Garnish

Craving a summer treat that's icy, sweet, and a bit exotic? Then make gourmet ice pops your go-to cooler for the sunny season. Ice pops aren't exactly new - remember the juice and Kool-Aid bars Mom would freeze in tiny paper cups? - but these cold confections on a stick are getting a zippy culinary makeover. Artificial grape and cherry flavors were once the standard-bearers. Today's ice pop varieties are bursting with fresh fruit, veggies, herbs, spices, and even spirits that evoke happy hour.

You might think of radishes as small and crunchy, insignificant bits of color to add to a salad or side dish. But radishes were once so venerated in Greece that gold replicas were made, according to the Centers for Disease Control's produce education Web site. And in Oaxaca, Mexico, radishes star in a Christmastime festival in which they're used to make elaborate sculptures. The most common radish is the Red Globe, the small round version with leafy green tops you might see in your local grocery store or farmers' market.

Outside, accessories can add structure, texture, drama and wit. Think of a bench beckoning at the end of a path, a statue semi-shrouded in foliage, a fountain bubbling on a patio, a gate that suggests more green delights beyond. "Ornaments are something that can really reflect your personality in a garden," says Inta Krombolz, who has spent nearly 30 years turning her 3-acre West Chester, Pa., property into an award winner. Ancient Egyptians accented their green spaces with pools, pergolas and trees in earthenware pots.

PREPARE SOME Maryland seafood, serve it with locally grown vegetables and toast the meal with a glass of wine from one of the state's several vineyards, and what do you have? You've got "Maryland's in Season" a month-long promotion touting state-grown seafood, produce and wine.The promotion is being sponsored by The Restaurant Association of Maryland, the Association of Maryland Wineries and the Maryland Department of Agriculture."By the end of the program, diners will realize how much of the food they order comes from right here in Maryland" said Marcia Harris, executive vice president for the restaurant association.

Accessories this spring are a banquet. Flavors range from western chuck wagon to the hottest salsa with some light natural seasonings for tamer tastes. It's time to sample something new and exotic. And don't ignore the silver, gold and crystal.Here's a checklist of this season's garnishes.* THE TOPPERS: This is the year to become a hat person, and "hat hair" is no excuse. The baseball cap, whether emblazoned with a team logo or spiced with glitter, is a summer necessity. When hair won't obey, pull it back and don a cap at a jaunty angle.

Last fall I led a group of good friends on a weeklong wine-and-food tour through Burgundy. During our short stay in this eastern area of France, we visited wineries during the day and dined in restaurants in the evening. It had been a long time since I had traveled in this region, and I had forgotten just how delicious Burgundian food is. Night after night, the chefs amazed my companions and me with their incredible creations. Such dishes as a terrine of foie gras and smoked duck breast served in one restaurant and a savory gateau of guinea fowl and fresh artichokes offered in another were true works of art, but were too complex to reproduce in my home kitchen.

It takes a lot of sour cherries to make one very sweet pie. About 250 sour cherries, give or take a few. And you have to act fast. This delicate fruit - rarely sold in supermarkets because of its fragility - is available at a few you-pick-'em farms in Maryland during a very brief harvest at the end of June and the beginning of July. Sour-cherry trees love the cooling summer winds of the Great Lakes region and the Pacific Northwest - Michigan is considered the cherry capital of the United States - but Maryland farmers can include the popular Montmorency tree in their orchards as well.

My book club regularly meets monthly at 4 p.m. on a weekend afternoon, but for June we have changed to a weeknight. It's now my turn to host, and I have been in a quandary about what to serve. For afternoons, we have fallen into an easy pattern of appetizers and wine, or desserts and coffee. But our weeknight meeting at 6:30 p.m. is dinnertime, so I need to prepare something more substantial. The problem is that I have a huge cooking class the night before and only a few hours free for shopping and cooking the day of our meeting.

Just try telling the radicchio crowd that polenta is nothing more than expensive cornmeal mush. They'd probably pelt you with pink peppercorns.But it's essentially true. The homemade cornmeal mush I made last week tasted almost identical to homemade polenta. The main difference was the amount of elbow grease that went into the making -- 40 minutes of stirring for the polenta, and only 15 for the mush.For you Spam types who have spent the last five years in the heat 'n' eat aisle, polenta is creamy, cooked cornmeal that usually is chilled, cut into shapes and grilled.

Instead of inviting friends for dinner, I sometimes ask them to come for wine and simple appetizers. For me, this is one of the easiest ways to entertain, especially when I'm busy. I prepare one or two nibbles, open a bottle of wine, set out glasses and napkins, and that's it. Several weeks ago, after learning that a dear friend from the Midwest was coming to visit her daughter who was expecting twins (and who happens to live only a few miles from us), I had planned such a get-together.