obligatory hot weather post ... and food.

Ah, Canadians. We love to talk about the weather. We are in the middle of a heat wave the likes of which I've not seen for a while. It's hot, stupidly hot. Mind-meltingly hot. I walked outside yesterday and my sunglasses fogged up. The humidity outside right now - before 9 am - is 84%, and with the humidity the weather network cheerfully tells me it already feels like 37C (98F). At what point can one drown in humidity?

Making decisions is only well done inside, in the relative cool of the air conditioning; to try and decide something outside leaves me standing, my head on a slight angle, thinking ... thinking ... and then I forget what it was I was trying to decide. This is because while my mind is trying to be logical, my body is screaming "the pool! It's blue, and clear, and cool, and refreshing! Go now! The pool! It calls to us! Why aren't you there yet? Go!"

Last night, as the base temperature was 34C (93F) and the humidity made it feel like 45C (115F), I made supper while I floated in the pool. The rotisserie I bought for our grill turned happily, cooking a pork roast perfectly. I'd adapted a recipe to end up with a yummy marinade (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lots of ginger and garlic, crushed pineapple), then made a salad with a similar vinaigrette (soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar) and some toasted almonds (hooray for the grill's side burner!). It was tender, tasty, and my kitchen was no hotter for it.

Today promises to be at least as hot. A tapas-style meal has a lot of appeal for me today, and I may have the stuff in my fridge to pull it off. Tapas by the pool with a crisp dry Riesling sounds delightful.

Well, that's one major decision taken care of. Whew.