Soup in summer? Sweet corn and rich cream get a bright burst from the acid in fresh summer tomatoes and a finishing splash of sherry vinegar. The corn’s starches reduce the need for lots of cream, keeping this soup a nice light, summer weight.

Classic Italian flavors — sweet summer tomatoes, bitter, salty capers and a bright red wine vinaigrette loaded with fresh basil and oregano — come together with Farfalle bowties for a quick, fresh and clean pasta salad ready for your next cookout. It might inspire your guests, like mine, to say this is the best pasta salad ever.

Creamy, baked zucchini and tomato are topped with runny, melted, fresh mozzarella. Surprising herbal notes from Za’atar, a North African blend of sesame seeds, sumac and herbs, will remind you of Italian seasoning but with something special and new. The simplicity of this dish belies layer upon layer of bright, rich summer flavor.

This salad with earthy lamb, dill and broccoli, and sharp feta, is bold, herbaceous and complex, the perfect companion for the rich, round flavors of the potato and pasta salads at your summer cookout. It is fabulously fresh for summer and hearty enough for a fall dinner when Brassicas like broccoli are really shining at the farm market.