Instructions: Place the olives in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Add to the jar shallots, garlic, a handful of fresh or dried herbs, chopped or left whole, lemon juice, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of Tabasco or shakes of hot pepper flakes.

Pour olive oil to cover the olives and herbs and seal the lid. Shake a couple of times to mix all ingredients well. Leave these olives to plump in the oil and absorb the perfume of the herbs. As you use them replenish the stock with more olives in the same oil mixture until it at last seems too tired to do the job. The herb-scented oil is then perfect for brushing on grilled foods as they finish or in other cooking.

NOTES : I put a cupful of these shiny, plump black berrries in a hand blown glass bowl andset it next to the apertif tray. Whoosh, they

start to disappear...

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