Keeping Cool in the Summer Time

August in Maryland - it’s hot. Today let’s remind ourselves of some ways to keep cool in the summer time. 

• Eat and drink cool/cold foods. Save the soups and chili for winter. Go with cool/cold foods when it’s hot outdoors.
  • Smoothies. See the post from earlier this month. These are a wonderful icy treat that can be different every day. Yesterday mine was a banana, ice, almond milk, and 1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring. Today its frozen tomato, orange and 1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring.
  • Salads. Eat veggies while they are still cool from the refrigerator. Think finger food like: cucumber slices sprinkled with seasoning, cucumber slice ‘sandwiches’ with basil leaf and deli sliced smoked turkey filling, celery with peanut butter, broccoli or cauliflower florets. Or combinations of ingredients with your favorite dressing. Most salads are fairly quick to prepare and with a little prep ahead of time are about the fastest meal around.
  • Fruit. Watermelon is the best it will be in August. The hybrid seedless forms don’t have the marvelous flavor of the older melons but are still tasty. Peaches are also in season. Again - eat them still cool from the refrigerator.
  • Ice cream. In moderation because of the fat and sugar calories. I’ve almost converted myself to the frozen banana with milk substitute.
  • Iced beverages. Water - lemon water - herbal tea - watered down juice. Keeping hydrated with something cold is a great way to keep cool. Combine the idea of smoothies and iced beverages by putting your iced beverage in the blender; you’ll ‘drink’ the ice along with the beverage that way.
• Be active early in the day (when its cooler). Plan the day to be outdoors in the morning. It’s cooler and it will be more enjoyable. Walking, jogging, gardening….it all is better in the morning.
• Water your skin. Every time you wash your hands - dry them on your forearms before the towel. You’d be surprised how much cooler you’ll feel. Splash your face too if you are very hot. Carry a mister for children or yourself in very hot weather.
• Go barefoot. Shoes may be required to protect the bottom of your feet or if you are out and about…but go barefoot at every opportunity.
• Wear comfortable clothing. By this I mean ‘not tight’ and ‘breathable’ --- also lightly colored.
• Seek shade. If you are going to be out in the sun - wear a hat so that your shade moves with you. Even if you are wearing a hat, stand in the shade whenever possible.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 21, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Jared Ficklin video - (TED talk) sound visualization

Photos: Big sunspot kicks ball of energy toward Earth - views from the STEREO Ahead spacecraft and the Solar Dynamics Observatory over the past year

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #16 - from National Geographic

Brits Top Energy Efficiency Ranking; US Ranks 9th (Out of 12) - Wow! Even China is ahead of us. How can we be competitive with so many of the major economies of the world ahead of us in this arena

States Lead in Freeing the Grid for Small-Scale Renewable Energy - How well is your state doing?

New Metric for Obesity Strongly Correlated to Premature Death - A Body Shape Index (ABSI) is a combination of Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference

Web Quiz Tells You Which Presidential Candidate Best Fits Your Worldview - Interesting quiz

Cassini Spots Daytime Lightning On Saturn - Seen for the first time on the side illuminated by the sun

Green Plants Reduce City Street Pollution Up to Eight Times More Than Previously Believed - and they look good too! Green 'billboards' of vines or grass may be more effective than trees.

Storm Scents: It's True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain - Just what are you smelling before, during and after a summer rainstorm? Here are some answers from Scientific American

Summer Living

July is the middle of summer. The top 10 things I like in summer are: 

1. Watermelon
2. Cherries
3. Grilled corn on the cob
4. Gardening on the deck - basil, sweet potato, stevia, mint, parsley, rosemary
5. Walks around Brookside Gardens
6. Reading a good book in the cool indoors on a hot afternoon
7. Going barefoot
8. Waking up at dawn
9. Meeting a longtime friend for lunch
10. Photographing flowers

Many of these depend upon being about to stay comfortable even when it is very hot. By July - we all have implemented strategies to stay cool. Here are a few of mine (over and above being in an air conditioned house/building): 

• Do any outdoor activity as early in the day as possible. I like to get out and about and done by 9. Yes - this means getting up at dawn or maybe a little before. Being a morning person is quite an advantage in the summer.
• Drink plenty and lots of cold drinks. Lemon water with chia seeds (almost always my first breakfast), herbal tea, and smoothies made with frozen fruit.
• Close drapes and blinds to keep the sun from shining into a room. Outside light is wonderful but there is a down side if the sun is actually shining through the glass - wonderful as it may be in winter, it is thwarting the air conditioning in the summer.
• Minimize heat sources such as lamps and computers. Even relatively cool fluorescent bulbs put out some heat. Put the computer into sleep mode when not in use and turn off printers and other equipment except when they are needed.
• Cook on the grill rather than using an indoor broiler or skillet. If you do cook indoors, minimize the heat added to the kitchen:
  • Select foods with minimal cook time like stir fry
  • Use the microwave to heat veggies
  • Use a crock pot rather than the stove top to make soup or chili
• Turn off the dry cycle of the dishwasher and run the dishwasher at a time when you will not be in the kitchen (maybe as you are on your way to bed if it isn’t too noisy) 

So - the overarching strategy is to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day and be conscious of actions that minimize what the air conditioning has to overcome. With these strategies in place - I can enjoy all my top 10 activities…and more! 

