Fruit

California's countryside is known for its vineyards, but another fruit -- the olive -- is moving in on the grape's territory, and Sonoma Valley is giving it its due this year with an Olive Festival. Starting next month and running through February, the first annual festival highlights olive season in Sonoma, from harvest to press, beginning with a blessing of the olives Dec. 8 at the historic Mission San Francisco de Solano. The kickoff weekend continues with olive press demonstrations, a tasting bar for olives and olive oils, a culinary trip through local restaurants and wineries, and a Martini Madness contest, where bartenders will vie for the title of most olive-worthy martini maker.

MULBERRY, Fla. -- After years of scientific debate and commercial hesitation, the first fresh-food irradiation plant in the nation now stands ready for service and could begin shipping specially treated fruit as early as next week.Many scientists at universities and federal agencies regard irradiation of food as a safe and efficient way to retard spoilage and kill organisms that cause illnesses such as salmonella and diarrhea.Investors in the plant hope that an initial scheduled shipment of irradiated strawberries will soon be followed by other fruits and vegetables and, eventually, poultry and seafood.

It's summertime, so you have melon for breakfast and strawberry shortcake after dinner.But there are more ways to enjoy summer's fruitful bounty from morning to night. Other cuisines provide ideas on how to use fruit. Dishes from the Pacific Rim often combine fish or pork with tropical fruit -- for instance, sauteed bananas over sole, and papaya or mangoes over grilled swordfish.Pineapple paired with ham or pork has been a favorite since the Hawaiian craze of the '50s. The Italians like to grill fruit; peach or pear halves, lightly oiled and grilled, make a delicious ending to a summer barbecue menu.

KEEDYSVILLE -- As apples ripen in Western Maryland's declining number of commercial orchards, you'll find R. Neal Peterson walking among fruit-bearing trees picking . . . pawpaws.Pawpaws? Never heard that old American folk song?: "Pickin' up pawpaws, put 'em in your pocket, pickin' up pawpaws, put 'em in your pocket . . . way down yonder in the pawpaw patch?"You're not alone.But Mr. Peterson, founder of the Pawpaw Foundation, hopes to rescue pawpaws from obscurity.After all, pawpaws once were common enough in Western Maryland -- and many other places -- to warrant having places named in their honor.

Not long ago, on any classic French menu, fruit knew its place. Mostly it was served over, around or buried in a dessert, although cherries and oranges often made it to the table as an accompaniment to duck. Central Europeans were more adventuresome, mixing fresh and dried fruits with grains, and serving fruit soups in addition to rich fruit pastries.In this country, too, fruit desserts were common. Fruit also showed up in the morning as fruit juice or decoration for cereal. Whole fruit went into lunch boxes, and in the evening, fruit salad might be served with dinner.

With the abundance of summer's fruits and vegetables, it's easy to conjure up delicious, healthful, low-fat summer salads. But low-fat salads can become high-fat disasters with the wrong dressing.Traditional dressings are loaded with oil. Typically they have two to three parts oil to one part acid. When you try to reduce the oil, you find it contributes more than just taste. Without oil, the dressing is unbalanced and becomes pungent and overly tangy. When you cut back the oil, the acid -- usually vinegar or citrus juices -- must be reduced as well.

Cookies and snacks are usually the first foods people give up when they are watching their weight. Unfortunately, they also are the first foods people begin to crave.There is nothing wrong with treating yourself occasionally to wholesome, nutritious snacks. In fact, eating a few well-timed cookies when you are hungry may be the crucial difference between maintaining a sensible, heart-healthy eating plan and bingeing on high-calorie, high-fat junk food.Sunflower fruit pinwheels are an excellent low-fat choice for anyone in the mood for a tasty snack.

Stone fruit needn't be soft and sweet for all recipes. When grilled or used in savory (not sweet) dishes, they can be firm and tart. Chef Stephen Lewandowski of Tribeca Grill in Manhattan shared his recipe for Italian bread salad, and it has become a family staple. STONE-FRUIT PANZANELLA Serves 6 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 pound (2 large) beefsteak tomatoes, diced 3/4 cup diced red onion 1 large peach, diced 1 large nectarine, diced 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped 2 tablespoons drained capers 1/4 cup basil, chopped 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons sugar 8 ounces stale bread, torn into 1-inch pieces Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium high.

When it comes to summer desserts, the cobbler is king. This old-time fruit dessert topped with dough is effortless to prepare on hot days and serves as the perfect vehicle to showcase the summer's harvest. Nature has blessed the cobbler's essential ingredient - fruit - this year. Peaches are praiseworthy, blueberries and blackberries are bursting with flavor. What do we have to thank? Our prolonged dry spell. "Most of Maryland is suffering a drought, and that tends to be good for fruit flavor because it concentrates the sugar in the fruit," says Tony Evans, who coordinates the Farmers' Market Program for the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

This is the first year for my blackberries, and they aren't producing. Should I cut them back and when? Blackberries produce fruit on second-year canes. Prune first-year canes to 3-4 feet to promote the growth of laterals where fruit will set the second year. Next spring you should cut back the laterals to 18-24 inches for better production. After bearing fruit in summer, the canes will die. Then they can be pruned to the ground. This can be done in the fall if you like, but it's easier to do in the spring.