with lighter meals that capitalise on crisp salad ingredients, fresh vegetables and myriad wonderful fruits.

For those who can bear to tear themselves away from pedestrian barbecued steak and chicken, Miriam Ungerer's Summertime Food is a packed with delights. Her recipes are as attractive as her commentaries are amusing.

Lightness, ease and freshness are the hallmarks of the recipes in this comprehensive book, which is available at the Bermuda Library. Here's a sampling: SORREL SOUP 1 lb. fresh sorrel 2 tbsp. butter 1 egg yolk 1 cup heavy cream SHRED sorrel, rinse thoroughly. Wilt it in the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add chicken broth, heat to boiling. Beat egg yolk with cream and beat a little of the hot soup into the mixture. Then stir the egg-cream into the hot soup with a wire whisk. Reheat and serve hot, or cool in the refrigerator and serve well chilled. Serves 4 to 6.

Young raw zucchini has a slightly spicy flavour and a lovely texture. This salad is a bit like an uncooked ratatouille. It goes well with grilled steak, lamb chops, or Italian sausages.

ZUCCHINI SALAD 6 small, firm zucchini 1 green Italian cooking pepper 3 small, ripe tomatoes 3 scallions, thinly sliced 1 tsp. salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 cup olive oil 1-2 tbsp. wine vinegar 1 tbsp. shredded fresh basil RINSE zucchini. Do not peel, but thinly slice them. Cut green pepper in thin julienne strips. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for ten seconds to loosen the skins, then plunge them into cold water. Peel and chop tomatoes. Put all ingredients, except the basil, in a bowl. Toss lightly, cover and let stand for about one hour, adding the basil just before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

This is a classic French version of the salad so dear to the heart of US southerners. Can accompany wafer-thin slices of Smithfield ham, hot or cold fried chicken, charcoal grilled meats and sausages.

FRENCH POTATO SALAD 8 to 10 medium all-purpose potatoes (do not use Idahoes or Russets as they crumble when sliced) 4 to 5 tbsp. dry white wine, heated 2 tbsp. wine vinegar 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. dry mustard 7 tbsp. olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 6 scallions, minced 1 cup minced fresh parsley SCRUB potatoes and boil them in their jackets in salted water until just tender when pierced with a very sharp kitchen fork. Drain and shake over low heat to dry thoroughly. Peel them as hot as you can handle them; the potatoes should still be warm when the dressing is added. Slice them in 1 -inch rounds and place in a large mixing bowl. As you put in each layer of potatoes, sprinkle with some of the wine.

Next, beat vinegar, salt and dry mustard together in a small bowl with a wire whisk or electric mixer. Beat in the oil slowly until you have a creamy emulsion. Taste for salt and pepper. Then taste potatoes for saltiness before adding any more to the dressing. Sprinkle potatoes with minced scallion and parsley. Pour on the dressing and mix lightly with your hands, taking care not to break the potatoes any more than necessary. About 6 cups.

If the salad is not to be served at once, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature, then turn out onto a lettuce-lined platter and garnish with all or any of the following: sliced hard-cooked eggs, skinless and boneless sardines, anchovy fillets, half-circles of hard salami, kosher dill gherkins, radish roses, ripe or green olives, drained tuna fish or smoked eel.

BROILED SALMON TAILS 2 filleted salmon tails, about 1 lb. each Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 cup Creme Fraiche (recipe follows) Minced fresh dill (optional) LAY the fish, skin side down, on a piece of buttered foil laid on a small baking pan. Pre-heat broiler. Salt and pepper fillets and spread equal amounts of creme fraiche over them. Slide them under the broiler about five inches from the flame, lower the heat and watch constantly, as these fillets may cook in less than five minutes. No turning is required; the fish cooks through.

Avoid overcooking, as these fragile fillets will continue to cook a bit when you remove them to hot plates. Strew a little fresh dill or minced parsley or tarragon (fresh only), over the salmon. Serves 2.

CREME FRAICHE HEAT 2 cups of heavy cream to 110 degrees F. Stir in two teaspoons of buttermilk. Pour into a thermos and let stand, covered, for eight hours or until thickened. Scrape it into a glass jar and refrigerate; it will keep well for two weeks. If you don't use if often, store it in two smaller, well-sealed jars.

GREEN PEPPERCORN STEAKS 4 centre cut tenderloin slices, 1 1 -inch thick (aka filet mignon or chateaubriand) Sweet butter 2 shallots, minced Salt Splash of cognac 1 cup Creme Fraiche (see recipe above) or reduced heavy cream 1 small tin green pepper corns, drained Watercress (optional) DRY fillets well. Melt a spoonful of good butter in a cast-iron skillet, add steaks, and saute over medium-high heat for about five minutes. Turn, add shallots, saute until done to your liking. Push shallots around so that they don't burn. Lightly salt steaks when finished and put them on hot plates.

With the cognac, deglaze skillet off the heat, stir in Creme Fraiche, scraping up the shallots and meat juices from pan bottom. Add green peppercorns and mash some of them into the sauce. Bubble sauce for a few seconds, then divide and pour over the steaks. Branches of watercress, large stalks removed, are enough adornment and are especially delicious with these steaks.

FETTUCINE ALLA ROMANA A Roman chef created the original of this dish -- simplicity itself -- which numerous restaurants have been trying to complicate ever since. The myth that something occult is involved is perpetuated by the waiter ministering to the pasta over a spirit lamp before your very eyes. All pasta has to be quickly tossed with its sauce and served immediately, very hot! Unless you live in a castle, it doesn't matter whether the dish is mixed in the kitchen or at the table. Fettucine are egg noodles and the sauce is simply butter, cream and cheese. Serve as a first course -- this dish is too heavy and becomes boring as a main course.

