Hamid and I were just saying that a few days ago. We try not to fire up the stove during the hottest months. We eat a lot of salads and quick to heat up stuff, like steaming broccoli in the microwave. He'll grill some chicken breasts every few weeks, which we keep in the freezer for sandwiches. They're great with some feta for Greek salads. A bit of ham and cheese for chef's salads.

We get kinda tired of chicken.

We get to missing regular "dinner plate" meals, though. So when we had a break in the heat, I pulled out the iron skillet and seared a couple of ribeyes with caramelized onion for us. Well… one ribeye which we shared, with a couple of potatoes mashed with garlic, butter, and a dollop of sour cream – plus green beans cooked with onion and mushrooms. And, a little EVOO garlic toasted barberry bread.

Hamid is of the opinion we couldn't have gotten better at Outback or Longhorn steakhouses. And, who needs a pound of steak on their own? Especially with the rest of the meal.

This morning we have another break in the heat. I made cheesy grits with bacon crumbled in, eggs over easy, and barberry bread. Again, Hamid is convinced we couldn't get better at IHOP.

The first day the temperatures won't rise over 70°, I'm going to slow roast a pork loin for my ginger-lime pork roast, with pan seared zucchini on the side. I'll bake a loaf of fresh bread to go with it. Should I have mashed sweet potatoes or sweet potatoes O'Brien? Hmmmmm… decisions, decisions.

The point is, we can't get any of that in a restaurant. Better to stay home.