Last week we were buried in more apricots from my mom's tree. Remember the first batch?
This one little tree puts out so much sweet fruit, I couldn't stand to see it go to waste or to the squirrels. So once again, we were up on ladders filling every box we had with ripe fruit. We picked about forty-five pounds, and there was still a ton of fruit ripening on the tree!
In addition to the apricot tree, my mom also has a white nectarine, Santa Barbara plum and lemon trees. The apricot and lemon trees have been there since my childhood, which seems like forever, and the nectarine and plum trees are somewhat newer, their fruit wasn't as abundant, but it was SWEET and YUMMY!
The lemon tree puts out these freaky alien like lemons every so often. Here is the biggest alien lemon to date. Doc called it the eternal lemon because we used it for an entire week.
With all these apricots, I had a lot of canning to do. I canned a batch every morning before work and every evening after work for a week. Having all the ingredients and equipment strewn all over the kitchen made Doc super twitchy as he's borderline maniacal about a tidy and clean kitchen, but he was supportive and helpful. D also pitched in by picking and weighing the apricots.
In the end, we canned almost 7 dozen jars! I barely had enough energy, or rather enthusiasm, to crank out some labels.
The final product in all it's glory…
Some of you will be getting a few jars in the mail, so keep your eyes open!
One last thing…I did save a few apricots to make some rustic tarts. These are so easy to make, especially if you make the pate brisee the day before you intend to use it. The added cornmeal to the crust add to the rustic quality.
Thanks for checking in!
F&N
Crafty Things, 
