Thursday, November 27, 2008

Hot and Cold

Although summer doesn’t technically start in Australia until Monday, it has reached Townsville with a vengeance. It has been hot here. Like, really stinking hot. Yesterday it was 34 degrees, which is about 94 Fahrenheit. And since it’s been raining every few nights, the air is thick with humidity.

To give you an idea of the sort of heat I’m dealing with... the sun heats up all the pipes, which means that water coming from the cold tap is warm enough to wash dishes in. I leave the house at around 7:30 in the morning to get to uni before the sun gets up too high—but for the past few days, I’ve been sweating before I even leave the house. Thank goodness there’s a shower in my building!

In this kind of heat, appetites are very different than they are in winter. I’ve been juicing lots of fruit and vege in order to get lots of nutrients without filling myself up too much.

A good meal in summer is simple grilled seitan. Real Food Daily chicken-style seitan, marinated in Urban Vegan’s Classic Marinade, charred in a skillet and served with tomato sauce is quick and easy and requires very little hands-on time in the hot kitchen.

An Urban Vegan Tester recipe

Similarly, Urban Vegan’s Hearty Adzuki Bean Soup was a good meal to make on a hot day. Wait... hearty soup, on a hot day? Really?! Well actually, yes. To make this soup, you literally throw everything into a pot and let it simmer for an hour or so. I stirred occasionally, but most of the time this was cooking I was sitting with my feet up, writing christmas cards.

An Urban Vegan Tester recipe

And today, I got caught in a serious rainstorm on my way in to uni. Warm leftover soup was more than welcome!

But really, what I mostly feel like eating is ice cream. So I jumped at the opportunity to test Urban Vegan’s Unfried Ice Cream. Chocolate ice cream with a yummy coating is a perfect end to a hot day.

An Urban Vegan Tester recipe

I hope that wherever you are, whatever weather is being thrown at you right now, you're dealing with it well!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that hot climate! The foods seem delicious, especially the ice cream. Thanks for the good karma, yeah im into it, i`ll mail you my adress and continue the chain !=D

Vaala ◪ said...

At least we don't get as hot as that here...but the humidity is gets bad at times. Running home from work yesterday felt a bit like swimming in damp heat!

Amy said...

Yummo! The Urban Vegan recipes look awesome - she's so talented.

I've been keeping up with the blog, but I've emerged from my hiding spot (after exams and wisdom teeth)!!!!

Aaaaahhhh.... Townsville summer. I used to have at least three showers a day (not environmentally friendly!!!). Hope Nacho's protecting you with Andy away....

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Amazing eats!!

Hang in there, Theresa!!

Carrie™ said...

With you being originally from Upstate NY, you must be used to the kind of weather we have in southern Ontario. I can't stand that hot, humid, sticky heat. I turn into a sloth and don't want to do anything! When it gets like that I spend more time inside with A/C than I do outside. What a waste of a summer. Also, it must be different to have Christmas in blazing heat. We've had a couple of snowfalls already! It's all melted away, but it was on the ground for a day or so.
What's the soup like? I was looking at making that too. I'd also love to try the ice cream.

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

That ice cream looks perfect for a hot summer day, I can't wait to see the recipe. I wish I could take some of your Townsville heat and give you some of our Jersey Shore cold, balance things out a little!

DJ said...

I'm so jealous... of your tester status and your hot weather!!!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Ok, you give me 1/2 your hot weather and I'll give you 1/2 my cold. Then we can both enjoy perfect weather!

Unknown said...

aww haha i WISH it was warmer here...i'm already looking forward to summer again! :)
the unfried ice cream tester looks sooo good..i lovve fried ice cream haha. lucky you for getting to test it out!

Gina said...

Yikes...that sure does sound hot right about now!! the ice cream looks like it would be a fantastic treat for that weather though :)

Anonymous said...

i just found out (from the here's the veg blog) that you were recently in melbourne! i wish i could have joined you at the east - it would have been lovely to meet you in the flesh. keep cool! last time i visited brisbane in summer i vowed never to do it again!

the little one said...

Hey bud. I just gave you a proximidade award. Catchy name, no?

http://thepotatovine.blogspot.com/2008/12/im-winner.html