You Say Apricot, We Say Apercot

It wasn't until I was well into my twenties did I realize that the fuzzball of a fruit I so much detested wasn't called an aPERcot, after all. Nope. This not-as-pretty-as-a-peach-fuzzball was actually an aPRIcot. Now. This sluggish version of the word seemed to be well-entrenched in my home-town's dialect. Hardly a summer would go by that you wouldn't hear something like, "Yep, we put up darn-near 5 bushels of aPERcots this year. We can have canned aPERcots pert'neer every day come spring." This from a town that has "coulees" instead of canals and "barrow-pits" instead of roadside-medians. Huh. The things you learn when you move away.

Anyway back to aPRIcots. Because. I know a bunch of you out there just love'em! And why not. This fleshy stone fruit is loaded with vitamins A and C, provides a good source of potassium, and adds iron, calcium, phosphorus and fiber to your diet! No surprise here; aPRIcots are low in fat, calories and sodium.

Grilled Fresh Apricots & Lavender

woody lavender branches
fresh apricots, pitted and halved
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon lavender buds

Remove and reserve about half of the buds from the lower portion of 6-inch woody lavender branches. Thread halved, pitted apricots onto branches.

In a saucepan combine honey, butter, and lavender buds. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pour mixture through a sieve to remove lavender buds. Brush mixture onto apricots.

Grill on a greased grill rack directly over medium-hot coals for 1 minute on each side.

And for the more ambitious aPRIcot aficionados...


California Apricot Pecan Waffles

1 pound fresh apricots, diced

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg yolk

3 large egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until firm peaks form and egg whites are shiny. Set aside.

Whisk together buttermilk, egg yolk, vanilla and oil. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in apricots and pecans. Stir 1/4 of egg whites into waffle batter; fold in remaining whites. Measure 2/3 cup batter for each waffle.

Cook about 4 minutes per waffle. Serve with butter and warm maple or berry syrups. Or try whipped cream or ice cream for a yummy dessert.


Now. As to why I "detest" these seemingly delicious baby-fuzz-fruits-of-summer. It's not so much the taste I dislike - as it is with the childhood chore attached to them. You know - those chores meant to keep busy minds busy and tired. So. My assigned chore was to pick up the aPERcots that fell from the hundreds of aPERcot trees in our yard. Well. It seemed like hundreds. Could have been just two or three. Anyway. By the time I'd get done making dandelion soup and stacks of bakery mud pies, these blue-green and fuzzier than ever aPERcots started to become one with the earth. Apparently, it wasn't enough to let nature finish taking its course. So stick in hand, there I'd go, out to conquer the fallen and decaying enemy of my childhood - the aPERcot. Then careful, ever so careful, "please god don't let it fall off the stick" I'd transport my stick-stabbed victim to the nearest trash bag. Or hurl it over the fence. Whichever came first.

Grilled Apricot recipe and photo image courtesy of BHG.com. Apricot Pecan Waffle recipe and photo image provided by The California Fresh Apricot Council.