Q: What's a quick dessert from fresh summer fruits?

A: I love to eat a big bowl of sliced berries in summer. I always just toss them in sugar and let them sit for a little while. If they're not super-sweet berries, that will make them sweeter and also draw out their juices. Then you can lace them with kirsch and add peaches or melon--or white nectarines, which are wonderful now. Then serve them with vanilla ice cream or a sorbet.

Another good dessert for fresh summer fruits is if you make a vanilla syrup out of sugar and water and a split vanilla bean. Bring that to a boil, and right away pour it over sliced plums and raspberries or strawberries and let it sit. That makes a compote you can serve with ginger cake or gingersnaps. I like the flavor of ginger and plums together, and the longer it sits the better it gets. If you make it a day or two in advance and refrigerate it, the fruit will release a lot of pectin and it will make the compote a little thicker.
- David Lebovitz, author of Room for Dessert (HarperCollins, 1999)