Shaun Smith is a writer, journalist and former chef in Toronto. He is the author of the young adult novel Snakes & Ladders. Is there anything quite as satisfying as the summer delight of standing over the kitchen sink and tucking into a ripe, juicy peach or nectarine? Who doesn't get a thrill when they see that first bushel of wild blueberries appear at their neighbourhood green grocer? And what can be more splendid than enjoying the juicy perfection of a sun-ripened, field tomato?

To me, summer and fruit are synonymous (yes, as you'll see below, a tomato is a fruit), so I asked the authors of three new fruit-focused cookbooks for recipes that will help you take advantage of summer's wonderful bounty.

Oregon's Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson offer a versatile Summer Fruit Trifle from their co-authored book Rustic Fruit Desserts.

Gardening guru Amy Goldman, from New York State, shares the secret of a tri-colour gazpacho from her book, The Heirloom Tomato.

And from British Columbia, preserving expert Mary Anne Dragan, tells us how to make traditional Plum Butter from her book, Well Preserved.

As for me, this month I'm serving up a salad that features one of my favourite summer fruits: watermelon. Watermelon and mint make for a delicious combination.

This salad, which is a classic, may at first seem strange to some people, combining as it does salty feta cheese and olives with the sweet melon and mint, but rest assured, all those flavours balance beautifully together. It is, in fact, a deliciously refreshing salad that will complement just about any summer meal, especially a barbecue. And it's very easy to make — though be sure to follow the mixing instructions closely. If you over-toss this salad, it can lose much of its texture.

Watermelon, Mint & Feta Salad

Slice about ¼ of a small red onion as thin as you can with a sharp knife. In a small bowl, soak the slices in cold water for 10 minutes.

While the onions are soaking, cut the watermelon flesh into bite-sized cubes, slightly larger than a standard sugar cube. Place in a large bowl.

By hand, crumble the feta cheese into the watermelon bowl. Most of the pieces should be just slightly smaller than the watermelon cubes, but don't crumble them too small. Do not mix.

Use the flat side of a knife or your thumbs to crush the olives one at a time on a cutting board. Remove the pits by hand and rip each olive into two pieces. Place the olives in the watermelon bowl. Do not mix.

This refreshing salad will complement just about any summer meal. (Shaun Smith)Drain the onions and pat dry with a paper towel. Add to the watermelon bowl. Do not mix.

Chop the mint leaves very finely. Sprinkle into the watermelon bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the watermelon mixture and gently toss with a large spoon just until all the salad ingredients are coated with dressing. Do not over mix the salad, as the watermelon and feta are fragile. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with two or three sprigs of fresh mint.

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The trifle is an English dessert that has been around for centuries. (Sara Remington)

Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson's Summer Fruit Trifle

From Rustic Fruit Desserts, by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson (Ten Speed Press/Random House Canada)

Chef Cory Schreiber comes from a long line of Oregon restaurateurs. When he was just 11 years old he started working in his family's restaurant, Dan & Louis Oyster Bar — a Portland seafood landmark that opened in 1907. "I worked there for five years," he says by phone from Portland. "After that, I did my cooking apprenticeship in an old European-style hotel downtown here. Then I hit the road for 12 years and worked in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, and travelled in Europe. But eventually I wanted to come back here because I knew the product was here."

All that experience paid off in 1998, when Schreiber, who had opened a restaurant in Portland called Wildwood that specialized in using locally produced ingredients, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest. "To me, having grown up here, that sense of using local foods was just natural," says Schreiber, who now works for the Oregon Department of Agriculture running their "farm to schools" program.

When publisher Ten Speed Press asked Schreiber if he wanted to do a fruit dessert book, he jumped at the chance because he wanted to collaborate with fellow Oregonian, pastry chef Julie Richardson. "I've known Julie since her days selling at the farmers market, starting back in 1998, when she had just a small cart," Schreiber says. "I bought her pies and cakes and breads, it was so consistent and so nicely fruit focused. She made it quite clear that she is a fruit fanatic."

Cory Schreiber has worked in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Europe. Together, the duo turned to the wealth of fruit available in Oregon — all of which is also available across North America — to create a gorgeous little book filled with old-fashioned cobblers, pies, tarts, cakes, pandowdies, grunts and slumps.

"These are the kinds of desserts your grandma or Aunt Betty used to make," says Richardson, whose business has since blossomed into a thriving outlet called Baker & Spice with its own storefront and 18 employees. "They are very easy desserts and can be put together really fast with whatever good fruit is in season."

For its versatility, Schreiber and Richardson suggest trying the Summer Fruit Trifle from Rustic Fruit Desserts. It's a recipe you can play with, changing up the cake and other ingredients according to tastes. It also lets you take advantage of the best summer fruit available. "Some people use chiffon cake, or sponge cake or lady fingers," says Richardson.

"Some people put just whipped cream in theirs, or pastry cream. It really is about the fruit, though, about soaking cake with fruit juices and maybe a little booze to add some extra flavour."

Summer Fruit Trifle

The trifle is an English dessert that has been around for centuries. Along the way, bakers have formed definite opinions about what should and should not be in a trifle. Everyone agrees that a trifle should be composed of layers of cake, sweetened cream, and fruit-a heavenly trilogy by all counts.

The disagreement stems from what type of cake to use (chiffon, ladyfingers, or sponge?); what type of cream (Chantilly, custard, or pastry cream?) and what type of fruit (gooseberries, raspberries, or peaches?).

Do not even get them started about what kind of liquor to use. We have found that the only thing you need to keep consistent to make a delicious trifle is to use fruit at the peak of its season. What about everything else? Well, you will just have to experiment and join the controversy!

For the fruit, any summer fruit will do. Good choices include strawberries, red currants, peaches, plums, blueberries, blackberries, or cherries. The only frozen fruit that will work in this recipe is frozen raspberries. Regardless of what ingredients you select, use a deep glass bowl to show off the colors and textures of your layered trifle. You can also use individual glasses for a stunning presentation.

To make the pastry cream, put the vanilla bean seeds into a saucepan. Add the half-and-half and vanilla bean pod and cook over medium-low heat until hot but not boiling. Whisk the sugar and salt into the egg yolks in a large bowl and continue whisking until slightly thickened and lighter in color.

(Sara Remington) Add the cornstarch and whisk to combine. Pour one-third of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, stirring constantly until well blended. Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in the butter. Stir frequently to cool (too much stirring will thin out the consistency, so do not go overboard), then refrigerate for one hour, until chilled.

Cut the vanilla chiffon cake into three layers. Brush the liquor of your choice on one side of each layer. Place a layer of cake in the bottom of a serving bowl, trimming as needed so it will fit. Layer one-third of the fruit on top of the cake (saving the best third of the fruit for the top layer). Press the fruit slightly to release its juices into the cake. Spread half of the pastry cream on top of the fruit, then top with one-third of the Chantilly cream. Repeat the layering process: another layer of cake, another one-third of the fruit, the remaining pastry cream, and another one-third of the Chantilly cream. Top with the last layer of cake, then spread the remaining Chantilly cream over the cake and top with the remaining fruit.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one to four hours before serving. This time is important to allow the flavors to marry. Serve chilled, straight from the refrigerator.

Vanilla chiffon cake

Chiffon cake is light and lovely, whether served on its own, with fresh berries, or as the base of a trifle. The consistency of the beaten egg whites is crucial for optimum texture of the cake.

Baking time: 35 minutes Makes one 9-inch cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch by 2-inch round baking pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together two times in a bowl. Using a hand-held mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 3/4 cup sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy, then blend in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the water in two additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

In a separate, clean bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1/3 cup sugar in a steady stream and beat on medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and shiny peaks. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold one-third of the whites into the batter to loosen its consistency, then fold in the remaining whites just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes, or until the cake pulls slightly away from the sides of the pan and becomes firm on top. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan.

