Day 97 - Hell's Kitchen

Did you know that, in an attempt to gentrify the area, NYC real estate folks renamed Hell's Kitchen "Clinton"? Yes, Clinton. Ridiculous. HK got it's name from days gone by when it was so crime-ridden (by men with names the like "Owney Madden" and "Bully Morrison") that the cops didn't dare venture in unless in groups of two or three. It was "hot" with murderers, gangs, and thugs, and it's rumored that, one night, a cop proclaimed the area hotter than Hell, to which his partner replied, "No sir, that there is Hell's Kitchen". Ba-BOOM! That's how Hell's Kitchen got it's name.

I am trapped in Hell's Kitchen as we speak - not the neighborhood, but my actual kitchen, which is reaching temperatures of 1000+ degrees. I face this dilemma every year when summer rolls around: cook and roast (or turn on the $$$$$$$ AC) or eat a tub of ice cream for dinner every night. Sebastian votes for ice cream, but I have to set a Good Example, so Chunky Monkey is out. Until he's in bed. My new goal? No cooking. Well, to be fair, no cooking with the stove. The microwave is fair game (great for steaming and re-heating, but not so great for Cooking cooking). I figure with a little creativity, I should be able to off the oven for two months without having to eat salad for every meal. Cause that's so much fun.

I have my summertime standbys like gazpacho, smoothies, Cherry Garcia, and takeout (shut up, don't judge me), but to survive two months, I'm gonna need to call in the big guns. I found some great recipes at delish.com and Epicurious, and I shook two inches of dust off a raw cookbook that was shoved to the back of a cabinet - that oughta be good for something (sigh - something with SPROUTS and some sort of Asian algae). What about you? Share the no-cook love!!! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with some Half Baked and a spoon - aaaaaaaaw yeah, it's Mama Time.