From cantaloupe soup to ice box cake: eating well while avoiding the oven

On a day where the temperature hits 95 degrees, the last thing most people want to do is cook dinner. But the summer’s long, takeout gets expensive and there are only so many salads one can eat before boredom sits in. So today, New York Times food writer Melissa Clark brings us a whole host of new, exciting, delicious and EASY summer recipes ? leafy green salads not included. The best part? None of them require you to turn on the oven.

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Here are a couple of recipes from Melissa to get you started…

Cold Cantaloupe and Sheeps’ Milk Yogurt Soup with Toasted Cumin Salt

Time: 5 minutes

For the cumin salt:

* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* Large pinch flaky sea salt

For the soup:

* 8 ice cubes
* 4 cups cubed cantaloupe (about 1 small cantaloupe)
* 1 1/3 cups plain sheep’s milk yogurt
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
* 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1. To make the Cumin Salt, in a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin until warm and very fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a mortar and add the salt. Pound the seeds and salt together until crushed but not powdery.

2. To make the soup, place the ice cubes, cantaloupe, yogurt, olive oil, lime juice, honey, and salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with cumin salt for serving.

Makes 4 servings

Classic Ice Box Cake

Time: 20 minutes plus chilling time

* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 (9-ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies

1. Whip the cream until it begins to increase in volume. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until soft peaks form.

2. On a platter lined with plastic wrap, sandwich the cookies with the whipped cream and stack the sandwiches 4 cookies high. When all the cookies have been used, turn the stacks on their sides and press them together to form a log. Ice with more whipped cream. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to 2 days before slicing and serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings