The beauty of summer cooking is that meals come together quickly. Toss your choice of meat on the grill and supper's ready. Cook up a batch of pasta and you'll have the base for a week of lunches. And a trip to the farmers market not only fills in the gaps, but opens the door to new culinary combinations. These three recipes highlight the best of farmers market finds, and can be adjusted to individual tastes and to what's in season.

Lighter Brighter Classic Broccoli Salad

Serves 4 to 6.

Most Southern picnic salads are lush with creamy dressings and finished with bacon and cheese. Here, a bold vinaigrette is sparked with tart-sweet dried cranberries. Feel free to toss other green veggies in with the broccoli — spinach, kale, chard. Do make this ahead so the bold flavors have time to marry. From Beth Dooley.

For the dressing:

  • ½ c. dried cranberries
  • ¼ c. chopped red onion
  • 2 tbsp. orange juice or water
  • ¼ c. apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tsp. coarse mustard
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 tbsp. neutral oil, such as avocado, sesame, rice bran

For the salad:

  • 2 lb. broccoli, about 2 heads
  • 2 green onions, trimmed and sliced
  • ¼ c. dried cranberries
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ c. toasted unsalted pepitas, for serving

Directions

To prepare the dressing: Put the dried cranberries and onion in a small bowl and stir in the orange juice, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt and pepper. Allow the ingredients to marinate for 10 minutes. Whisk in the oil. Set dressing aside.

To prepare the salad: Separate the broccoli florets and then peel away the woody exterior of the stalks and cut into ¼-inch pieces. Place the broccoli, onion and cranberries into a large bowl. Whisk the dressing and toss into the broccoli. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight to allow the flavors to marry. Serve topped with the pepitas.

Many Veggie Soba Noodle Salad

Serves 4.

Crisp, crunchy and best served cold, this salad makes a satisfying vegetarian dinner or hearty side dish. It can be made ahead and toted to a picnic or the lake. Vary the peanut butter with almond, sunflower or cashew butter and toss in whatever crisp vegetables you find at the market. From Beth Dooley.

For the Spicy Nut Butter Dressing:

  • ½ c. peanut or any nut butter
  • ¼ c. soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp. lime juice
  • 1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
  • Generous dash hot sauce, to taste
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ to ½ c. water, as needed

For the salad:

  • Coarse salt
  • 10 oz. soba
  • 6 radishes, trimmed and diced into ¼-in. pieces
  • 4 salad turnips, trimmed and diced into ¼-in. pieces
  • 1 cucumber, trimmed and diced into ¼-in. pieces
  • 1 c. sliced snow peas
  • ½ c. roasted, salted nuts, chopped
  • 2 scallions, trimmed and chopped
  • ¼ c. chopped cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
  • Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

To prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, lime juice, oil, hot sauce, garlic and enough water to create a smooth, thick sauce. (The dressing should be the texture of heavy cream.)

To prepare the salad: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the noodles. Stir and cook according to package instructions until they're just tender. Transfer to a colander and run under cold water until the noodles are completely cold. Thoroughly drain and then transfer the noodles to a large bowl, separating the noodles with your fingers.

Toss the prepared vegetables in with the noodles. Drizzle in enough of the peanut dressing to coat the ingredients. Toss in the nuts, scallions, and cilantro and serve garnished with more cilantro and lime wedges.

Spicy-Sweet Skillet Chicken and Market Veggies

Serves 4.

Sweet and spicy pan-seared chicken and market vegetables take just minutes to cook. Vary the vegetables through the season, using asparagus, snap peas, sliced green beans, kale and/or broccoli. The curry/black pepper/honey sauce gives this simple dish its bounce. Serve over thin noodles or rice. From Beth Dooley.

  • ¼ c. water
  • 3 tbsp. honey
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp. curry powder
  • Pinch of coarse salt
  • 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-in. pieces
  • 2 tbsp. coconut or vegetable oil
  • 1 lb. market fresh vegetables, trimmed and cut into ¼-in. pieces
  • 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar, or more to taste

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the water, honey and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the curry powder, salt and flour. Add the chicken to the flour mixture and toss to coat.

Film a medium skillet with the oil and set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until it's brown on all sides, about 3 to 6 minutes. Add honey mixture and the vegetables and season with salt and pepper; cook until the vegetables are bright and tender-crisp and the sauce has thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and season with the vinegar and salt and pepper, to taste.