If you can't take the heat...

The hot July sun is definitely upon us...which got me thinking. My Great-Grandmother (Granny) never had air conditioning. She lived in South Alabama where the humidity is worn as an accessory and the air sticky as pine sap. How did she do it? Often while visiting her she donned a skirt and a long sleeve blouse...even in summer. I never remember her being hot or perspiring. And...she lived into her 90's. So my question is this...do we need air condition or are we conditioned to the air? I can remember hot summer days spent playing in the yard at my nanny's as a child and eagerly awaiting my mom's arrival. I would bound to the car...jump in...huddle around the vents sucking up the refrigerated air as my mom and nanny talked about the day...letting the blast of air cool my pink shoulders and sweaty nose. At my Aunt's house I remember standing in front of a window unit in the front room letting the cold air blow over me like a jet engine. Was this part of the conditioning? Did my Granny ever do that? Or...was this my "conditioning"...that would someday leave me dependent on a non-sweltering climate? There Granny was, all put together, watching over her turtle soup (try it, it's good) in the kitchen...waiting to fill our bellies with all of it's goodness and not a thought in the world about being hot. With heat waves across New York recently I thought about the fact that many of the homes there don't have air conditioning either. Maybe a window unit in some but for the most part they generally don't have heat that is as oppressive as the South...until recent years. They are used to living without conditioned air but now...people were dying from the heat and here my Granny lived without it her entire life. So, is the heat...er, hotter? Is this global warming notion making it hotter than...hot? Statistically speaking...yes. Last month was the hottest June ever recorded. While I love summer and...well...all things summer...white jeans, sandals, bathing suits, nautical stripes, tissue tees, etc...I don't like to sweat. I like my climate controlled. I like the enveloping chill of coming in from outdoors on hot summer days, but is our constant conditioning causing our heatwaves? On a greater spectrum, is it causing our global warming? What if no one had air conditioners? What if none of the pollution from those air conditioners used to run our controlled climates were in the air? Would it be cooler? Or would we just be used to the heat? We will never know and the "big picture" is, well...too big to see...so the question remains...did we become so dependent...so conditioned... that we can no longer take the heat? Granny...she could take the heat. I know this because, well...she stayed in the kitchen most days! Commander's Palace Turtle Soup 1¼ sticks unsalted butter ¾ cup all-purpose flour ⅓ pound turtle meat, medium dice ⅓ pound veal stew meat, medium dice ⅓ pound lean beef, medium dice 1 cup each minced celery, white onion, green bell pepper 1½ teaspoon garlic, minced 3 bay leaves 1 teaspoon oregano cup tomato puree 1 tablespoon hot sauce 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon black pepper 2 quarts beef stock 1 lemon, juiced 4 eggs, hard cooked and finely chopped 4 tablespoons spinach, chopped 4 tablespoons dry sherry Melt 1 stick of butter in a heavy saucepan. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the roux is a light brown. Set aside. In a 10 quart saucepan, melt remaining butter and add turtle meat, veal and beef. Cook over high heat until meat is brown. Add celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves and oregano and cook until vegetables are transparent. Add tomato puree, hot sauce, Worcestershire and black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Add stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Add roux and cook over low heat, stirring until soup is smooth and thickened. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon, eggs, spinach and sherry. Remove from heat and serve. If desired, at the table add 1 teaspoon of sherry to each soup plate. Even good in the HEAT!