The grill is my friend in the summer. Everything including veggies and pizza are cooked on it.

Ooh, gazpacho: I need to make some of that! (And your cold avocado soup sounds great -- care to post the recipe?)

Last night, I poached a couple of eggs (only 3-4 minutes on the stovetop) and served over some asparagus (microwaved 90 seconds). So good, and I didn't even break a sweat.

Other thoughts:
- drizzle pesto over thick slices of tomato and mozzarella.
- nibble on French bread, cheese, olives, and some salami or prosciutto.
- tomato and avocado salad (basically, just chop 'em up and dress in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper), with French bread to soak up the juice.

Summer rolls are my favorite. I use whatever veggies/proteins are cheap and/or on-hand. But I always include rice stick noodles (soaked in hot water, drained, and seasoned with rice wine vinegar and salt), basil, mint, and marinated cucumbers.** I usually include shredded carrots, cabbage, and bean sprouts.

Wrap it all up in rice paper wrappers. Serve with peanut sauce (I use a blender recipe) and/or sweet chili sauce.

You can make a bunch at a time. When you roll them, wrap them individually in plastic wrap. They'll keep in the fridge for several days.

**Cut cucumber in half length-wise, seed it with a spoon. Cut into strips. Marinate in rice wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, some grated ginger, and red pepper flakes.

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During tomato season, another favorite is panzanella. Toss some chopped tomatoes with basil, fresh mozzarella, old bread cubes, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

I grill a lot, but haven't yet this year.

It's hot here, but never gets too hot because the A/C is crankin'. I do make more salads and serve more fresh fruit as side dishes. One meat for the grill, green salad, and watermelon is a typical meal. I love cold salads, like pasta salad,

My favorite cold pasta salad. It's the best. :-) I use bow-tie pasta instead of shells. I think it's prettier. I've made this a million times and people rave. You could add chicken or shrimp and make it a meal. Here is Jamie on Youtube making it. Jamie uses small shell pasta so everything is uniform in size. This makes sense and is probably very delicious, but I still use bow-tie.

I saw this on TV today: Black-eyed pea salad. I'm definitely making it. This is what summer food is to me.

Yup, gazpacho for sure. And also macaroni salad, with a vinaigrette instead of mayo and tons of scallions, cukes, tomatoes and tuna.

Thanks for the ideas! I live in an apartment, so sadly no grill. Definitely something I look forward to when I finally buy a house!

Here's my avocado gazpacho recipe, for anyone who's interested:

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 ripe avocados
2 cups plain yogurt
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1/2 to 1 cup veg. broth
salt and pepper to taste

combine diced veggies, green onions and salt, let sit 30 minutes
combine avocado, yogurt, lime juice, garlic, parsley and broth in the food processor
combine avocado mixture with diced veggies
chill up to 24 hours
eat!

It looks more complicated than it really is--basically you dice up some of practically every green veggie and mix it all together in an avocado base. So good!

Charleena, that looks delicious... I'm going to make it this week!

I just remembered an amazing chilled shrimp and cucumber soup that I got out of the Silver Palate cookbook a million years ago:

About 2 lbs. cukes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. small shrimp (raw, peeled)
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. dry white vermouth (can substitute white wine)
1 1/2 c. chilled buttermilk
3/4 c. chopped fresh dill
salt & pepper to taste

- Toss cukes, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Let stand for 30 mins.

- Rinse/dry shrimp. Melt butter in small skillet over low heat. Add shrimp, raise heat slightly, and toss till pink. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon, reserving liquid.

- Add vermouth to skillet and reduce over heat to a few spoonfuls. Pour over shrimp, then season with salt and pepper.

- Drain cukes and transfer to food processor. Pulse briefly, then add buttermilk and process till smooth. Add chopped dill and pulse briefly again.

- Pour soup into serving bowl, add in shrimp and liquid, cover and chill till very cold.

Holy cow, it's good. I'll have to make that this week, too!

Caprese: Some good tomatoes, some fresh mozarella, some fresh basil, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Maybe some pesto if you're feeling adventurous. Chop in cubes, toss in bowl, eat. Add croutons or crusty bread for extra numminess.

Burritos, fajitas, whatever you call them, with either ground beef/turkey, or even Perdue Short Cuts - those pre-cooked chicken strips you can do so much with. A lot of skillet dishes if I can't use the grill. Or take-out.

I make a good summer salad with arugula, jicama, mint leaves, thinly sliced red onions, and lime vinaigrette. It's very crunchy and refreshing!