Now that it’s summer – well, I guess it isn’t officially summer yet, but it’s definitely summer weather  – I’m starting to switch gears from those satisfying, cool weather meals I like to make (like hearty chicken and dumplings) to cool, light dishes that are refreshing on a warm day.

Like this one. It’s a recipe for Hamakua Springs Tomato, Beet and Avocado Salad with a Li Hing Mui Vinaigrette, courtesy of Alan Wong’s Restaurant in Honolulu, and it’s presented over at Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s The Splendid Table.

Do you know that NPR program? It’s really wonderful. It airs in Honolulu on KIPO-FM 89.3, on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. Or on your own computer – go here to listen to the program online.

Here’s the line-up for the podcast that’s up right now:

This week it’s a look at the noodle foursome that’s the heart of
Japan’s beloved noodle cuisine: udon, somen, soba and ramen. Our guide is Chef Takashi Yagihashi, author of Takashi’s Noodles. He talks noodle cooking, noodle etiquette, and the Japanese way with noodles that may even outflank Italy.

Jane and Michael Stern are forking into some of the most sublime
banana cream pie anywhere at Betty’s Pies on Minnesota’s North Shore.

Indian food expert Raghavan Iyer has the fastest, lustiest breads
you’ll ever make. Forget the oven; for this quick bread you need to
fire up your grill. Raghavan’s latest book is 660 Curries: The Gateway to Indian Cooking.

American Public Media commentator and dad John Moe tells of a little experiment in dinner table politics. Parents of picky little eaters will want to tune in!

Brendan Newnam takes an off-center approach to the dinner party and it all starts with a joke. Then poet Nikki Giovanni reads her poem “So Enchanted with You” from her book Bicycles: Love Poems.