The lasagna broke her

Boiling noodles, a screaming cast-iron skillet, and the oven all at once pushed the living space past comfortable. That dinner ended indoor cooking for the summer.

“The lasagna was the breaking point.”

A house built for cool

Their Colorado home sits at 7,500 feet and usually coasts on fans and window shades. Cooling is one window unit and a rolling floor model, nothing more.

A heat wave that stayed

This summer the heat did not let up for months. After dinner the ACs ran noisily for hours just to undo what the kitchen had done.

“can you still call it a heat wave, when it lasts for months?”

The setup is barely a setup

A two-burner propane camp stove, a barbecue grill, and a portable camping table for prep. That is the entire outdoor kitchen.

The deck had advantages

A wooden deck, a dry climate, no sugar ants, and a wind barrier already in place. The obstacles: an overhead power line full of birds, dust devils, and a love of many spices.

Camping, with a dishwasher

It feels like cooking at a campsite, except there is a full-size fridge, a cupboard of spices, and a dishwasher steps away.

The hassles are real

She keeps running back inside for forgotten utensils, and storing gear outdoors means black widows, bird droppings, and dust. One dust devil put a crunchy coating on a stack of crepes.

Some food comes out better

Tofu flash-fries in soy sauce without smoking up the house, and hot peppers sear without watering everyone's eyes. Using lids more to block dust also heats things faster.

Skip the camp stove

Camp burners are hard to fine-tune, rarely simmer low, and will not hold two full-size pans. If you are buying gear, she recommends induction burners instead.

The grill is an oven

A propane grill warms bread and keeps side dishes hot, best with cast iron or stainless. Metal folding tables beat plastic, though hot pans still need a pot holder under them.

Collapsible everything

Collapsible marinade dishes and dish bins stow flat and handle prep, storage, hauling ingredients out, dirty dishes, and scraps. Lidded ones keep creatures and dust out.

Extras worth hauling out

A multi-cooker seals out dust and vents without spattering the counter. A toaster oven fills the no-oven gap, and a propane pizza oven crisps wings, steaks, and cauliflower.

The house did stay cooler

Skipping three heat dumps a day let the ACs keep up and even shut off sometimes. Better sleep, better moods, lower bills, though she notes her house is small.

“Not adding heat to the house three times a day has allowed the air conditioners to effectively keep up”