Zucchini and Chickpea Stir-Fry

This tangy vegan dish makes good use of summer’s bounty

Got zucchini? And yellow squash? The way veggie gardens produce this time of year, you may be overloaded with both – and looking for recipes.

We’ve got you covered.

Serve this quick stir fry over polenta or rice, and you have a dish that’s perfect for Meatless Monday. But it’s tasty enough for company, too.

In fact, we bet they’ll ask for seconds. So double the recipe and use up even more of that bumper zucchini harvest.

Bombay Presidency Punch

Invented in 17th century India, this may be among the oldest “mixed drinks”

You might think punch is just a watered-down kiddie drink, fit only for holiday gatherings.

Well, let us introduce you to the Bombay Presidency Punch. Its ancestry features hard-drinking sailors, East India traders, and a Hindustani-inspired name.

Spice Islands ahoy!

Roast Peach Salad

Ham, goat cheese, and balsamic kick up the flavor

Fresh peaches are one of the glories of summer. But sometimes the peaches we find at the market are less than fully ripe. What to do?

Roast them, we say (grilling works too). It brings out their sweetness and concentrates their flavor.

You don’t need to save them for dessert, either. Their sweet intensity plays well with savory ingredients (we like to use salty ham or prosciutto, plus goat cheese). Mix in some balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and you have a scrumptious salad.

A versatile one, too. This salad is fancy enough to start a summer dinner party. But it’s easy enough to serve as a quick weekday main.

The Fourth Regiment Cocktail

This spicy Manhattan-lite is perfect for summer

We love us a Manhattan Cocktail. As traditionally made, though, it can be a bit heavy for warm weather.

But fear not. The Fourth Regiment is here to save us.

It has less whiskey and more sweet vermouth than a traditional Manhattan, so it’s less alcoholic. And it uses three different kinds of bitters, which gives it a spicy, aromatic flavor that pairs well with many summer foods. Like barbecue, for example.

Sometimes it pays to march to a different drummer.

Barbecue Chicken Salad

BBQ sauce adds depth to this main-course dish

Barbecue! We can’t get enough of it. So why not BBQ Salad?

For this dish, we whipped up a batch of French-style salad dressing. You know, that orangey stuff from the 50s. But we replaced the ketchup with BBQ sauce, and made a few other adjustments.

The result: Deep barbecue flavor. Enough said.

The Moscow Mule Cocktail

The drink that put vodka on the US map

Vodka may now be the most popular spirit in the United States. But back when this drink was invented (in the 1940s), few Americans had ever encountered it.

Then the Moscow Mule took the country by storm. And Americans started a love affair with vodka that still goes strong today.

One taste of this tall, slow sipper and you’ll see why. Because what could be better than vodka and lime juice topped off with spicy ginger beer?

Drink up, comrades!

Potato and Green Bean Salad

Vinaigrette dressing makes this perfect for picnics

Potato salad is the ultimate summer side dish. It never misses a cookout, barbecue, or picnic.

Green beans make this potato salad lighter and more colorful – not to mention tastier. And this salad features vinaigrette dressing instead of mayo, so you can serve it at room temperature.

That’s great for cookouts. You can leave this salad on the picnic table while you’re cavorting in the summer sunshine. Because after all that outdoor activity, you’ll want to go back for seconds.