Favorite Smells of Summer

What are your favorite smells of summer?

The smells I most strongly associate with summer are:

Fresh herbs from the garden - either outdoors while I am gardening or indoors when I am preparing a meal that includes them. Mint, rosemary, and basil are my favorites.

I like the smell at the beginning of rain. In the summer - there is so much vegetation where I live that the smells are rich and vary considerably…but they always remind me of crisp greenery and warmth.

Citrus. Somehow citrus is a summer sun smell to me. I like orange and lemon. There are a lot of products that include the scent. I love to have orange zest drying in my kitchen giving the whole kitchen its smell (and then using it in a stir fry or baking….and getting the smell again).

Cucumber. It has a very light scent…but certainly one that is cool in the midst summer heat and brightness.

What are your favorite smells of summer?

Recipe of the Week: Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob is one of my favorite vegetables. I have such fond memories of it from summer vacations to my grandparents. They grew corn to ripen throughout the summer so there was a large pan on the stove for it virtually every evening. These days I still sometimes cook it that way - but other times I cook it out on the grill - keep the heat out of the house/kitchen.

Fresh or frozen corn on the cob is cooked the same way. The frozen takes a bit longer. It has to be hot enough to melt the butter!

To cook corn on the grill -

Wrap the corn in a paper towel or the clean shucks (i.e. clean the corn then reuse some of the shucks to re-wrap the ear). This helps it stay moist while it heats.

Wrap it in aluminum foil.

Place on grill along with the meat - or whatever else you are grilling for the meal. Turn it so that all sides will get hot. The paper towel/shuck gives you room for error so don’t be afraid of overcooking!

Unwrapping the corn is like unwrapping a present….and with butter and some Mrs. Dash….the taste of summer.

July Celebrations

July begins tomorrow. What is there to celebrate in July? Here are some ideas.

Independence Day in the US. The official day is July 4th. Have your own celebration with a family gathering or join your community for a celebration with a crowd. Our local celebration is a street festival followed by fireworks on July 7th. Last year we almost missed it (because we didn’t realize it was no on the 4th!) so we were looking for the flyer in the snail mail when it came. We’re set to load the lawn chairs in the car and get a great spot to relax and enjoy the show just after dark!

Summer and water. When it’s hot - getting wet is a welcome respite. Think about spending some time at the beach or the swimming pool. Alternatively - keep spray misters or water pistols handy for those times when the family is outdoors and needs a quick cool down.

Cherries. My favorite fruit for July is cherries and I keep the supply going as long as they are reasonably priced. I save watermelon for August although I like it so well that I buy it in July if the price is right. And what about the orange fleshed honey dew melons! They’ve just made an appearance this year in my local grocery although I’ve been reading about them. It’s easy to find foods for celebrating in July.

Early morning walks. It’s so hot later in the day that the early morning may be the only time to get out and about comfortably. Celebrate hearing the birds chattering - since they are usually at their liveliest in the morning.

June Celebrations

June begins today. What is there to celebrate in June? Here are some ideas.

Flag Day. The day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the US in June 1777. It has been a celebration for a long time in some places but I didn’t become aware of it until one year when there had been a lot of snow days and my daughter’s elementary school was still in session in mid-June! They gathered the children around the flag pole in the front of the school for a short ceremony which parents were invited to attend as well.

Father’s Day. It’s Sunday, June 17th. Take the opportunity to show your appreciation to the men in your life - particularly your fathers and grandfathers (and help your children think of something their Dad would enjoy from them).

First Day of Summer….the day of longest daylight in the Northern Hemisphere…is June 20th.

Strawberries and blueberries. These are the early fruits of summer across much of the US. They are tasty by themselves, in salads or desserts, or in smoothies. June is probably the easiest month of the year to eat healthy!

Summer Wardrobe Planning

We’ve had a few warm days --- and I am looking through clothes to decide if I have what I need for summer. Have you done your summer wardrobe check yet?

Shoes. I quickly realize that the flip flops and sandals I bought near the end of the season last year are still in almost-new condition…so new shoes are not necessary.

Capris/shorts. Last year I enjoyed capris more than shorts. There are more of them in the pile than I remember having…so no purchases needed.

Slacks/jeans. I don’t wear slacks and jeans much in the summer. I do have a pair of linen-like slacks that would be my top choice for summer wear; they should probably stay hanging in the closet year round. Maybe I’ll keep one pair of jeans out as well.

Skirts. I’ve been collecting more of them over the past few years. When it is really hot - they are always my favorite. There are enough skirts.

T-shirts. I have too many. Since I don’t wear them all the time, they tend to last a long time. Some of them are 20 years old! This year I need to focus on wearing T-shirts for working outdoors (with sunscreen to keep my arms and neck from burning) rather than just whatever top I have on at the time.

Tops. I prefer cap or short sleeves to sleeveless and have been collecting some I really like over the past few years. I have some long sleeved big shirts to wear over everything if I’m going to be out in the sun and/or wearing my photo-vest and need fabric between the vest and the back of my neck. Go anywhere tops may be the one area of my wardrobe that needs shoring up a bit for summer.

Swimsuit. It still fits and will work for the few times I need it this summer.

Overall I am in reasonably good shape for summer except for tops. I’m going to make some stops at the local thrift store between now and when it gets really hot!