Chantilly cream

Chantilly cream (or crème Chantilly) was made popular by François Vatel, maître d'hotel at the Château du Chantilly in the 17th century. Although the name sounds fancy, it is nothing more than sweetened whipped cream. We sweeten ours with sugar and add vanilla. One popular variation also includes brandy. The cream will double in volume when whipped. If possible, do not use ultra-pasteurized heavy cream, as it lacks flavor.

Chill a metal bowl and a whisk. Pour the cream into the bowl and whip with the whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue whipping the cream until it hangs but does not fall from the whisk. Alternatively, if you are using an electric mixer, start whipping the cream on low speed, then gradually increase the speed until the mixer is on medium speed. (We prefer to whip cream by hand, because you have much more control over the process.)

From: Rustic Fruit Desserts, by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. Copyright ©2009 Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. Photos ©2009 Sara Remington. Reprinted by permission of 10 Speed Press. All rights reserved.

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Amy Goldman's Colorful Gazpacho

From The Heirloom Tomato, by Amy Goldman (Bloomsbury)

(Bloomsbury) Gardening guru Amy Goldman lives in New York's Hudson Valley, but I caught up with her by phone in Iowa, where she was attending the Seed Savers Exchange annual convention. "Seed Savers Exchange is the premier non-profit seed-saving group in the USA," she says. "We have 11,000 members, and our mission is to collect, conserve and share heirloom seeds and plants."

Amongst other crops, Seed Savers has 5,979 heirloom tomatoes in their collection. For her new book, The Heirloom Tomato, Goldman tasted over a thousand varieties of such tomatoes to choose 200 of the very best. Part monograph, part cookbook, this splendid volume presents many unusual and important heirlooms exquisitely photographed by Victor Schrager. It also provides detailed provenances and vital statistics for all 200 varieties, as well as 50 pages of recipes.

So, what is an heirloom tomato?

"There are a lot of different definitions," says Goldman, "but here's mine: an heirloom tomato is a tomato of value that breeds true from seed and thus can be handed down to the next generation. Many of them are oldies but goodies, and some are of more recent vintage, but all are worth keeping. By contrast, modern industrial tomatoes don't come true from seed. They don't produce offspring like their parents.

"People think that the heirloom tomato is only for foodies," she continues. "That's just not so. The heirloom tomato is the people's tomato, for the home gardener. They are designed to be staked and caged and lovingly tended.

"The industrial tomato is designed to be of short stature, grown in high plant densities and harvested mechanically. They are generally picked unripe. Flavour is the last thing such producers are interested in.

Amy Goldman tasted over 1,000 varieties of heirloom tomatoes for her new book. (Bloomsbury)"Modern industrial tomatoes, called F1 hybrids, are the result of a cross of two highly inbred parent lines. The seeds, if you save them to grow the next year, they won't produce the same tomato. They will revert to one or other of the parents, or they'd even be more variable. Heirloom tomatoes are real tomatoes because they breed true."

And is a tomato a fruit?

"Yes," Goldman states, "it is the fertilized ovary that makes it a fruit. But I like to call them a fruit-vegetable. Botanically it is a fruit, but it is used as a vegetable. Squash, pumpkins, melons, peppers, eggplants are all fruit — anything that has a fruiting body."

To develop the recipes in The Heirloom Tomato, Goldman teamed up with Eve Felder, associate dean for culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America. For the beautiful tricoloured gazpacho below, Goldman suggests … well, she suggests growing your own heirloom tomatoes actually, but for those of us who've missed the boat this year, she recommends keeping away from the sort of tomatoes you find at big, chain grocery stores and heading to a farmer's market or a really good organic green grocer. It doesn't matter so much which varieties of heirlooms you use, just get three different colours, and whatever you do, she insists, make sure they are good and ripe. "You want something really luscious and juicy!" she laughs.

Colorful Gazpacho

Makes 12 portions

Gazpacho is even more delightful when tricoloured with green, red, and yellow tomatoes. Serve the soup in glass goblets and allow guests to choose from an array of garnishes on the banquet table. Place a pitcher of olive oil on the table to accentuate the positives.

1. Make the gazpacho: coarsely chop the tomatoes, one color at a time; keep separated in three bowls. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, three of the basil leaves, and one teaspoon of the chopped garlic to each bowl. Let sit for two hours.

