NYC was on fire this weekend. A heatwave affected much of the U.S. with temperatures reaching over 100 in many states. In New York City, the temperatures on Saturday and Sunday reached 98 with a heat index of 108. It was sweltering and because of this I wanted to eat cooling foods that could keep my body from breaking out into unmanageable sweat; specifically I wanted to eat cold dishes. At the moment, farmer’s markets around the City are bursting with summer’s bounty and I was inspired by cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and fresh basil that are in season. With these ingredients at hand, I diced tomatoes, cucumbers, along with Greek feta cheese and chopped up basil and onion. The ratios were 2 tomatoes: 2 cucumbers: 1 feta cheese: ½ basil: ½ onion. Into a large bowel they went and I drizzled truffle olive oil, balsamic vinegar over the melange then added salt for depth. After I tossed the salad, I set it in the fridge for about an hour and had it over several meals. It was crunching, cooling and nourishing. How many calories was it? Does it matter? It kept me cool.