The great outdoors: three international menus for easy summertime entertaining - includes recipes

Vegetarian Times, August, 1997 by Nikki Fay

It's summer! Now is the time for gardening, golfing, hiking and hanging out in the hammock. It's time for enjoying the outdoors to the fullest and that includes entertaining. The key to successful outdoor entertaining is exciting, easy-to-prepare recipes that include a bounty of summer's fresh ingredients. The following recipes were inspired, in fact, by both the wonderful variety of garden-fresh vegetables and fruits available in the summer months and may longtime involvement with foreign cuisine.

Each of these three menus focuses on an exotic locale -- India, Mexico and the Mediterranean. The "salwiches" are a new-fashioned cross between easy-to-prepare sandwiches and nutritious salads. Each handled entree is encased in the flatbread of the region, topped with its own dressing and paired with a cold soup characteristic of the area. The result is a quick-to-prepare meal with enough color, texture and taste to please the most discriminating palates.

Your family and guests will applaud your creativity, and because most of these recipes can be prepared ahead of time, you will plenty of time and energy to enjoy both your dinner and your company. The menus will four to six people, but all the recipes can be multiplied to feed more.

Bread is the focal point of each menu. Chapatis encase a hearty mixture of chickpea paste, potato and other fresh vegetables. Tortillas fold over a lettuce salad laden with south of the border ingredients. Pita breads form pockets filled with a Mediterranean spinach salad.

Cold soups add interest with their garden flavors. Cool Cucumber Soup can be prepared in an instant and is as popular as it is simple to make. Tomatoes join Latin flavors in Spicy Mexican Gazpacho and carrots lend their beautiful color to a nonfat, European Cold Carrot Bisque.

Whichever menu you choose, clever serving arrangements can serve both practical and esthetic purposes. For casual entertaining, serve the "salwich" ingredients in a lazy Susan or a cluster of small containers and let your guest fill their own breads. Present the soup in a tureen surrounded by cups and encourage guests to sip their soup. Go easy on yourself when it comes to dessert and serve a simple selection of fresh fruit with the super-easy Creamy Raspberry Sauce. Dessert will take on an Indian flavor with the addition of apricots, golden raisins and coconut. Mangoes and bananas suggest a Mexican theme, and oranges lend a Mediterranean flair.

So choose your menu, invite your guests and prepare to enjoy summer entertainment in the great outdoor!

Chilled Cucumber Soup

This refreshing starter has an excellent fresh-from-the-garden taste.

2 large cucumbers, peeled and cut
    into large pieces
1 cup nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh dill
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
Paprika for garnish (optional)

In medium bowl, combine fresh fruit and sauce; toss gently to mix. Makes 4 servings. PER SERVING: 96 CAL.; 5G PROT.; 2G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT. FAT) 17G CARB.; 4MG CHOL.; 127 MG SOD.; 3G FIBER. LACTO