I try in summer meal plans to offer a mix of quick-cooking recipes that don’t keep you at the stove for a long time but also because I notice I prefer spending more time outdoors than cooking right now.  Plus, the food that tends to be in season right now happens to cook more quickly!!  I am enjoying basil, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and zucchini flowers, corn, melon and peaches!!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Meatless Monday: Oven baked eggplant with olives, capers and basil, served with spinach and quinoa salad with feta and dill

Tuesday: shrimp and basil stir-fry, black rice, grilled zucchini

Wednesday: skillet pesto chicken and rice, green bean and basil salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Thursday: Hearty Italian Chopped Salad, crusty bread

Friday: Tuna “ceviche” with avocado from Quicker Than Quick (p. 255), tortilla chips or plantain chips, arugula and cantaloupe salad with grilled halloumi

Saturday Brunch: Peach-blueberry buckle (serve with yogurt and it’s a meal!)

Sunday: Pasta con le sarde, tomato salad