The hot-pocalypse is here

For two, maybe three days a year San Francisco experiences what other cities call "summer." The sun is out (per usual in SF), but instead of a year-round fall-like chill in the air, the air is WARM. The incessant west wind ceases. The fog is pushed offshore and held back by a high pressure system like mother nature hugging the dense wet clouds to let her hippy children in The City frolick through Golden Gate park without a knee-length down parka covering their bell bottomed jeans.

The last two days, however, have been a little hotter than usual for this city by The Bay. Today the car thermometer read 99 degrees. I'm sure it was a little off, but I was sweating it up in my sundress that I had to dig out of the dark recesses of an under-the-bed box. I almost didn't know what to do when I felt the warm air on my bare arms this morning. I don't think they've seen the light since they left Seattle!

For the record, I am not complaining. I LOVE hot weather. Unfortunately, with the hot weather brings open windows, which brings mosquitoes, which inevitably brings mosquito bites. And for some reason they always go for my eyes and I wake up looking like a cyclops. So I've taken to wearing an airline eye mask to bed and spraying myself down with the most powerful deet I can find. Poor Dan. Honeymoon over.

So to avoid turning on the oven we grilled our dinner last night. Now if SF could just get it together and be hot and summer-like when it's actually light outside, that would make grilling a whole lot easier. Dan didn't even bat an eye and grilled the meat with a flashlight - and it was still cooked perfectly! I stayed inside chopping vegetables in a cloud of deet - so organic.

Grilled steak and vegetable salad with chipotle chimichurri dressing

(I made this salad for two, so the meat and veggies are enough for two, but the dressing is enough for six. For six people: 1.5 lbs of meat, 2 bell peppers, 3 zucchini, one whole avocado, six radishes)

1 flank or skirt steak (2/3 lb)
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick and cut in half
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 4 big pieces
1 bag spring lettuce mix (I used about 3/4 of the bag, divided in half)
chipotle chimichurri dressing
1/2 firm ripe avocado
4 radishes, julienned

1. Rub the zucchini and steak with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 30 mins.

2. Grill steak, turning once. Six to eight minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a board and tent with foil and let rest while grilling the veggies.

3. Grill bell peppers until blackened and zucchini until tender.

4. Place bell pepper in a bowl and cover. When cool enough, peel and slice it into strips. Slice the steak across the grain into thin strips. Cut zucchini into bite-size pieces.

5. Toss lettuce in a bowl with part of the dressing, then divide among plates. Top with steak and veggies, avocado and drizzle of dressing.

Chipotle chimichurri dressing
In a food processor, whirl 1 1/4 cups each of flat-leaf parsley and cilantro, 2 garlic cloves, 1 seeded jalapeno chile (I used Anaheim to reduce spiciness), 1/3 cup each extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil and lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt until minced. Then add two canned medium chipotle chilies and mince. (It was a little oily, so you could reduce the amount of olive and vegetable oil if you like it a little thicker.)

Someday I'll use a real camera instead of my phone and the food will actually look like something you might want to eat!

Recipe adapted from Sunset magazine, September 2012