It’s officially summer, and let’s face it: The best food of the season is cooked outdoors. Not only does outdoor cooking keep the kitchen — and the rest of the home — cool, live-fire cooking has a way of actually making food taste better. Not to mention the sheer entertainment value, particularly when you’re hosting guests for a cookout on a hot, lazy weekend.

While we may associate outdoor cooking primarily with meats, there’s so much more to summer meals than hot dogs, chicken, and brisket. Vegetables and fruits positively shine on the grill, and there’s nothing like a little live fire to enhance their flavors, deepening them and even adding almost-meaty umami notes.

In fact, I’m planning a summer cookout with friends and am planning an entirely vegan menu. And I doubt my meat-loving guests will even notice.

I’m drawing my inspiration from the latest book by barbecue legend Steven Raichlen, How to Grill Vegetables. Combining recipes and cooking inspiration from his travels around the world, the book is a bible of sorts for tackling vegetables and fruit over all types of live-fire cooking, with more than 125 recipes covering everything from starters, salads, and soups (yes, soups) to main courses and even desserts. And there is nothing quite as fun as cooking dessert over the grill. Continue reading for tips and recipes….