During our visit to Greece, I am stuffing myself daily with as many fresh apricots plucked from the trees as I can.
It has been 3 years since we have been to Corfu, Greece where my father-in-law was born and raised. My in-laws have retired to their island home. With our kids now 3 and 6 years old, the long voyage seemed manageable again so we traveled to Greece for a family vacation. The sights, flavors and smells are so different and such a welcome reprieve from our everyday. Our girls have quickly become accustomed to village life, running around in their tank tops, playing with their cousins who live a stone’s throw away and plucking fresh vegetables and fruits from the garden as daily snacks.
Last time we were here in July and the nectarine tree ripened offering us dozens of the best stone fruits I’d ever had. In past years, we have enjoyed figs and kumquats. This year, we are treated to two mature trees full of apricots. As we walked around the winding streets of our village, Alepou, I saw dozens of overly ripe apricots littering the way. What horror for a Chicagoan to see perfect stone fruit wasting from the trees – I vowed to not let a single apricot from our yard go uneaten!
The first days that a handful of the fruits ripened, we plucked them from the trees and gobbled them down excitedly. They are more full of flavor than any I have tasted. Heavenly. As the days went on, the majority of the fruits ripened quickly and I began to feel panicky about how we could possibly eat them all in time!
I began scheming a variety of ways to ensure the apricots found their ways into our diet. Like Bubba Gump, I lay awake at night … apricot bread, apricot ice cream, apricot cake, apricot jam, apricot tarts….
For breakfast, I made the kids the little apricot “boats” (pictured above) by scooping a dollop of Greek yogurt in the pit divot, sprinkling granola atop and drizzling them with honey. We picked them up and ate them with our hands. My daughter said it felt a little like “ants on the log” but with fruit and yogurt.
Finally, I gave in and accepted that when you live in a warm paradise, things grow almost like in fairytales and you just can’t keep up with your consumption. We are planning for one more big apricot harvest and some serious jam making before we accept the final fate of some fallen apricots.
Apricots with Greek Yogurt, Granola and Honey
Fresh Apricots
Greek Yogurt
Granola
Honey (optional, if the apricots are really sweet, you might not want it)
Wash fresh apricots, slice them in half and remove the pit. Put a dollop of Greek yogurt in each. Top with granola and a drizzle of honey.
