Caitriona Redmond: How to keep your food from going off in hot weather

Fresh Irish chillies are on sale at Dunnes Stores. 

It is too hot to cook! I no more want to spend an hour in the kitchen with the oven or the hob on than you do. I’ve also exhausted my trusty fall-back of the Irish Mammy salad. It was a novelty last week and by this stage, I’m even doing an internal groan at the thoughts of sliced boiled eggs and rolls of ham. That’s why this week both recipes are made without a stovetop or oven in sight and I am all the better for it. The bonus to all these no-cook dishes? Less washing up!

The clammy, sticky heat has attached itself to my brain cells and makes it more difficult to think straight, never mind plan meals, shop and cooking. In the warmth food can spoil rapidly; knowing how to store your supplies will save you money and unnecessary trips to the shops.