Not full summer, not yet fall–celebrate this “in between time” with salads that are refreshing but also pack a spicy punch.

This is an easy-breezy, no-bake treat, but it does require a bit of planning ahead because it needs a good amount of time to chill—at least 8 hours. You can leave it chilled for up to 48 hours before the berries start to lose their integrity — a perfect make-ahead dessert.

Here’s a little summer recipe collection — a carefully chosen group of things to make, perfect for now. There’s something for everyone here — and you should let us know what your favorite things to cook in the summer are, too.

Several years ago, a colleague developed a recipe for a spicy cheese bread, filled with little pockets of Monterey Jack cheese and lots of red pepper flakes throughout. Yeasty bread, milky cheese, and prickly spice. I loved the combination, so I set out to create my own recipe.

Until recently it had been a couple thousand years since I made waffles. Not anymore, baby. Over the past month or so, I’ve waged enough batter battles, suffered enough grain explosions and smashed enough sandwiches to expand my kitchen empire into bold new territory. I’m ready to share the victories.

I loved penuche as a child in the 1970s. When the plate came around, I’d surreptitiously take two pieces rather than the polite single piece. (At least I thought I was being surreptitious.) But as I grew older, the stuff appeared less and less frequently in my life. Time to bring it back.

Plantain chips with your new favorite dip, an herby rice salad, and, of course, a tasty sandwich — whether you’re headed to the beach, the park, or just a picturesque patch of grass, look toward these recipes for this season’s best picnic spreads.

When Mark first suggested, a full year ago, that we do a piece on cooking with scissors, I grabbed my everyday pair, held them in front of me like a divining rod, and set out on our quest.