The Controversial Cooking Rule I Always Break in the Summer (It Keeps Me Cool!)

Written by

Lizzy FrancisLifestyle Editor at Apartment Therapy
Lizzy FrancisLifestyle Editor at Apartment Therapy
I cover Real Estate and help with coverage across Cleaning & Organizing and Living. I've worked in digital media for almost seven years, where I spent all of those as News Editor at Fatherly, a digital media brand focused on helping dads live fuller, more involved lives. I live to eat, exercise, and to get 10 hours of sleep a night. I live in Brooklyn with my husband and my dog, Blueberry.
published Jul 16, 2024
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Credit: Chinasa Cooper

I live in a pre-war New York City apartment that does not have central air. Instead, in the summer, we cool our home with an intricate system of rotating fans and undersized AC units. As a result (and to save money on our electric bill) some of our rooms are much, much warmer than others, like, all the time. Case in point? Our kitchen, which is essentially a dead space of hot air. 

Since the kitchen is separate from our living and dining space, which both have tons of windows and get a good cross-breeze, it stays about 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house (or cooler, if our radiators are running in the winter.) On truly hot days — like 90 degree days with 70% humidity — even prepping vegetables for a roasted veggie plate can make me break out in a sweat. It can be miserable.

In the midst of a summer heat wave, the last thing I want to do is turn on my stovetop or oven. Few things are worse than my oven blasting at 425 degrees while I roast up a hot dinner, only to sit down and eat it plopped in front of our tiny AC unit, covered in sweat. It’s on those days that I pull out my trustiest of old-school appliances: the humble Crockpot.

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This practice flies in the face of the typical summer cooking rule to stay away from any hot foods and heat sources altogether. After all, the best things to make with a Crockpot are soups, stews, and basically delicious slop — perfect for cold, cozy days. 

But it’s actually one of the most perfect appliances for hot weather days where I want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. At maximum effort, I chop up a few vegetables (if needed) and drop all of my proteins, spices, and liquids in a pot, press a button, and walk away for five to eight hours to return to a practically finished meal.

Credit: Lizzy Francis

Just because it’s hot out doesn’t mean I don’t want a hot meal at all — otherwise I wouldn’t go out to restaurants in the summer, either! What I don’t want is to be stuck in the kitchen cooking a meal that requires a lot of active prep time — like a stir-fry, grilled chicken, or even a cold noodle salad, where you still have to turn the stovetop on to boil some soba. What I really, really want is to have all of the rewards of a hot, home-cooked meal with all of the flavor, with as little effort (and sweat equity) as possible.

That’s what makes the Crockpot so perfect — I just set it and forget it, avoiding my sauna of a kitchen until it’s time to eat. There are a surprising amount of summer-friendly dishes you can make in a Crockpot, too. I love making pulled chicken tacos, tortilla soup, slow cooker sausage, peppers and onions. 

Credit: Lizzy Francis

All I’m saying is, the Crockpot might feel like it’s perfect for one thing, when in fact it’s actually the perfect solution for not heating up your entire pre-war apartment while cooking during a heat wave. It allows me to still make myself nutritious, homemade food without putting myself through a workout to do it. And while there’s nothing wrong with cold cuts on a hot day, there are a lot of hot days. Sometimes, you still want a hot meal to nourish your body and mind.

It’s also the perfect time to shop for a Crockpot because it’s currently on sale during Amazon Prime Day on July 16 and 17. It’s down 20% to just $55.99 from the usual $69.99, giving you so much bang for your buck!

Buy: Crock-Pot 6 Quart Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker with Digital Timer, $55.99 (normally $69.99)