When the weather heats up, two things happen. The person normally in charge of preparing dinner declares that it is too hot to stand over a blazing oven and stove. The person not normally in charge of preparing dinner runs toward his or her grill at lightning speed and decides to see if it really is possible to grill lettuce.

Cooking tasty (but healthy) meals in the summer can prove to be quite the challenge, but it is possible! Remember, you don’t have to stand in a sweltering kitchen to make a good dinner. There are plenty of great meals that can either be cooked outdoors on a grill or require little cooking at all! Here are a few tips to keep you (and your family) fed during the hot summer months:

1. Invest in a raw foods cookbook. While these cookbooks are loved by vegans the world over, they can also be very helpful when you find that you can’t stand the idea of cooking or even eating food that is warm! The raw foods/no bake cookbooks will be full of healthy and tasty recipes that will keep your family fed and happy.

2. Let the grill do the work. Wrap your veggies in a tin foil packet and cook them over your grill! You’ll be amazed at how extraordinary the vegetables can taste when they are cooked over open (or propane) flames!

3. Sandwiches always are satisfying and often can be a meal all by themselves (depending on the sandwich toppings you like the best). Sandwiches are also a fantastic way to use leftovers from last night’s grilled dinner.

4. When all else fails and you can’t stand the idea of another night of barbecue, find an affordable restaurant and let someone else do the cooking for a night!

If you happened to have read my recent posts about beer reviews on our sister site, Parched No More, I mention a spot in Manchester I frequent to do my taste testing. Strangebrew Tavern, located at 88 Market Street, is a great spot to test some new beers and enjoy a fun night in the heart of downtown Manchester.

Boasting a tap list of over 60 beers, The Brew has the largest selection of beers in New Hampshire. The taps consist of craft-brewed beers and your assortment of Belgium, German, English and Irish beers. Nowhere on the beer menu will you find Budweiser or Miller on tap. You can have it in a bottle, but trust me when I say you’ll get evil glances from folks around you if you order one.

If you want more than a beer the food alone would be worth the trip. Appetizers like: Fried Pickle Chips, a Beer Cheese Platter, Buffalo Wings, or a Hummus Plate don’t sound like standard pub fare, but Strangebrew is better than your standard pub. Besides burgers and sandwiches, they offer salads, a weekend Prime Rib special, a selection of beer-battered fish, steak tips and a real meaning to soup du jour. There is certainly something for everyone’s taste at Strangebrew.

Besides food and beer, around 8:30 most nights, you can catch some great live local music from funk to blues depending on the night. Strangebrew offers nightly food and beer specials. Most notably: $2 Tuesdays when all beers are $2 a pint or bottle. I do my best taste testing on Tuesdays, since I don’t have to break the bank.

For some more research on this gem of a place, visit Strangebrew for a complete list of promos, beers, menu and directions. Maybe I’ll see you some Tuesday.

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Anheuser Busch plant in Merrimack, NH, to attend the 6th annual Rock’n Ribfest. Hosted by the Nashua West Rotary, the Ribfest has grown into a huge festival. It is also the home of the New Hampshire BBQ Competition! With tons of things to do such as eat, drink, listen to music, and more, the Ribfest is a ton of fun! Even big bounce houses were available for the children and DCU and Re/max had tethered hot air balloon rides. There was a main stage that featured a Teen Band competition and bands such as Project Mess, The Risen , Brickyard Blues, James Montgomery Band, and more.

I had ribs from Stickyfingers and T-Roy’s. I’d have to say that I liked the way Stickyfingers used the wood grill and I liked their sauce better; however, T-Roy’s meat was grilled better.

It’s so hard to put everything about the Ribfest in this short article, but if you have never been, you should really think about going next year! Everything that goes towards the Rotary West club goes to charity, so you’ll be having fun while supporting a great cause.