Hello, newsletter readers! Melissa Clark and I are channeling Sam Sifton in his absence. When Sam goes away he goes away, and will not be heard from again until September. Let’s all pretend that month is a long way off from now, shall we?

In the meantime, let’s cook the way he’d want us to. Start off easy, with a new dip (above) for vegetables from the farmstand or the supermarket: tangy feta cheese smoothed out with cream cheese and olive oil and sparked with lemon and scallions. I see it as a satisfying start to a simple dinner, adding on sliced tomatoes and a legendary Jacques Pépin roast chicken. (Chicken, salt, pepper; that’s it.)

I like lining up dishes in my mind to imagine how they’ll go together, but if you feel late summer is no time for meal planning, have chips and dip for dinner. (May I suggest an old recipe for potato chips from the formidable M.F.K. Fisher, and a new recipe for spinach-artichoke dip from the fierce Alison Roman?) Make a giant sandwich in the morning, like a pan bagnat from Provence or muffuletta from New Orleans, let it ripen all day, and slice it up as the sun goes down.

Or pick by ingredient: Radishes seduce me at the farmers’ market with their perfect lipstick reds and pinks, so I always buy too many: This crunchy salad from Samin Nosrat is a lifesaver. Search for scallops, and you’ll find your way to this summery pasta with seared scallops and burst tomatoes. (Are there two more beautiful words in the English language than “burst tomatoes”? The writer Henry James nominated “summer afternoon,” but it’s arguable.)