Backyard dinners under the stars with a handful of friends are safe, summery, and a festive and convivial activity for the age of Corona, as are picnics, whether on the beach, on the trail, in a park, or even on your terrace or in your backyard. Here are lots of easy and light, summery food ideas that also transport well.

For the light part, salads are easy and satisfying. Remember, a salad doesn’t need to mean only lettuce. How about that somewhat unusual salad of tomato and watermelon cubes? Or Panzanella, the Italian tomato salad with lots of basil and a very balsamicky and garlicky vinaigrette that comes together with the tomato juices and seeps into the bread chunks that make this a whole summer lunch. Add cold cooked legumes for substance to any green salad.

ingredients for a tomato and watermelon salad

For the bright part, raw fare is refreshing in any form, whether fruit, salads, smoothies or shaved vegetables. Raw shaved zucchini, raw grated sweet potatoes, or an Asian inspired cole slaw, all with smart dressings, are light and a bit different. Crunchy jicama sticks are great as a snack, or can be added to a salad for some fun texture. Leftover grilled vegetables served at room temperature with homemade mayonnaise, tahini or Green Goddess dressing, are bright, light and delicious – think grilled mini peppers, asparagus, slim carrots, spring onions, fat and crunchy red onion slices, sweet potato slices - the charred taste is inimitable and so summery, and the reds, purples, greens, oranges, and yellows are gorgeous.

For the chilled part, cold soups are delicious and so simple to prepare in a blender. My Northern German grandmother used to make cold fruit soups for summer lunches, sometimes served with little rice grits dumplings, although now I might prefer a swirl of raw milk yogurt instead. On the savory side, any “vegetably cream of” can be served chilled. Think cold cucumber/avocado, cream of asparagus or spinach sup, which take just minutes to prepare. You can drink them out of a tall glass like a smoothie, or serve them like a traditional soup in a colorful bowl with a spoon. Lemon, salt, and lots of herbs make these milder soups taste peppy. A cold Spanish gazpacho soup on the other hand is bold and red and zesty. For protein I love cold poached salmon with a sauce, or cold poached Chinese jellied chicken. Cold quiche or frittata are very tasty too.

Grilled fruit is a wonderful summer dessert. Apricots, peaches, pears and pineapple all caramelize over the fire when grilled slowly and patiently, and get that slightly burnt taste that is so summery. Served as-is, or with vanilla ice cream, plain raw milk yogurt, unsweetened whipped cream, or slightly sweetened cashew cream, they are heavenly delicious, a slight bit unusual, and yet oh so simple.

White wine spritzers, dry rosés, cold dry red wine, and the new hard and flavored seltzers are all more interesting than water, very refreshing, light, and less taxing in the summer heat than harder or sweeter drinks.

Look for more picnic and barbecue summer food ideas on the Press Page link to the Love to picnic? and Be The Host With The Most At Barbecues articles for more summer fare ideas. All the proposed foods are very transportable if you want to take them with you to the beach or park. Enjoy!