Loyal reader-people,

Hot Plates has been away, but not at a beach or a luxury resort. Definitely not as “away” as we would like to be.

Instead, we’ve been enjoying a little something called a “staycation.”

No, we did not coin that term. We read about it elsewhere in the media. And it seems the word’s been around for a while.

According to an AP news story published this spring, “Experts say it’s not uncommon for overscheduled families to choose a ‘staycation,’ a term whose origin is often attributed to a popular Canadian television series. In 2006, a New York magazine further promoted the ‘staycation,’ encouraging people to spend their vacation exploring what the city has to offer instead of leaving town.”

Once you realize you’re having a staycation, you might just loosen up and start getting your playful vibe back. When your surroundings are staying the same, you have to change it up in other ways. One great, fun thing to do is try new foods and drinks.

Mark “Minimalist” Bittman was kind enough to send his own personal love letter to summer: “101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics” will keep you on your toes for weeks to come with ideas of things to whip up and pack into your cooler for all the not-so-far-away outings you plan. Roast beef and blue? Egg salad with sour cream, smoked salmon and chopped chives? Don’t miss “meats” and “cold noodles” especially.

Eating outside is its own pleasure, for sure. The same goes for cocktail hour. And for Hot Plates, this has been the Summer of Beer. Instead of always assuming the best match for our meal is a nice glass of wine — and spending time figuring out what wine we need to find and buy — why not pour an ice-cold beer instead?

There is something liberating about beer. It’s thirst-quenching, it has more flavor properties than most of us think it does, and you can play around with it some. We have enjoyed Belgian-style beers with a twist of lemon or even orange; if we are in the mood for something less sweet, we go for a freezing-cold Modelo Especial with a generous squeeze of tart lime. Nothing complicated, just totally satisfying and delicious.

It also feels very vacation-y, in some way, to put a red wine in the fridge and see what happens. Sometimes it works, and other times it just tastes strange. Eric Asimov is obviously on staycation, or just feels like he is, because he recently penned this lovely, lighthearted piece about the joys of cold red wine. It’s such a funny piece that you can’t help but feel transported as you read his upbeat declarations of desire for a cold drink that is something “more” than white wine, beer or lemonade, however delicious those things can all be.

What’s Asimov trying to say? Basically, sometimes all you want is a glass of red wine, but when it’s too darn hot you just can’t deal with it unless it is cold. Don’t miss it, and we apologize if this concept is old news to you … we don’t think it gets enough coverage.

Let’s say this go-with-the-flow spirit gets ahold of you and you find yourself laughing a little too easily after a few cold reds go down easily. Should you, maybe, fry up some milk? Who would do that?

The Chinese would, and so would the Italians or the Spaniards. They like the oozy center and the crisp outside, and they play with unexpected flavor combinations. “Bite into a piece of fried milk, and you’ll first notice the crunch of the breaded shell, then the contrast of a soft, velvety center that sometimes oozes into your mouth,” writes Ya-Roo Yang in The New York Times.

Maybe we’ll cook this up. Ginger … garlic … and milk. Sounds disgusting! But when it’s the middle of summer and you’re having fun right in your own backyard, you might just find a better attitude.

Maybe instead of killing the bugs you find in your house, you’re trapping them and setting them free outdoors. Perhaps you’ll scrap the whole idea of dinner and instead serve an assortment of semi-mismatched finger foods.

When all your expectations get burned away like bugs from a citronella candle, you might just relax enough to try something strange and new. Funny things happen when you’re on staycation.