Turkish Shepards Salad (Çoban Salatasi)
Turkish Shepherd's Salad (Çoban Salatasi)

If you find dicing vegetables and chopping herbs relaxing, you’ll enjoy making this healthful salad. It makes a great accompaniment to grilled meats. Find sumac and Aleppo pepper online or at well-stocked spice stores.

Serves 6 — Recipe adapted from Little Foods of the Mediterranean by Clifford A. Wright

Pumpkin Hummus
Pumpkin Hummus

This hummus twist has a sweet, seasonal spin—great with vegetable chips, crudités, crackers, or pita.

Serves 4 as an appetizer — Recipe adapted from littlesunnykitchen.com

Squash and Kale Toasts
Squash and Kale Toasts

Creamy delicata squash pairs perfectly with Tuscan (aka Dinosaur or Black) kale. Need heat? Red pepper flakes!

Makes 8 toasts — Recipe adapted from Food and Wine, March 2011

Twice-Baked Breakfast Potatoes
Twice-Baked Breakfast Potatoes

Talk about a reason to get up in the morning! These Instagram-worthy twice-baked potatoes will wow your family or guests. Feel free to substitute sweet potatoes for russets. And for a vegetarian option, replace the bacon with sautéed mushrooms. We recommend a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over the top of the potato before serving.

Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from spoonforkbacon.com

Green Lentils
Braised Fennel and Lentils

For this recipe, we prefer the green French lentils sold as Le Puy or Du Puy. Though in a pinch, you could substitute brown lentils. Save a few of the fennel bulb’s feathery fronds for a garnish.

Serves 4 to 6 — Recipe adapted from delicious.com.au

Olive Oil Cake with Honey Yogurt Cream and Strawberries
Olive Oil Cake with Honey Yogurt Cream and Strawberries

Moist and fairly dense, this fruit-inflected cake is a perfect grand finale to a warm-weather meal. Blueberries can stand in for strawberries.

Serves 6 — Recipe from foodandwine.com

Grilled Carrots with Avocado and Mint
Grilled Carrots with Avocado and Mint

If possible, buy fresh just-picked carrots with the tops still on (you can always make pesto out of the tops). There’s no need to peel them as the skin is thin and tender.

Serves 4 — Recipe from bonappetit.com

Grilled Broccoli Rabe with Salsa Rossa
Grilled Broccoli Rabe with Salsa Rossa

Broccoli rabe (also known as rapini) is a deliciously bitter green closely related to turnips. To ensure tenderness, the stalks are blanched, then grilled. You’ll find the Salsa Rossa pairs well with many green vegetables—green beans, brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc.

Serves 4 to 6 — Recipe adapted from Food and Wine, September 2016

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Verdant and bold-flavored, chimichurri is one of South America’s finest contributions to the world’s sauces. If available, buy “outside” skirt steak, which is considered superior in flavor and tenderness to “inside” skirt steak. Or substitute flank steak or flat iron steak.

Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from lecremedelacrumb.com

Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Herb Sauce
Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Herb Sauce

While we always prefer wild-caught salmon, Chilean Verlasso salmon (farm-raised) is also very good. Feel free to substitute black bass, red snapper, or lionfish if salmon is not available.

Serves 4 — Recipe from bonappetit.com

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

You can turn this colorful salad into a main course by adding cooked shrimp. Substituting golden beets for the more familiar red will prevent your hands from staining.

Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from savoryexperiments.com

Siracha and Lime Corn Salad
Siracha and Lime Corn Salad

This salad is also excellent when made with grilled corn. Simply lay the husked ears on a hot grill grate and grill, turning with tongs, until patches of brown appear. Slice the kernels off the cobs before proceeding with the recipe.

Serves 4 — Recipe from food52.com