CHECK OUT : NEWS AND TIPS CONTEST ALERT.

Byline: - Daily News Staff and Wire Services

The Northwest Cherry Growers are looking for the top sweet and savory cherry recipes. First prize in each category (sweet and savory) is $750, and second and third place winners will receive merchandise of choice from the Northwest Cherry Growers retail store. All entries will be judged on originality, appearance and taste. Sweet cherries must be a primary ingredient in all submitted recipes, written to serve six. Each recipe typed or legibly written, must be accompanied by an entry form, which is available on the Internet at www.nwcherries.com or by mail or fax from Contest, Northwest Cherry Growers, 105 S. 18th St., Suite 205, Yakima, Wash. 98901; [phone]. Contest entries must be postmarked by Aug. 15.

Freebie leaflet

Looking for some delicious ways to use blueberries? Several are offered in ``Blueberry Recipes Worth Celebrating,'' including All-American No-Bake Blueberry Pie, Best Blueberry Muffins and All Fired Up Blueberry Chutney. For a free copy, send a stamped self-addressed business envelope to Celebrate Blueberries, North American Blueberry Council, 4995 Golden Foothill Parkway, Suite 2, El Dorado Hills, Calif. 95762.

Cookbook pick

``You Say Tomato'' by Joanne Weir (Broadway; $15 paperback) has an eye-grabbing cover. But do the contents inside the cover measure up? Happily, yes, they do. How can you not like a book that opens with Pablo Neruda's ``Ode to Tomatoes''? (``The street filled with tomatoes, midday, summer, light is halved like a tomato, its juice runs through the streets. ...'')

There is plenty of trivia and history, and for pure cooks, San Francisco-based chef and culinary instructor Weir covers techniques from peeling to sun-drying, including how to make tomato dust from tomato skins. The various recipes sound delicious, from a Thai Shrimp Soup to tomato-y Barbecue Sauce. It even has a few desserts, including Tomato Sorbet and Love-Apple Chocolate Cake.

Home on the range

Bye, bye, Miss American pie. According to a Miller Lite survey, the smoky aroma of a barbecue is the smell that best defines America. Behind barbecue, which was chosen by 39 percent of those surveyed, the scents of apple pie (31 percent) and the ocean (12 percent) ranked second and third as trademark American aromas.

Big snack attack

When the subject is meals, you probably think it means breakfast, lunch and dinner. No longer: The after-school snack has become the ``fourth meal,'' with many teen-agers spending $1.25 a day for something to tide them over from lunch to dinner, according to the Channel One Network's 1998 Teen Eating Study.

Just like homemade

Fresh mayonnaise by Delouis Fils is imported from France and is now available at Trader Joe's. It tastes like homemade and has a rich, tangy flavor. The all-natural mayonnaise contains no preservatives or artificial flavors - or sugar, for that matter. Ingredients include sunflower oil, Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. It has a five-month shelf life under refrigeration - and once opened, lasts one month in the refrigerator. The product was named Outstanding New Product at the recent Fancy Food Show in New York. A 12-ounce container costs $2.49.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) no caption (Book cover - You Say Tomato)

(2--Color) no caption (Fresh MAYONNAISE)