August. Alabama. It is about a thousand degrees in the shade. Nightfall offers scant relief and hordes of mosquitoes. It is far too hot to cook. It is almost too hot to eat. Well, I can always eat. But, that doesn’t mean we have to fire up any appliances that create more heat. Lucky for us, the farmers market and the Italians have the answer to a meal that is satisfying, easy and doesn’t require slaving over a hot stove.

I’m talking about panzanella, or bread and tomato salad. See, about 100 years after tomatoes made their way to Italy, some home cook took some day-old bread and mixed it with some cut-up tomatoes, added some salt and a little drizzle of olive oil. Boom! Dinner. No need for cooking.