Broiled Apricots

It's not yet 12:00 PM Noon here and the temperature is already way past sweltering. Thanks to the magical modern technology of meteorologists, I knew this weekend was going to be blanketed in blistering heat. I canceled bike rides, I've put off doing errands, and I haven't yet ventured walking the five feet to the apartment pool because I'm afraid that the moment I set foot outside the door I'll melt right down into the pavement.

So what do I do? I crank the oven as high as it'll go and make broiled apricots, that's what I do. I think the heat has officially affected my judgement. I read something once that said if you drink hot tea on a warm day it cools you off. Well, that's not true. It's also not true that turning on the oven on a hot day cools down a small apartment.

Yet, I am really glad I made these. I love apricots, but it seems that every time I buy them in the store they are lacking one rather important quality: taste. They look perfect, they feel perfect, they taste like nothing. I'm  not the only one who thinks this, either. Last week a really nice cashier at Trader Joe's vented to me about this very topic. She suggested I try angelcots. I will, and I will also suggest to her this recipe, which really brings out the flavor of apricots and takes virtually no time to make. I just suggest you have someone willing to spray you down with water as you're in the kitchen making them on hot days. Or, I suppose you could just wait until the weather isn't in the triple digits. That's an option, too.

Broiled Apricots

From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

8 apricots (around 1 lb), halved and pitted

4 tsp light-brown sugar  

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Heat broiler to high, with rack set 4-inches from heat. Place apricots, cut side up, on a rimmed baking dish. Put a little piece of butter on each apricot half. Mix together brown sugar and cardamom and then sprinkle evenly over apricots. Broil until apricots just begin to char, 2 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes:

You can eat these just about any way imaginable: with whipped cream, with ice cream, with pancakes, alone. I have some in the fridge now, which we'll be feasting on cold later today.