We're starting to get into that time of year where cooking becomes a task too onerous to consider. Two days ago, the humidity shot up suddenly, making it feel 10 degrees warmer. It's still comfortable if you keep your activity level low, which for me is usually pretty easy. I am a web developer and spend 80% of my awake time sitting in front of my computer. But even low level activity is guaranteed to bring a good sweat, and going into the kitchen and firing up a couple of burners or the oven is a trip to the second ring of hell.

I made a tragic mistake this year. I started making cheater food 6 weeks ago. We were both terribly busy, so instead of spending my time in the kitchen, being creative, and cooking all the time, I made a lot of quick stuff. So now that it is actually getting warm, we have had our fill of ham sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, and chicken salad. Same goes for pasta salad and easy soups.

I love the produce here, and we have a lot of fruit or vegetable salads. They are wonderful and tasty and refreshing and make me feel good. However, a salad just isn't as satisfying as biting into something and actually chewing.

We could eat out more, but that presents another host of problems. We have to actually get dressed and go out into public, something we don't always feel like doing. It can also get expensive. We have been working our way through the best places to eat cheap, and have eaten food cart fare for the past three nights. The biggest problem with eating out is the way most food is prepared. Everything is loaded with pork fat, butter, cheese, or sour cream. Even fish fillets are usually breaded or cooked in butter or oil. Certainly tasty, but after three days running of eating out, I am feeling heavy, slow, and a little tired. Too much fat.

The grill isn't really an answer either. Using the grill means going up onto the roof in the blazing sun and starting and watching the fire. Then the food has to be carried up to the roof and I have to stand over a fire and cook it. Then everything has to be brought back downstairs to eat. That would keep the heat out of my kitchen, but wouldn't really make the task any less sweaty. Yes, I could assign this chore to Chuck, but transferring the misery to my beloved isn't really a good solution.

Yesterday, I decided heat be damned, I am going to cook. For lunch, I decided to make Dorado in a tomato-garlic-white wine sauce and shrimp rice. This was a very poor plan. I ended up in the kitchen for 40 minutes with two burners and the oven going. I was sweating unbelievably, and by the time I was done, the last thing in the world I wanted was a hot meal.

When it comes to cooking, I think I have a problem with thinking simple. So I need suggestions. What are some great summer dishes that require no more that 10 minutes of actual cooking? If you have any good ideas, please, please, please share them!