Instructions: It usually starts with the pedestrian but quite serviceable canned black olives that toddlers - and perhaps even this adult when no one is looking - delight in shoving on their fingers and delicately nibbling off.

From my own fingertip munchies grew a love affair with olives, their oils and anything that can be made with either, from tangy Kalamata tapenade spread to Spanish olives stuffed with almonds to crisp crostini bathed in the golden, peppery oil.

Olives are an easy way to add bold flavors (and a bit of good fat) to vegetarian dishes. The oil adds a savory touch to soups and spreads, while the fruits add a meatiness to pasta and rice dishes.

numerous varieties of olives and their oils - "Olives: Cooking with Olives and Their Oils" (Ten Speed Press, 2002, $17.95). Rogers lusciously illustrated book is like a well-balanced meal. It offers just the right amount of history and tips for selecting, cooking, storing and pitting, before moving on to the main course - 50 recipes for everything olive.

Among his suggestions:
Because all olives are cured with some amount of salt, be sure to taste before adding additional salt to a dish. Particularly salty olives can be toned down by simmering in water for 10 minutes, or rinsing before using.

Olives should always be kept moist, either in the brine they were packed in, plain water or drizzled with olive oil. They can be kept at a cool room temperature for two weeks in olive oil, but should be refrigerated for longer storage.

Olives that come in brine should be rinsed before eating or cooking.

There is no one method of pitting. For olives about the size of cherries, such as Kalamata, a metal cherry pitter works best. For other sizes, try cutting them around the center and pulling apart the sides, or smashing them like garlic.

Avoid buying olive oil in plastic containers, because the oil can absorb some of the compounds in the plastic and develop an off taste.

Olive oil can be stored up to two years in a cool cupboard away from light and heat.

Because olive oil has a low smoke point and its flavors break down at temperatures above 140 degrees, expensive oils are wasted in frying and baking.

Keep those for drizzling over salads and bread, and buy cheaper oil for cooking.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.