First of four articles

Although we can go to the beach, barbecue, camp and picnic all year 'round here, the fact is that most of us reserve these activities for summer, when many students are out of school, family and friends visit, and holidays like Kamehameha Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day give us a little time off.

For the next four weeks, I'll share recipes I discovered in researching my next cookbook (no publication date yet; I'll let you know when I do).

Did you know you can make a panini without a panini press? It's not perfect, but you can get that melting, "squished" and grilled effect by simply pressing down hard on a sandwich on the grill.

The secrets of this technique are: using cheese and very thinly sliced meats or moist fish such as canned tuna; dressing it with a liquid vinaigrette and giving it time to soak into the bread, and employing a relatively soft bread, but one that can still stand up to the grill.

At home, make the sandwiches, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place in cooler. Also at home, scrub the grill well so the sandwiches don't taste of whatever you last cooked.

At the park, beach or camp site, light briquets in grill or hibachi, and allow to burn until ashed over; push briquets to one side. Place the sandwiches on the grill away from briquets and press firmly with a spatula for one minute; grill a minute or two and turn; press again and grill until toasted and melting.

As to the type of bread to use: panini bread, if you can find it; flatbread; Boboli rounds cut in half to make a half moon-shaped sandwich or a firm-textured sliced white bread.

Here's an example.

CAMPFIRE TUNA PANINIS