If you're a farmers market fanatic you may find yourself referring to the seasons in terms of when your favorite fruits and vegetables are at their peak. We enjoy citrus season, sweet pea season, pumpkin season and, perhaps the sweetest season of all, stone fruit season. It is but once a year that we get to enjoy fresh juicy peaches, plums, plouts, apricots and nectarines plucked right off the tree, so I suggest that you make the most of summer and throw yourself wholeheartedly into this delicious season. There is no love affair sweeter than indulging in the soft fuzzy skins and juicy flesh of freshly picked peaches and apricots. And if you haven't yet been seduced by a vanilla scented apricot garnished with lavender, then perhaps you haven't experienced the most elegant side of this precious little fruit. It's a simple summer pleasure you won't soon forget.
From the kitchen: Roasting pan (optional), parchment paper and/or aluminum foil
Ingredients
4 ripe apricots
1 vanilla bean, sliced in half lengthwise
4 tsp water
Fresh lavender springs or edible flowers for garnish
Preheat oven to 400º. Place two apricots on a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Add 2 teaspoons of water and one half of a vanilla bean to the package and close it off by folding the top edges together and then gently folding each side to prevent any juice from leaking out. Prepare a second package with two apricots in the same way. If desired place the packages in a roasting pan or on a cookie sheet to catch any leaking juices. Roast at 400º for approximately 20 minutes or until apricots are soft. Remove the apricots from the oven, open up the packages and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a plate and garnishing with lavender or edible flowers. The apricots' natural juices will create a light syrup on the plate, perfect for holding little lavender flowers in place. Serve warm on its own or with your favorite organic vanilla bean ice cream.
And there is even more to love:
Apricots are beautifully orange colored fruits full of beta-carotene and fiber that are one of the first signs of summer. Fresh apricots offer up a plentiful supply of vitamin C and are in season in North America from May through August. Any fresh fruit you see during the winter months have been imported from either South America or New Zealand.
Nutrients in apricots can help protect the heart and eyes, as well as provide the disease-fighting effects of fiber. The high beta-carotene and lycopene activity of apricots makes them important heart health foods. Both beta-carotene and lycopene protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation, which may help prevent heart disease. For the most antioxidants, choose fully ripened fruit–research conducted at the University of Innsbruck in Austria suggests that as fruits fully ripen their antioxidant levels actually increase.
Apricots contain nutrients such as vitamin A that promote good vision. Vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant, quenches free radical damage to cells and tissues. Free radical damage can injure the eyes' lenses.
Apricots are also a good source of fiber, which has a wealth of benefits including preventing constipation and digestive conditions such as diverticulosis. But most Americans get less than 10 grams of fiber per day. A healthy, whole foods diet should include apricots as a delicious way to add to your fiber intake.
How to select the perfect apricot:
Apricot season in the U.S. runs from May through August. In the winter, apricots are imported from South America. Look for fruits with a rich orange color while avoiding those that are pale and yellow. Fruits should be slightly soft. If they are too firm they have not been tree-ripened, and tree-ripened fruits always taste best.
For more nutritional information on apricots please visit
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=3
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