Many of you are still cooking outdoors or keeping indoor cooking to a minimum.

The secret to cooking smarter in hot weather is preparing meals when the heat is less intense, preparing larger quantities of food at the same time, and incorporating bargains and local produce as well as flavor variety into your menus.

With this in mind I have found in my own personal experience that these are the best times to cook during those hot sultry days. In the evening after the sun goes down, in the middle of the night, or early in the morning are all intelligent times to cook because the heat is usually less intense. It is not unusual for me to be in the kitchen whipping something up at these odd hours.

Consider the plus side of this craziness. At these times of day usually other members of the household are either asleep or preoccupied with other things. They have already eaten and you are not going to have so many distractions. If you work, you can double up on some preparation at dinner time or start your meal in a slow cooker before going to bed or work.

It is wise to also use these food preparation methods when dealing with those hot humid summer days. The most practical small appliances around are slow cookers, convection ovens, indoor grills, and microwave ovens. Other things to add to your arsenal are an electric frying pan, griddle, bread machine, blender, tea machine, and an ice cream maker. With these conveniences in your kitchen you can save time, energy, and prevent heating up the house too much.

If you absolutely must use the oven, use it wisely. Double up on the quantity of the food you are making. It takes as much time and energy to roast two chickens as it does one, for example.

I usually cook twice a week. I make two to three meals at once and vary the leftovers during the week. With this method my house gets exposed to the extra heat just once or twice a week. I freeze leftovers and the extra prepared meats in meal size quantities.
I shop for bargains and load up when things are on Sale. I incorporate local produce and seasonal items into my Menus. I use different herbs to add flavor variety to meal preparation.

I simply realized one day that some of my old cooking habits were just DUMB and impractical. Many times they were just too much effort and depressing. With a bit of enthusiasm and patience you can prepare foods smarter, tastier, and more conveniently. This is going to allow you more Time to be yourself and do what you want to do.