The Joys of Summer Fruit [RECIPES]

Whether you are taking a picnic to the beach, a local park or the Hollywood Bowl, desserts made from fresh fruits — peaches, apricots, plums, cherries and all kinds of berries — are a refreshing complement to your summer menu.

One of the places to find the best summer fruit is at an open-air farmers market. I love standing in the middle of a crowd of shoppers at our local farmers market trying to decide between buying nectarines or a box of ripe figs to complement a family meal.

A selection of fruit can be turned into a simple salad; in Italy, this is referred to as Macedonia. There is no recipe necessary — just cut up your favorite fruits and add whole or sliced berries. Although the fruit makes its own juices, the secret to creating a great fruit salad is the addition of sugar syrup, and maybe a small amount of orange juice.

Another easy fruit dessert that needs no recipe is simply cutting a ripe cantaloupe in half, scooping out the seeds, and filling it with a sweet wine; Port is a perfect addition.

A little more time consuming, but worth the effort, is a Raspberry Crostata, bursting with fragrant juices (if peaches or plums are your favorite, then by all means replace the raspberries with either).

If working with pastry is not your favorite thing, then the Fresh Peach Crisp is a perfect dessert. The combination of sweet, soft, juicy fruit with a crunchy, buttery brown sugar toping is irresistible.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake is a crowd favorite, and you can experiment with the different varieties of strawberry available. If your family likes fresh blueberries, add a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream to Blueberry-Buttermilk Coffee Cake for a special treat.

And if you have never made gelato (ice cream), you are going to love Strawberry Gelato. Although you can use an electric ice cream machine, the hand-crank kind is more fun; just add ice and salt and have all the children take turns until it is ready.

OLD-FASHIONED STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Buy strawberries just before you want to eat them; store the berries on your kitchen counter or a cool place, and give them a quick rinse just before eating. When shopping for strawberries, try to taste when you can, and discover your own favorite varieties. Very red berries tend to be the sweetest.

3 pints fresh strawberries
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter or nondairy margarine
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
2 cups whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Grease and flour one 8-inch round cake pan.

Slice strawberries and toss them with 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and butter or margarine. Blend until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg and milk and blend. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined.

Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool partially in pan on wire rack.

Slice in half, making two layers. Place half of the strawberries on one layer and top with the second layer. Top second layer with remaining strawberries and cover with the whipped cream.

Makes 8 servings.