Summer food just cries out for simplicity!  When you have fresh fruits and veggies, why mess it up by making it more complicated.

Fresh greens need little other than a splash of vinegar, a touch of oil, and some freshly ground black pepper to be yummy.  You can keep a salad spinner full of washed greens in the fridge and just pull them out each day, add a dressing and dinner is served.  If you grill, you can toss an extra chicken breast or two on the grill and use it to top a salad later.  Or you can grill extra veggies and serve them cold later, topped with a bit of balsamic vinegar. 

Why bother heating up the whole house to bake dessert when you can eat wonderful fresh fruit in season?  I like to keep fresh grapes and cherries in the freezer to eat as a yummy, cooling snack — that's good for me! 

And don't discount the fun of a trip for ice cream.  There's just something fun about going out for ice cream in the summer.