Summertime gives you all the tools you need to eat cleaner and lighter; there’s a landslide of fruits and vegetables—herbs and tomatoes, berries, peaches, and corn to name a few—and you can easily let them take over your meals. The evening light lingers, tempting you outside to cook your dinner over hot charcoal. Summer food for me is all about delivering freshness, like the cool tang of buttermilk, the juiciness of melons and cucumbers, and the chilly green bite of basil, parsley, and chives. That freshness seems all the more pronounced when it is contrasted with something earthy and charred, whether that’s peppers grilled till blistered, or darkly browned eggplant, or the satisfying crust on a piece of line-caught albacore. The darkness of those well-cooked foods makes the juiciness of a tomato or garden-plucked mint just jump into relief. I also love to eat casually in these months, serving food family-style on my backyard table or having guests assemble their own tacos. If you plan your cleanse now, keep it fun, keep it social, and let the playfulness of the season lead you in the right direction.

SUMMER’S KEY INGREDIENTS

VEGETABLES

Chard

Corn

Eggplant

Green beans

Peppers of all kinds

Spinach

Summer squash

Tender herbs: tarragon, basil, parsley, chives

Tomatoes

Tomatillos

Zucchini

FRUIT

Apricots

Blackberries

Cherries

Melons

Peaches

Plums

Nectarines

Raspberries

OTHER

Buttermilk

Line-caught

albacore tuna

Salmon