It's the Fourth of July weekend. Since many of us are getting ready to cook-out with friends, we invited chef, author, and eco-activist Bryant Terry to join us. His most recent book, Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine, re-imagines African-American and Southern food at its healthiest, tastiest, and most sustainable.

ROASTED RED POTATO SALAD WITH PARSLEY-PINE NUT PESTO

Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Soundtrack: "Friends" by Ann Peebles and Don Bryant from Fill this World with Love

Pesto

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 cups loosely packed, flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon mellow white or yellow miso
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Salad

• 2 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
• Coarse sea salt
• Freshly ground white pepper

For the pesto

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Arrange the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toast them for about 8 minutes, stirring after 4 minutes.
3. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the pine nuts, parsley, garlic, miso, and lemon juice and puree. Slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and set aside.

For the salad

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and the olive oil. Toss to coat. Transfer the potatoes to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers to the baking sheet and stir to combine. Roast for stirring every 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the bell peppers well roasted.
3. Transfer the potatoes and bell peppers to a large bowl, add 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons of pesto (or more if you want it creamier), stir well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.
4. Cover the remaining pesto with a film of olive oil in a tightly sealed jar and refrigerate for up to two weeks (use it for dressing pastas, spreading on toast, or topping fresh tomatoes).

From the book "Vegan Soul Kitchen" by Bryant Terry. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Find out more at www.dacapocookbooks.com

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CITRUS AND SPICE PICKLED WATERMELON RIND

Yield: 6 pints

Soundtrack: "Water Melon" by Toots & The Maytals from Sweet and Dandy: The Best of Toots & the Maytals

• Rind from a medium-size (10-12 pounds) watermelon (the thicker the better)
• 3 quarts and 3 cups water
• 3 1/4 cups organic raw cane sugar
• 3/4 cup coarse sea salt
• 4 2-inch cinnamon sticks
• 2 tablespoons whole cloves
• 2 large oranges
• 4 lemons
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar

1. Prepare the watermelon rinds by removing the green skin with a y-shaped peeler or a utility knife and cutting away most of the red flesh with a knife, but leaving a thin coat (keep them as thick as possible). Next, cut as much of the rind as possible into 1-inch cubes (obviously many of the pieces will be odd shapes) until you generate 10 cups of rind. Set aside.
2. In a large stockpot over medium-low heat, make a brine by combining 3 quarts of water with 1/4 cup of the sugar, the salt, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 tablespoon of cloves. Stir well until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool. Transfer the watermelon rind to the brine. Place a small plate on top of the rinds to ensure that they are completely covered in water. Soak overnight.
3. Drain the rinds in a colander, and rinse them several times with cold water.
4. Combine the rinds with enough cold water to cover them in the stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium, then simmer until the pieces are tender but still crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
5. Thinly slice the oranges and the lemons. Combine the vinegars, orange slices, lemon slices, and the remaining sugar, cinnamon sticks, and cloves with the 3 remaining cups of water in the stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the rinds, bring back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Drain the rinds in a colander, catching the liquid with a bowl, and set them aside. Add the liquid back to the stockpot, bring to a boil over high heat, and reduce until 4 1/2 cups of liquid remain, 12 to 15 minutes.
7. Transfer the syrup to a metal bowl.
8. Preheat the oven to 200°F.
9. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Gently place pint-size canning jars, lids, rings, ladles, tongs, and spoons used for canning into the boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes to sterilize. Carefully transfer everything from the stockpot to a baking sheet in the oven until you're ready to start canning.
10. Remove baking sheet holding the supplies from the oven. Leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top, fill the sterilized jars with pieces of watermelon rind, spices, and fruit and then ladle the syrup into each jar. Close the jars with the lids and rings.
11. Process in a hot bath for 10 minutes

Double Watermelon-Strawberry Slushee

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Soundtrack: "Back & Forth" by Aaliyah from Age Ain't Nothing But a Number and "Black Mags" by The Cool Kids from The Bake Sale . Takin' y'all back and forward at the same time. Feel me?

• 8 cups fresh red watermelon juice
• 2 cups frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed
• lime juice
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 4-6 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

1. Fill two large ice cube trays with watermelon juice and freeze until solid, 3 to 4 hours.
2. In an upright blender, combine 1 full tray of watermelon cubes, 2 cups of watermelon juice, and 1 cup of frozen strawberries (the blender should be full). Blend on high speed until well-combined and slushy, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon lime juice and 2 tablespoons agave nectar and blend on high speed for another 30 seconds. Pour into a large pitcher and store in the freezer.
3. Repeat.
4. Serve immediately in slender clear glasses garnished with mint sprigs.

From the book Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Find out more at www.dacapocookbooks.com