In Santa Barbara, grey and socked in by fog most of this summer, the sun shines generously today. What a delight to awaken to a clear blue sky and start the day at the pool. A swim, a soak in the bubbling jacuzzi, and then a drenching sweat in the steam room. I feel so lucky that I can do this for about two summer months. I haven't thought much about teaching and the state of education ever since I said goodbye to my third graders on June 3. Mainly because I immediately got on a plane and did New York. The city in early summer was at its best - perfect temperatures and full of energy. It instantly cleansed my mind of the rather challenging year I had just completed.
Last school year I was so unhappy with all the pressures we teachers had to deal with that I seriously wondered if I wanted to continue in this profession. I had sweet students and I miss them. If I had the freedom to be creative and to spend more time engaging the kids in learning rather than in testing, testing, testing, draining their creativity, it would have been an altogether different experience. I am so tired of the obsession with test scores and the pressure to teach to the tests. It's agony.
Anyway, it's summer vacation, and I love having all this free time. The school year had been so intense and I felt like I was constantly on the go. And now I just want to do fun stuff.
One fun thing Daryl and I did last week was the Music Academy of the West's Friday picnic concert. We met up with our friends, Stephen and Jaqueline Simons. I made calzones and a salad. They brought a superb smooth red wine and apricot tart, or rather tarte aux abricot (Jacqueline is French). The gardens around Hahn Hall in Montecito are gorgeous - a perfect setting for our feast. When I told the Simons Apricot Tart was my favorite dessert they invited me to raid their bountiful apricot tree the next day.
After our dinner we were treated to another feast. A delightful selection of pieces - Chopin and Liszt - by very talented young people made for a perfect evening.
The next day I went to the Simons' place and picked apricots. Back home I got to work making tarts. Here is my recipe, which I guarantee, you'll love.
You'll need about 4 cups of apricots, shortcrust pastry, frangipane, and a glaze made from peach preserve.
First you make a shortcrust pastry. Rub a stick of butter into 1 1/2 cups flour and a pinch of salt. When you have something that looks like breadcrumbs add a little water and make into a soft dough.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Next make the frangipane. Blend a cup of almonds, an egg, 4 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar. You will end up with a paste that looks like marzipan.
Stone and slice the apricots. Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour and toss.
Divide the dough in half, and roll out two circles for the crust. Place each crust on a greased pie pan. Bake blind for 10 minutes in preheated oven (425 degrees).
When dough comes out, let if cool. Lower oven temp to 350 degrees. Spread frangipane over crusts. Arrange apricot slices over this. Bake for about 25 minutes.
The last thing to do is make a glaze by heating preserve. When tarts are out of oven, pour glaze over the apricots.
Serve at room temperature or cold.
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