Monday, August 2, 2010

Brought to You By the Color Orange

Last weekend had a definite orange tint. Mom and Dad arrived from Denver after a short stop on the Western Slope to visit my aunt in Grand Junction. While they were there Mom and Aunt picked 75 pounds of apricots for free! We've were very busy and I finally have time to add the pictures.

The preserving family
Q said it reminds him of an AT&T commercial - "more bars in more places"
Marketing is very effective apparently.

We haven't weighed the dried apricots yet. They're still in the "conditioning" process, which is why the jars are only partially full. We soaked them in a honey syrup solution (2c water, 1c sugar, 1c honey) before putting them on the dryer. They really turned out excellent that way. Usually my dried apricots have been too tart.

There was a lot of apricot puree made too - 11 pints and 7 quarts. It turns out that the puree is an excellent substitute for the apple sauce in my favorite breakfast cookies. (Note: I add 1/2 c of whole wheat flour and have replaced the raisins with dried cherries and the walnuts are also replaceable with almond slices.)

A breakfast of apricot crisp and a gallon of frozen halves rounded out the bounty.



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