The deck or the park are great places to eat while the sun’s still here

Is there any sound that epitomises summer more than the whirr of cicadas? Their familiar summer soundtrack, notably absent at the start of this year, is finally back. While this may officially be the last weekend of summer, for as long as the cicadas are singing, we can weather the routines of school, study and office, knowing there is still time for the sun and the sea, picnics and swimming, beach expeditions, cricket on the lawn, and friends over to enjoy a simple barbecue on the back deck or potluck at the park.

When our kids were little, we would often pack up a mid-week picnic and head up Mt Hobson to dine under the shade of a huge pohutukawa tree. We’d throw out a rug and munch on frittata or a bacon and egg pie, sometimes a freshly cooked sausage with sliced bread and tomato sauce, while the dusk slowly seeped grey into the sky as the chorus of cicadas rose like an giant oscillating lawn sprinkler, loud enough to drown out the sounds of the motorway traffic below.

These days, our picnic dinners tend towards salad bowls of one kind or another. Delicious poke bowls come together with cooked rice topped with a handful of salad greens/baby spinach or shredded cabbage, along with vegetables like sliced cucumber, thawed edamame beans or peas, grated carrot, cooked broccoli florets, sliced radishes, shredded spring onions or finely sliced red onion. Add in some protein in the form of diced raw salmon or other fresh pelagic fish like trevally, shredded cooked salmon, prawns or chicken or tofu. Toppings like crispy shallots, toasted sesame seeds, roasted peanuts/cashews and wasabi peas provide a crunch factor. Add fresh chilli or chilli flakes, coconut chips, diced mango or pineapple, pickled ginger, seaweed salad, etc, as desired.

As with any salad, a good dressing is key. Think sriracha or wasabi mayo, roasted sesame dressing or a spicy soy and miso dressing (see right).

Now that we are deep into the season of sweet, juicy tomatoes, there are all manner of fabulous tomato-based salads to enjoy. I always like to slice or dice the tomatoes (be sure to remove the core in all tomatoes apart from cherry toms) and sprinkle them with a little salt, leaving them for 1-2 hours until they release their juices. This juice provides the acid component in a delicious dressing. Add a good glug of olive oil, a little crushed garlic, and chilli, fresh oregano or basil or a small spoon of pesto. For a simple cobb salad, toss this dressing through lightly cooked green beans and corn, diced avocado, and fresh rocket leaves. Serve topped with slices of grilled chicken or rare beef (flat iron steak is good for this).

While the pleasures of summer linger on, make the time to meet up with friends or family over a potluck picnic, and some easy recipes to enjoy.