Parades and picnics. Swimming and sunning. Fireworks and fun with family and friends. July 4th food has to be easy -- easy to prepare and easy to eat -- so both cooks and diners can enjoy the holiday's myriad of activities. Make your Fourth a hit with these kosher July 4th menus and recipes for a barbecue dinner and picnic lunch.

_{Photo © 2008 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

The bagel, which has been a part of Jewish cuisine for at least 400 years, is a donut-shaped piece of bread that is boiled before it is baked. Bagels are often topped with seeds (poppy or sesame) or flavored with other ingredients (cinnamon, blueberry, onion, garlic...). Real bagels are soft and spongy on the inside. Bagels are traditionally served with cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon).

• Video: How to Make Bagels
• Recipe: Homemade Bagels

_{Photo © 2007 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

Looking for fun activities to do with your children this summer? You and your children can actually have a lot of fun together without traveling far or spending a lot of money. You can cook for Shabbat, prepare tonight's dinner or simply surprise the rest of the family with homemade meringue cookies. Cooking, especially kosher cooking, can be a fun, educational, confidence-building, memorable and bonding experience for children.

• Kosher Pigs in the Blanket?
  What is kosher for Pigs in a Blanket? Moses in the Ark (Moshe b'Tayva in Hebrew) is the term used for kosher hotdogs rolled up in puff pastry dough. With this quick, easy recipe, children can make these hotdog roll-ups all by themselves.
• Eazy Lazy Meatballs
  One of the challenges I face in my life today is how to satiate the appetite of my always-hungry, 13-year-old son. I recently discovered that meatballs hit the spot. I call them Eazy Lazy Meatballs because they are easy enough for my son to make by himself so I can be lazy about dinner for a night or two.
• Kids' Favorite Cucumber Salad
  This is the only salad my kids request. The kids can help you to make this salad - just wash, slice, spice, and refrigerate. The kids will enjoy eating, especially during the hot summer months, this sweet cucumber salad all week long.
• Susie Fishbein's Kosher Meringue Surprise Kisses
  Meringue cookies take time to prepare and bake, but the work itself is simple. I made these meringues with my 6-year-old, as the recipe came from Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Kids in the Kitchen cookbook. When the cookies came out of the oven, I was surprised to find the best-tasting meringues I've ever eaten.

_{Photo © 2006 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

We like to go to the beach on Friday afternoons in the summer. Friday beach time means less Shabbat prep time. I solved this last week by choosing the following Sabbath menu: deli roll, roast chicken, couscous and vegetables, brownies and watermelon. I hope these Shabbat Menus and Recipes for Busy Cooks will enable you to quickly prepare healthy, delicious, home cooked meals so you will have time to enjoy summer activities with your family and friends.

_{Photo © 2008 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}