenters love this recipe. It is from Seville. Our reporter, Julia Moskin, was traveling and by her count, she drank, she sipped gazpacho all around the region to arrive at this recipe. We published it a while ago. What's really delicious about this recipe is that it's really simple. It's a minimal number of ingredients. It's a lot of olive oil and that just adds this plush quality to it. It's outrageously delicious and you don't need to have a lot of it to feel full and to get that gazpacho experience.

Brigid Bergin: Let's go to Cliff in Manhattan. Cliff, thanks for calling All Of It on WNYC.

Cliff: Hello. I'm not very good at cooking. On the summer day, I do go to the farmer's market; grated beet and grated cucumber, oil and vinegar, and dill.

Brigid Bergin: Cliff, it sounds delicious and it sounds very cool. Thank you so much for that recipe and that suggestion. That's a vegetable that we haven't talked about. That's something that is definitely we're seeing a lot at the farmer's market these days. Beets, red beets, golden beets. I love beets, but I only usually make beets when I roast them, which is the opposite of what we're trying to do in this segment. We're trying to keep things cool. Are grated beets one of the ways that you would suggest preparing them as well?

Emily Weinstein: I have something to confess, which is I eat just about everything except for beets. I'll eat them if you invite me over [laughter] and you put a massive platter of beets down. Of course, I'm going to eat the beets. I don't mind beets so much. I've never tried grating them. This is just interesting.

Brigid Bergin: Interesting.

Emily Weinstein: When I think about grating them, I do think a little bit more about cooking them, but I don't see any reason why that wouldn't be totally delicious. I'm thinking of grated carrot salads. Sweet, really sturdy vegetables that you can create that way in the summer and toss with dressing and it's really delicious. Also, Cliff said that he didn't know how to cook, but I don't know, that sounds like somebody who knows how to cook.

Brigid Bergin: I thought it sounded like a pretty great recipe. Let's go to Kelly in Belleville, New Jersey. Kelly, welcome to All Of It.

Kelly: Hi. Thanks for having me on.

Brigid Bergin: Tell us about your summer kitchen setup.

Kelly: We have a small house and we just have through-the-wall air conditioners and fans set up to keep everything circulating, so our house heat up really, really fast, but we love to cook and we love to bake all year round. We have both an enclosed front porch and a back porch. We used to do some of this on the front porch, but we emptied out our back porch so that he built a counter. Our old microwave just broke, so we got a brand new microwave. It's beautiful, it functions, it does so many things. He also got a Breville. It's a toaster oven I guess, but it also air fries and it bakes cakes and muffins and pizza beautifully.

I've roasted chickens in it. I've been roasting vegetables in it. It works much faster than my oven does. It takes half the time to do anything. We use our stove top a little bit, but we don't touch our ovens from April through October.

Brigid Bergin: Kelly, thank you so much for your call. A lot of multipurpose appliances seem to be the secret to her keeping cool. Is that something that are used in a lot of the recipes from the times?

Emily Weinstein: Increasingly, yes, because people love these appliances and they do make cooking so much easier any time of year. While they do shine for this particular reason this time of year, they're really great. We all saw what happened with the Instant Pot and now air fryers. They're just enormously popular. I've seen that Breville oven too. It's really cool. I think if you have the space to have appliances and bring them outside, that's great. I know of a few people who have fryers, but they don't want to deep fry inside their apartment or their house, but if they have outside space, you can always go outside and do that and there's less mess to clean up inside too.

Brigid Bergin: We hope we have helped you with some suggestions for how to keep cool while you are having dinner this summer. I've been speaking with Emily Weinstein, the editor of the New York Times food section and you have been listening to All Of It on WNYC. Stick around for tomorrow. We'll talk with the editor of Fast Company Magazine about different generations and the relationships to technology. Thanks so much. Tune in tomorrow.

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