You’re hot. You’re sweaty. You’re pounding smart water, or iced tea, or some overly sweet coffeehouse concoction, maybe even finding yourself saying around midweek midday, “Screw it, time for a beer…” And there’s no way you want to get in front of a burner or worse, an oven. I know your pain. Born in the dry heated climes of the west coast and having lived in and out of humid semi-tropical zones of Asia, my body is perpetually confused. My skin searches for shade amidst the never-ending perspiration, my heart, my lungs and liver asking my belly, “What is the answer, O wise one? O forever sage foreseer of gastronomy? Lead us to the chilly cessation of summertime consternation O feaster of fusion delight!

The official cuisine of many countries worldwide, it comes in so many forms it’s impossible to go wrong. It’s three syllables and often varied with an S, but it’s always as cool and satisfying for the tongue to say as it is to taste: Ceviche, people. And it may be the quickest easiest food in the world to make and look like a rockstar doing it (except maybe grilled cheese).

But grilled cheese needs heat to turn plain bread into a delectable snack sandwich. That was so last winter…Who wants to make the kitchen even hotter than it already is (unless your significant other are into that kind of thing…)? All ceviche needs is chunked fresh white fish (local line caught white fish is the way to go…do not use Tilapia, no matter how good the deal is…those little vampires are river and lake killers!), the fresh juice of many limes and fifteen minutes in the fridge. Mix together with a few diced veggies, like cucumbers (skinned and seeded), red onion (thinly diced), serrano chiles (finely diced and seeded), cilantro (torn not cut…yes, it matters), salt and pepper (fresh cracked sea salt and peppercorns taste ten times better than the typical store-bought brand), maybe even some summer tomatoes (for color) and a dash of cumin for a more substantial meaty richness (think bacon from the ocean but without the grease and heat).

After marinating the fish, add the onion and cucumber and stir. Crack yourself and your lovely a golden lager, ice cold from the bucket or the freezer, some kind of light Pilsener-style brew from south of the border complements the light summery textures you are about to grind down on…oh and don’t forget the lime. Throw in the cilantro and salt and pepper and stir some more. Take a few swigs. At this point taste the ceviche. You should literally say “ahhhhh!” Break out the three inch tostadas, top with tomatoes (not too many because they tend to mush the more you stir), and a bit of fresh ground cumin (if you can get it, it’s worth it…) and go to town.

The one thing that cannot be overstated is, when you’re done, don’t throw away the juice! The citrusy spicy marinade is called leche del tigre in Peru and will defend against almost any brand of hangover you might be thinking of taking on. The good thing about ceviche is that there is always more ceviche to be had. Even when it’s gone, it’s only fifteen minutes away from breezy summertime lime-squeezing kissy-face fun.