The Principles of No-Cook Cooking

I am a lover of gourmet food all year round and a cook that hates cooking in the summer. Besides the heat, no cook cooking is like my little cooking holiday in the hotter months because I cook so much during the rest of the year.

What I have discovered after having left the professional kitchen was that the microwave and toaster oven were great support in the home kitchen and were definitely underused. A microwave is for more than heating, it is excellent for cooking vegetables and fruits. Did you know that you can have perfectly cooked potatoes made in ten minutes with very little water and with great flavor when cooked correctly in the microwave?

Dust off your Toaster Oven!

A toaster oven IS an oven, albeit smaller, but serves the same function. Bear in mind they are not all created equal, so if you are going to use one too cook keep this in mind. To get the most use out if it, make sure that you research the performance reports of the oven as not all get to or hold the heat the same. Also, I suggest that you get one that will hold a 9-inch pie plate. This will ensure that you can cook larger items in it like I do - pies, cake and brownies, salmon, chicken, vegetable dishes - except for large roasts and turkeys, you can cook anything you'd make in a standard sized oven in a toaster oven.

No Cook Cooking is 'Gilded Green'

One of the bonuses from gourmet cooking with small appliances is that it is beneficial for the environment. Small appliances provide a 75% energy savings compared to the larger appliances, so you can be a little greener in the kitchen while making fabulous dishes and saving you time, because now, when using them, you are able to cook faster and more efficiently. Every little bit counts, and in the kitchen is a great place to start.

Some more tips to get you started

Use fresh ingredients as much as possible. They are not only the key to better eating; they also minimize the cooking factor.

Use the oven as little as possible. Particularly in the summer. Some foods do need to be cooked as they are central to this repertoire of cooking and add immensely to the flavor of the meals. Cook these foods when it is cooler, usually in the morning. However, if you have to cook in the evening, comfort yourself with the knowledge that the house has time to cool down.

Make the most of your blender. Summer soups are not only a great way to cool down, they are also an excellent and elegant way to increase your fruit intake and with a simple twist, turn into a divine dessert. I use the Breville Ikon Die Cast Blender. It is so quiet and I never have to deal with food stuck beneath the blades and it is digital and has a 'smoothie' button for one-touch blending. It aerates the food and makes it taste even better.

Make the most of your toaster oven-actually cook in it! Using often-neglected appliances like the toaster oven is a key concept in this type of meal preparation. A toaster oven that can hold four pieces of bread or a 9-inch pie plate is ideal. I also highly recommend a convection toaster oven for getting the best-quality baking and cooking. You will find you use your regular oven far less often year round, not just in the summer.

Make the most of your microwave-actually cook in it too! The microwave is an excellent kitchen tool and one I could not do without in my kitchen. Be sure to get a really good one. See Microwaves, below, for usage and safety guidelines, with tips from a microwave expert.

Reduce your trips to the store by bulk buying. Bulk buying does double duty. It saves you time and reduces the number of trips you make in your car. Just because stores are open at all hours does not mean you should

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Angela Tunner is a former chef and The Renaissance Gourmet and author of gourmet living lifestyle books including, "Simply Summer: Gourmet Meals Made Deliciously Easy With Tips for Elegant Living" (Eat like a Millionaire Omnimedia, ISBN 978-0-9783561-0-1) available exclusively online at www.angelatunner.com. The recipes in this book are revolutionary because they rely almost exclusively on no cooking-perfect for summer and excellent any time of year. For more information about The Renaissance Gourmet and her practical kitchen and cooking tips, go to www.angelatunner.com For free tips and recipes, subscribe to her newsletter.