Dan wrote on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:19:18 -0700:

>> "jmcquown" >
>> : in rec.food.cooking
>>
> >> I don't understand why people wait for cooler weather to
> >> cook certain dishes. Don't you people have air
> >> conditioning? I made a chuck roast two weeks ago. It was
> >> 90 degrees outside. I made a pot of chicken & dumplings.
> >> It was 90 degrees outside. I roasted marinated
> >> country ribs in the oven. (We had a cold snap, it was only
> >> 85 degrees. LOL) *Inside* it was 73 degrees. Why do
> >> seasons and outside temperature control what people cook?
> >> I'd truly like to understand this. I prepare and eat hot
> >> soup all year round. Shepard's pie, chicken pot pie,
> >> chili, stew... doesn't seem to require special
> >> weather conditions.
>>
>> I can't speak for anyone else but for me it's more of a
>> seasonal comfort food type of thing. Nothing like a big bowl
>> of beef stew after being outdoors all day on a crisp, cool
>> day. When it's cold outside I gravitate towards more filling,
>> hot foods. For me it seems to revolve around the weather and
>> the seasons of the year.

> I'm with Michael here. Still, I *don't* have air
> conditioning. We lived in Sacramento a couple of months, and
> the apartment had an air conditioner. The city didn't have
> much in the way of jobs, though. So, in almost 60 years,
> that's my only living experience with an air conditioner, two
> months. If I *did* have an air conditioner, and was cooking
> something, I would spend the whole time thinking about my next
> electric bill. Air conditioners suck up a lot of electricity,
> and stoves create a lot of heat. Not a good combination.
> Cooking outside appeals to me more on a hot day, just because
> it doesn't heat up the house.

You remind me of the professor from San Francisco whom I heard
testifying before Congress that AC was an unnecessary luxury. The
temperature in Washington was running about 100F that week so he
convinced nobody here.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not