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We Bid Adieu to Summer

My mother always wanted to live in San Diego, but she only got as far as Troy, New York.

She was born in the beginning of the 20th century, died at the beginning of the 21st century, and was buried in an ecumenical cemetery not more than 20 blocks or so from where she lived her whole life. San Diego, she said, correctly, was the perfect climate: fairly sunny, warm in the day time and cooler at night. No snow ever.

As for me? Almost any season is okay with me. I like the autumn smell of wood smoke in the air, and, in winter, curling up with two cats as I read long, meandering novels. Spring never seems to linger too long and, now, we bid adieu to summer.

No matter the season, I love to cook.

I am still having such fun with all the summer vegetables. I eat two or three tomatoes a day. I am grilling zucchini and summer squash outside or sautéing them with a little butter and garlic and salt on the cooktop in the kitchen. Last night I roasted a spaghetti squash, then tossed the innards with chopped tomatoes, basil, and a little butter. Today I will make a frittata with sweet peppers for a 9:30 a.m. meeting at my house. Next weekend I will make a little dessert with fresh peaches and almonds. The recipe here calls for apricots, but any stone fruit will do.

Apricot and Almond Galette

From Bon Appetit, June, 2017

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

½ cup blanched almonds

⅓ cup sugar, for more for sprinkling

1 large egg

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon almond extract

(optional, but I do love almond extract)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (plus more for surface)

1 package frozen puff pastry, preferably all-butter, thawed

12 apricots (about 1 ¼ pound), halved and pitted

(or other stone fruit, quartered if large).

Directions:

Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Pulse almonds and ⅓ cup sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Add egg and pulse to combine. Add butter, almond extract (if using), vanilla extract, salt, and 1 tablespoon flour; pulse until almond cream is smooth.

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface just enough to smooth out any creases.

If you are using a package of pastry that has 2 sheets, stack and roll out to a ¼- to ⅓-inch thick rectangle.

If your package contains a single 16-inch to 10-inch sheet of puff pastry, halve it crosswise and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface until rectangle is ¼- to ⅓-inch thick, saving remaining half for another use. Transfer to a parchment-lined (or Silpat-lined) baking sheet. Fold over edges of pastry to make a one-half inch border around sides. Prick surface all over with a fork (this keeps the pastry from rising too much when baked and helps it cook through. Spread almond cream over pastry, staying inside borders. (Chill dough in the freezer for a few minutes if it becomes too soft to work with.) Set apricots, cut sides up, on top of the cream. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake until pastry is golden brown and puffed, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue to bake until pastry is deep golden brown and cooked through and apricots are softened and browned in spots, 15 to 20 minutes longer.