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Summer is a great time to entertain, but no one wants to spend their time in the kitchen preparing to entertain. Whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or a snack, we've selected our favourite summer recipes that are easy to make and light to eat

Cobb Salad and Bresola Carpaccio by Lucy Waverman.

Does the very thought of turning on the stove lead to tears – of perspiration? It's too hot to cook, but as always, Lucy Waverman is here to help, with a menu for a three-course meal worthy of a dinner party

Appetizer: Bresaola carpaccio

Main course: Cobb salad with rotisserie chicken

Dessert: Peach mousse

Who says minestrone needs to be red? This bright green alternative is the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of summer and make use of seasonal produce. This is the season for garlic scapes, which are the curled tops of growing garlic and are removed to jolt the bulbs into increasing in size. I used raw scapes to make the pesto: They're good grilled, too, but blanch them first, otherwise they are stringy.

Low-carb eaters know cauliflower can mimic rice or mashed potatoes and is even good in smoothies. Served as a background to sizzling spiced shrimp, it becomes a low-carb, low-calorie main. And the dessert is my favourite way of serving the sweetest strawberries, as they are the star of the plate.

Soup: Green minestrone soup with garlic scape pesto

Main: Cauliflower risotto with shrimp

Dessert: Berry Syllabub

It's time to step away from the stove: Emma and Lucy Waverman explain how to mix the season's fresh, crunchy, sweet and savoury bits into something revelatory – every time

Arctic char with vegetables is a sophisticated version of the current trend toward plant-based eating.

A quick way to entertain involves just three or four veggies and throwing a piece of protein on them to bake

Side: Asparagus with broken hollandaise

Main: Roasted Arctic char with vegetables

Dessert: Triple lemon upside-down loaf

This dessert celebrates summer fruits such as blueberries and peaches while remaining simple enough to defy even the most nervous of bakers.

This dessert celebrates summer fruits such as blueberries and peaches while remaining simple enough to defy even the most nervous of bakers

For the granola bar’s topping, which is optional, you can try dark or white chocolate.

As Labour Day nears, the idea of school lunches looms like a black cloud heralding the end of summer

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