Sequestration Meal #590

 

I haven't turned my air conditioner on yet. But the strongest test of my anti-AC resolve--which I like to hold onto until at least mid-June--came when I arrived home from work to find my apartment a balmy 84 degrees, when it was about 92 outside so there could be no relief from open windows until nightfall. After sleeping under a fan with all the windows open, I woke up and it was still 80 inside, even though it was 62 outside. (My apartment seems well-insulated, which is great in some cases, but also annoying in others!)

80 degrees is fine for me so long as I don't do anything to heat myself up. So this is a wonderful, cold meal: Barley and lentil salad with a fresh dill vinaigrette (recipe from Bowl of Delicious), carrot slaw (recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1987)), and butter lettuce salad with avocado and chives (recipe from What's Gabby Cooking?).

The barley and lentil salad is amazing, and also amazingly easy if you plan ahead. You just cook barley and lentils together, then drain them and toss them in a simple vinaigrette with fresh herbs. I have a neighbor who lives in a downstairs apartment and has permission to do some gardening, and she told me that I could have all the dill I wanted because she hates it (I think she grew it to repel something). So I'm really excited about all the possibilities this summer!

I've always loved carrot slaw, but for some reason I hadn't made it in a long time. I'm glad I went to the trouble, though; it went really well with everything else. The dressing is just mayo with salt and pepper, but that really is all it needs--shredded carrots; finely chopped onions, celery, and apple; salt; pepper; and mayo. Some people would add raisins, but I am not one of those people.

Butter lettuce, meanwhile, is my favorite lettuce, but I rarely buy it because saying something is my favorite lettuce doesn't mean it gets me excited about eating lettuce. Even so, though, I do enjoy a green salad, even if I rarely really think about them. The combination of avocado and butter lettuce is always wonderful, of course, but the chives and the dressing with shallots and garlic really set everything off perfectly.

And my apartment cooled off, and so did I. And my air conditioning stayed off for another day.