It's hot

But who cares about the weather?  That's all anybody is talking about.  I have air conditioning now, something I never had until a little over three years ago.  I'm quite comfortable.  
We had to go on a shopping trip to buy some Thompson's water seal for the decks.  I'm also window-shopping for a small patio table with an umbrella for the deck that used to be occupied by the hot tub.  I'm hesitant to buy it now, however.  I'm pretty sure that in another month or so, patio stuff will be on clearance by the stores wanting to get rid of summer items.  
Since Cliff has retired, he has noticed how much time I put into meals and remarks on it often.  While we were shopping, we happened to go into a Walmart that has a Subway inside.  The bread smelled delicious, and it was really hard to pass it up, but I told Cliff, "We have free food at home.  The longer we fool around here, the later dinner is going to be."  
That got us moving.  
We had stuffed peppers, using some of those king-sized bell peppers from the garden. Do you know how many dishes I dirty up making stuffed peppers?  First of all I cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds; then I put water in a pan, bring it to a boil, and boil the peppers for three minutes.  Meanwhile, chop onions and brown the ground beef and onions in a skillet.  Already we have two dirty pans, not to mention the cutting board.  Add stuff to the skillet and mix.  Now we get out a 9 by 12 pan and lay the peppers in it (another pan) and fill them with the meat mixture.  
Whew.  A sink full of dishes that mostly can't be tossed in the dishwasher, but must be washed by hand.  
I also decided to fix eggplant parmesan; not really a good combination with stuffed peppers, but I was using what I had from the garden.  This required me to beat a couple of eggs in a bowl, beat them, and put flour in another.  Next I fried the eggplant slices that had been dipped in eggs and flour.  Another skillet.  Finally I put the eggplant in a 9 by 13 pan, put the sauce and cheese on it, and stuck it in the oven.  Dishes, pots and pans, and spoons galore.  
We also had pickled beets that I spent quite a while making yesterday.  We won't talk about the two pans it took to fix them, plus the covered container I placed them in when they were done.  
I'm not complaining, because I enjoy cooking stuff from the garden.  But when you have to go to the garden and collect the stuff, clean it, peel it, dice or slice it, and then cook it in three pans or skillets... well, it's pretty tiring.   
The upside is that I made enough so that all I have to do tomorrow is warm up leftovers.
For supper the past three nights we have been having borscht, because Meesha's recipe makes enough food for an army.  But at least it is already made, and the only dishes I have to wash are the bowls we eat from and the spoons we eat with.  We are not tired of borscht, although I probably won't make it again now until the beets I plant for my fall garden are ready.
I really admire my grandmother (and probably yours too), who had no choice but to do all this cooking and dishwashing and cleanup because that was the only way to have affordable food.