Florence and The Machine had it all wrong: the dog days are not over. In fact, they’ve just begun. August in Southern California is one of the most painful experiences a suburban housewife will ever have to endure. If you haven’t witnessed it yourself, just type “death” into the search bar of Thesaurus.com: annihilation, bereavement, euthanasia, and grim reaper are all perfectly accurate ways to describe this weather.
Yet somehow we survive, year in and year out. Probably due to air conditioning and other modern conveniences. But what about the original population? How did the Indians and the Spaniards and the Mexicans deal with 110 degree heat? They didn’t have sunscreen or Camelbaks. So what was their secret?
Turns out they had a few other tricks up their sleeve – mostly recipes – that helped them survive the blistering summer sun. Take the Mexican obsession with chili peppers, for example. It’s not only based on taste preferences, but also survival instincts. The chemical compound that gives chilies their spicy flavor, called capsaicin, actually helps lower your body temperature by making you sweat. So it’s no coincidence that the spiciest foods in the world are usually found in the hottest climates (see: Mexico, India, Thailand).
The Mexican kitchen incorporates these little cooling mechanisms in a variety of ways. One of my personal favorites, especially in the summertime, is gazpacho. This chilled vegetable soup originated in the south of Spain and eventually made its way to Portugal and the New World. Although the traditional recipe is tomato-based, contemporary chefs have put their own spin on gazpacho by using watermelon, grapes, and apples as the star ingredient. I used honeydew melon as the base for this recipe to highlight a seasonal fruit that gets ignored way too often. It’s served best with a cold glass of chardonnay on a warm August evening, after the sun has set and the patio has cooled down.
Ingredients:
8 cups honeydew melon
1 green bell pepper
1 celery stalk
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 cucumber
1 avocado
4 scallions
2 garlic cloves
1 serrano chili (or jalapeño)
juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
extra-virgin olive oil
Directions: Chop all vegetables into 2-inch chunks. Remove seeds from serrano chili. Throw everything except olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Garnish with chopped veggies (cucumber, melon, avocado) and a drizzle of olive oil.