2. In the meantime, prepare the garnishes and place each in a separate smaller bowl. Combine the bell and jalapeño peppers; season with salt and set aside. Cover each garnish with plastic wrap and refrigerate if preparing in advance.

3. Remove the basil leaves from the bowls of tomatoes. Starting with the yellow and orange tomatoes, pass the macerated mixture through a food mill to purée. Do the same for the green and red tomatoes. Rinse the food mill when changing colors. Keep the three colors in separate bowls. Taste, add black pepper, and adjust the salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. You will need some assistance to serve this soup, so ask a friend to lend a hand. (Only one hand will be needed.) Fill three two-ounce ladles or glass measuring cups with the tomato purées; on the count of three, acting in concert, slowly add all three purées to the soup plate. Repeat with the other plates.

5. Place a teaspoon or so of each garnish over the soup or allow guests to serve themselves.

From: The Heirloom Tomato, by Amy Goldman. Copyright ©2009 Amy Goldman. Photos ©2009 Victor Schrager and Amy Goldman. Reprinted by permission of Bloomsbury USA. All rights reserved.

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Mary Anne Dragan's Plum Butter

(Whitecap Books) From: Well Preserved, by Mary Anne Dragan (Whitecap Books)

Mary Anne Dragan remembers preserving as being a big part of her summers growing up. "My mother would pickle all kinds of things," she says. "There were five children in my family, so she also used to make jam to satisfy the sweet tooth. In the summertime in Nova Scotia we'd go out as a family and pick our own fruit, strawberries and raspberries, and then come home and make our own jam the next day. Kids enjoy that kind of thing."

In her book Well Preserved, Dragan offers dozens of recipes for making delicious and tempting preserves, including everything from kiwi lime jam to cranberry ketchup to pickled cherries with tarragon. She says there has been a recent return to preserving driven both by health concerns and the recession.

"People like to know exactly what they are eating," says Dragan, who these days manages Vancouver's Shore Club restaurant. "If you make strawberry jam, you can pick your own strawberries in your garden, get some sugar and some lemon juice, cook it up and put it in a jar, and you know that's all that's in there.

(Whitecap Books) "It doesn't have any chemicals or preservatives. Also, you can experience different flavour combinations that you might not be able to find in store-bought preserves. It is definitely cheaper. You can spend $8 or $9 for a jar in a store, but you can make that same preserve for a dollar."

While her book offers expert instructions for every stage of the preserving process, Dragan says that any box of preserving jars will also come with instructions, and she recommends following the manufacturer's directions closely.

"The sterilization of the jars and the boiling water bath that you give your jars at the end is important," she says. "It ensures that any enzymes or micro-organisms that might be present are all killed."

Summer is the best time for preserving, when fresh fruit is at its best. Dragan suggests trying her recipe for Plum Butter — a treat you'll be thankful for when the colder months arrive. "A fruit butter is a cooked down, very much reduced puree of fresh fruit," she says. "It has less sugar in it than a jam, because the thickness is developed by the long cooking process. They're an old-fashioned sort of preserve. They are called butters because of their consistency, which is spreadable like butter."

Plum Butter

Makes five to six 8 oz (250 mL) jars

Serve this mellow, richly flavored butter with roast pork or turkey, or as a spread on fruit or nut quick breads.

Combine the plums and water in your preserving pot. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the plums are tender. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat. Pass the mixture through a sieve or food mill (or if you don't mind the barely discernible bits of skin, purée in a food processor).

Prepare the preserving jars [according to the manufacturer's instructions].

Return the purée to the preserving pot. Stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the mixture is somewhat thickened. Stir in the spices during the last 10 to 15 minutes of the cooking time. Test for doneness, if desired.

Remove from the heat. Spoon the butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving a 1/4 inch (6 mm) head space. Release the air bubbles. Wipe the rims clean. Seal according to manufacturer's directions. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

From: Well Preserved, by Mary Anne Dragan. Copyright ©2009 Mary Anne Dragan. Reprinted by permission of Whitecap Books. All rights reserved.