Too hot to cook?

In northern Ohio, 85 degrees is too hot to cook. It blew my mind how the bulk of the Jamaican diet is made up of stews, curries, and slow-cooked jerk meats. In that kind of heat, Ohioans and Michiganders would only eat salads and sandwiches!

This list of 101 quick summer meals is my go-to guide when I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, and the idea of firing up the oven is anathema. I often forget how good simple food can be, and the list is a great reminder.

Here are just a few favorites:

Pan-grill a skirt steak for three or four minutes a side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, slice and serve over romaine or any other green salad, drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

Boil a lobster. Serve with lemon or melted butter. (This is my favorite meal in the world, btw.)

Slice or chop salami, corned beef or kielbasa and warm in a little oil; stir in eggs and scramble. Serve with mustard and rye bread.

Grill or sauté Italian sausage and serve over store-bought hummus, with lemon wedges.

Boil-and-eat shrimp, cooked in water with Old Bay seasoning or a mixture of thyme, garlic, paprika, chopped onion, celery, chili, salt and pepper.

Combine crab meat with mayo, Dijon mustard, chives and tarragon. Serve in a sandwich, with potato chips.

Pit and chop a cup or more of mixed olives. Combine with olive oil, a little minced garlic, red pepper flakes and chopped basil or parsley. Serve over pasta.