1 lb. sweet butter, melted (1 stick) 1 cup heavy cream hot 1 lb. fettucine, cooked and hot 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese Freshly ground black pepper POUR the butter and heavy cream over the fettucine and mix gently. Mix in grated cheese with a generous amount of pepper. Mix lightly but well in a hot dish. Pasta must be hot enough to melt the cheese slightly. Serve on hot plates and pass more cheese at the table. Serves 4.

Rice salad -- sort of like Chinese fried rice, but better -- is suitable as either a main dish or as part of a buffet. A properly made rice salad has grace and elegance. There is but one problem, and it's a lulu: Many cooks are, for mysterious reasons of their own, unable to cook a pot of simple, firm-grained, but dry and tender rice. To get you over that problem, see the following recipe for Perfect Boiled Rice.

Note: Other ingredients of the salad may have to be kept cold until the last minute, but never chill the rice.

RICE SALAD 5 cups tepid, cooked white rice 1 cup light olive oil 1 ripe avocado 1 cup fresh lemon juice 1 medium-sized Belgian endive, sliced in rings 1 red Italian onion, finely diced 1 tbsp. minced fresh coriander (optional) 2 tbsp. minced fresh dill 2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley 1 tbsp. hot fresh chili pepper, seeded and minced 1 cup stoned ripe olives, sliced Coarse salt and cracked white pepper to taste 2 cups leftover or freshly cooked chicken, fish, or shellfish, shredded, flaked, or diced TURN cooked rice into a large colander. Toss it up and down to cool it quickly, then dump it into a large bowl and mix in the oil. Peel avocado, dice with a stainless steel knife (to avoid discolouring the delicate flesh) and toss it in some of the lemon juice to keep its nice pale green colour from turning black. Add the remaining juice to the rice. Add all the remaining ingredients, then season to taste with salt and pepper. (Hands are the best instruments for mixing rice, as it should be handled delicately.) Last of all fold in the diced avocado. Serves 8.

PERFECT COOKED RICE The pot in which rice is cooked has more to do with its success than most other foods. One of the reasons for "Oryzaphobia'' (my made-up word for fear of rice) is that cooks have been advised to use too much water by too many books for too many years. Choose a pot wider than it is deep. It should have a close-fitting cover and a fairly heavy bottom. A thick sautoir or a well-seasoned Dutch oven or chicken fryer are good choices.

2 1 cups long-grain Carolina rice 2 tbsp. plain salad oil 2 tsp. salt 4 1 cups water RINSE rice with cold water in a basin until water runs clear. Drain. Turn rice into a tea towel and rub it fairly dry. Heat oil in the pot, add rice. Stir over low heat to coat all the gains. Add salt and water, turn heat to high and stir. When the water boils, lower heat to minimum, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. Do not stir.

When cover is removed, steam will rise and there should be little holes across the surface of the rice. Tilt the pan to see if there is any water left. If there is, raise the heat and evaporate it. Put a paper towel between the rice and the pot lid and let stand, off heat, for five minutes. The rice is now ready to serve hot.

For Salad: Turn rice out onto a tray or a wide, flat colander to cool it quickly. Flip the tray or colander up and down so the rice moves and is aerated. When cool enough to handle, pour on some olive oil and lift and turn it into the rice with both hands, fingers spread. Yield: 5 cups .

Alternate Cooktip: Use converted rice (which is more expensive but less work than regular long-grain rice) and cook it according to package directions except: Reduce water by one third and the cooking time by five minutes.

SIESTA KEY MOUSSE Recipe almost fills a 6-cup mould.

1 1 envelopes (1 1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatin 3 cup fresh orange juice with pulp OR 2 tbsp. frozen concentrate mixed with 1 cup cold water Thin rind of 1 orange, cut in fine julienne 1 cup sugar mixed with 1 cup water 2 cups ricotta cheese 1 cup sour cream 1 cup heavy cream, whipped 1 navel orange Cointreau Almond slices or slivers SOAK gelatin in orange juice for five minutes, then warm it just enough to dissolve the gelatin. Stir well and cool to tepid. Saute orange rind in a little butter and sugar until it caramelises slightly -- this burns easily, so be careful. Add sugar-water and simmer until orange rind is tender.

Beat ricotta smooth and blend in sour cream, orange juice and gelatin and the orange rind and syrup. Finally, fold in whipped cream and scrape it all into a six-cup oiled mould-fluted or melon-shaped pan, but not a ring. Lightly press plastic wrap onto the surface of the orange creme and seal it tightly over the edges. Chill overnight or up to four days. Serves 6 to 8.

CANTALOUPE ICE CREAM WITH RASPBERRIES 1 large cantaloupe 1 cup superfine sugar 3 cups heavy cream 1 tsp. grated nutmeg Pinch of salt Raspberries, blackberries, or fresh peach slices SELECT a ripe melon, halve and seed it, then puree the flesh. Measure out two cups and combine it with sugar, cream, nutmeg and salt. Pour into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. After it has firmed up and ripened for at least six hours, serve in large wine glasses with a spoonful of fresh raspberries or blackberries on top. Lacking berries, the taste and texture of ripe peaches are surprisingly amenable to cantaloupe ice cream and the pale colours complement each other. Frozen berries are a reasonable substitution if the brief berry season has passed. Yield: 1 1 quarts.*l