We proclaim 2009 the year of apricots. The harvest continues without pause. Everyday we fill the counter with apricots that we eat, freeze, can, dehydrate, bake into breads, muffins, cobblers, cakes, add to salads... If there is a way to prepare apricots, we will try it. We have given away almost as many as we have eaten. Curiously, when we offer apricots to people we know, about a third accepts them with eagerness, a third rejects them with a sour face, and a third have never tried them before. Apricots are my favorite fruit, so I never would have guessed that such strong feelings against apricots exist. Either you love them or hate them, it seems. As much as I love them, I fear that even I will discover my limit of apricots. For now, I look forward to apricots for breakfast everyday for this entire year, as they continue to fill my freezer and pantry.
I read an article today in the Dining section of the New York Times about currants and how unknown they are in the United States. A small market has started for them in just a few states where they are now permitted to grow. They were banned for many years because they harbored a parasite that killed pine trees. We have grown red and black currants in our backyard for years adjacent to an evergreen without any issues. The currants have been consistent performers in our garden, producing abundantly each summer regardless of drought or flood, or of bitterly cold or mild winters. We make jellies and sorbets from them. Red currants used to be used in bakery's fingerprint cookies: red currant jam made the red center of the cookie. The bushes are easy to grow, maintenance-free, and very easy to harvest. So no reason to avoid growing currants anywhere they are permitted to grow.
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