On Growing Up

Centered on the lawn between the maple that no one could climb regardless of effort expended and the honey suckle covered fence that gave every kid in the neighborhood devil splinters at least once, stood a short little apricot tree.

It had only one perfect branch so we took turns: two in the grass, one perched in the childish seat.

The latter designated the picker, dedicated to eyeing each fruit, squeezing it between index and thumb in search of the perfect ripeness, as breeze played through their grubby little hands under sun filtered through the greenest leaves.

Although these California gems set a standard hard to beat, apricots are to this day one of my standard treats, stuffed into cookies, smeared as jam onto peanut butter toast, or tossed into a salad like this.

Stone Salad

Inspired by last years version

Ingredients

• 1/2 c wheatberries
• 1/2 c edamame
• 1/4 c fresh mint, finely chopped
• 2 T oil
• 2 T vinegar
• Salt, as desired
• Pepper, as desired
• 2-3 c kale, washed and chopped
• 2 apricots, sliced
• 2 radish, slivered
• Almonds, chopped
• Feta, crumbled

Combine

1. Add the wheatberries to a small pot, cover with 1-2 inches of water and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to medium and cover the pot.  Cook for another 30 minutes until the wheatberries are translucent (adding more water if necessary) then add the edamame on top, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes until the edamame is steamed through.
3. Drain and excess water from the pot.
4. Toss the mint, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in large bowl.  Add the kale and gently toss until the leaves are well covered.
5. Gently toss in the wheatberry-edamame mixture, top with apricots, radish, almonds, and feta.
6. Enjoy!