Cucumber

Greek yogurt, if you can find it, is incredibly thick and creamy and a delight to eat. It shows up in several guises on the Greek table — as a savory dip, in sauces, or for dessert. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr (includes draining)

Tangy and refreshing, this dip is called tzatziki in Greek. Here, it's served with crisp baked pita wedges, but it also goes well with crudités. Drain the yogurt a day before you plan to prepare the dip. And mix up a big batch of lemonade to pour throughout the picnic.

This granita is not particularly sweet and is best served as a first or intermezzo course. Try it on top of raw oysters or thick tomato slices.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

For toppings, provide some diced avocado and extra chopped cilantro.

Ripe tomatoes, basil and fresh corn enhance a terrific side dish.

If you can't find Thai anise basil and Thai lemon basil, you can substitute Italian basil and lemon balm (the latter is available at farmers markets and specialty produce stores).

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but may require additional sitting time.<P> This recipe originally accompanied epi:recipeLink="101927"Grilled Chicken Wings with Two Thai Sauces</epi:recipeLink>.<P>You'll need to marinate this salad for at least 2 hours so that the flavors have a chance to develop.

Bibim Gooksu Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from restaurateur Jenny Kwak's book, Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen. Kwak also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Kwak and Korean cuisine, click here. This noodle dish is very gratifying on hot summer days when you want to eat something light, healthy, and refreshingly cold. The crisp, clean texture of the cucumber combined with the spiciness from kimchi, the tang from the rice vinegar and a subtle sweetness from the sugar makes the dish so good. The noodles are served over a bed of ice, then topped with this spicy salad-like mixture.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.