Vegetarian

The peppers will go from softened to mushy if they sit too long; you want to serve them with some bite left.

"Cool and bright, this herb-laced corn salad is my new summer staple." —Alfia Muzio, recipe developer

Yes, you can treat parsley as a salad green, as long as your bunch isn't woody. Sweet molasses and tart sumac make it vibrant.

Dress just before serving so that the fennel will still be crunchy and the melon retains its juices.

A super-juicy watermelon is key; it should feel heavy for its size and sound hollow when tapped.

The flesh immediately surrounding the seeds is the most succulent part of any melon; if you haven't tried eating the crunchy seeds before, hold on to your hat.

Eggplant is like a sponge. Salting it draws out moisture and firms up the flesh, and deep-frying ensures it cooks evenly until creamy throughout. Worth your time.

Sugared, roasted lemons are edible from rind to flesh and give this salsa-like mix a bracing jolt of sourness.

Cooked summer squash can be mushy. Solution: Eat it raw. If you can't find buckwheat groats, use chopped toasted almonds instead.

A great way to make use of a glut of summer herbs, this mix suits any grilled meat.

"Coating sweet grilled corn with miso butter brings nutty flavor to a classic." —Brad Leone

This addictive peanut-and-seed mix has "unbeatable summer snack" written all over it. It's got just the right amount of salty-spicy crunch to keep you reaching for another beer, and another handful, and another beer... —A.M.

Delicate squash blossoms are a farmers' market treasure. Look for flowers with perky, intact petals and a generous length of stem still attached. Wrap them loosely in damp paper towels and tuck them into a zip-top bag; they'll keep this way in the fridge for a few days. Or bypass the storage completely and turn them into a predinner bite as soon as you get home.—Alison Roman

If you love dipping bread into tomato soup, you’ll love this rustic Italian dish, known as pappa al pomodoro.

If your grill is large enough, you can bang out all 12 slices of French toast in just a few minutes. While any white bread is delicious here, brioche and challah make especially custardy toasts.

If you don't want to heat up your house with the oven, you can bake any muffins on the grill but the lightly smoky flavor that the grill imparts is especially nice with corn-based ones. Because keeping the grill at a steady temperature can be tricky, the baking time can vary, so keep an eye on the muffins. For the best muffins, be sure that the entire pan is not set over direct heat (otherwise, the bottoms will burn).

Grilling the tomatoes concentrates their flavor slightly while still leaving them fresh enough to make a light, juicy sauce. Studded with cubes of fresh mozzarella, this dish is a summery crowd-pleaser.