More of the Summer's Bounty

After processing the massive amount of apricots that I got from my neighbor's tree, my attention turned to the other summer produce--white peaches.

They were being sold for $0.50 a pound at Sprouts (one of my fav grocery stores) which was a great deal.  The growing/harvest season for white peaches are apparently pretty narrow compared to yellow peaches, so I couldn't resist buying some after seeing these guys on sale.

I bought just 2 pounds--we were running out of room in our freezer, so I didn't want a whole lot of fruit that I had to process.  At home, I halved and pitted them, then poached them in sugar syrup with Amaretto til they were just tender.  Poaching preserves them and enhances their flavor.

Now what to do with these (other than eating them straight out of the jar)?  Probably a dessert that will highlight the white peach's rather delicate flavor.  A pie or a tart would be perfect for that!
I decided to make a frangipane tart;  there is a 1-lb slab of almond paste sitting in my freezer that I've been wanting to use for something, but haven't had the chance to.

After making a tart dough and lining tartlet pans with it, I let it chill in the fridge while I prepped the frangipane.  It sounds like a fancy French word, but it's super simple to make:

Almond Paste	8 oz
Sugar	1 oz
Butter, softened	3.5 oz
Eggs	2
Vanilla extract	½ tablespoon
Flour	0.75 oz

1.  In a bowl of a stand mixer (hand held mixer will work also) blend almond paste with the sugar on low speed til creamy.

2.  Gradually add the softened butter in small amounts at a time, to prevent lumps.

3.  Add eggs one at a time, and mix on medium speed til fluffy.

4.  Mix in the vanilla and the flour.

It should have the consistency of a very smooth, soft pudding.

I piped an even layer of the frangipane into the tart shells.  After cutting up the fruit--they can be cut any way as desired--I laid them carefully on the frangipane.

The fruits don't need to be pushed in.  The filling will puff up around them, making them sink a bit.
Bake them at 375F for about 20~25 minutes...

...until they are a lovely golden hue.  Once cooled, they were brushed with a bit of the apricot syrup to keep them moist, and also shine and color.

A simple dusting of powder sugar gives them an elegant look.  The fruity tang of the apricot and the peaches are enhanced with the creamy, almond-y frangipane, which matches beautifully with the buttery tart crust.

Summer's Bounty

Geez, I can't believe summer is half over.  Heck, the year is half over!

I must say that this is my favorite season;  I love the variety and the abundance of fresh produce, the hallmark of summer.

The abundance and availability of crops differ each year.  For example, corn may be plentiful in one year and be scarce (i.e. due to a drought) the next.  This summer, it was apparently a superb year for the apricot crop.

Now, for the past several years, I remember the apricot tree in my parent's yard producing only a mere handful--if even that--of fruit every year.  It would flower magnificently, its robust blossoms turning the branches into white pom pom chains. But alas, right after the bloom, something would always happen to thwart the pretty flowers from ever developing into golden fruits.  Sometimes it would be a violent wind storm that stripped the flowers off the branches before the bees got the chance to pollinate them.  Sometimes it would be an unexpected blizzard that froze the delicate blooms off.  And other times, the blossoms would develop into fruits, but again, a strong wind or a hail storm caused many of them to drop before they're ripe, littering the ground.

But this year, the apricot tree everywhere has succeeded in producing a good crop.  So much, so that several of my neighbors are asking people to please take the fruits that their trees produced--for free, because there's just so much of it.  Wow, I think it's been like, a decade since I've seen such good harvest!

One of my neighbor has an apricot tree, its branches heavy with fruit.  Not only that, the driveway was covered with the fruits that had fallen;  a pretty sad sight to behold.  Day after day, I passed his house during my morning walks, expecting him to at least clean up the driveway.  But it seemed as though he had no intention of picking the fruits whatsoever.  On a few occasions, I summed up the courage to knock on his door (I've never met this guy btw) and ask if I could pick some, but he was never home.  Finally, after a few days during my walk, I was just about to meander over to his door when he, by sheer coincidence, drove up and parked in the garage.  I went up to him to ask for his permission to pick the apricots.  His response?

"YEEEESSS!  Please take as many as you want!"

...Hell yes.

So I stuffed the plastic bags I had with the fruits as much as I can carry.

When I got home, I weighed my stash...

Wow...5.9 kilos.  That's about 13 lbs of apricot right here, which is heavier than my 2-month old baby (she's about 8 lbs). 

Now what's a pastry chef to do with all these apricots??  Well, we have quite a few options here.

First up, jam/preserves and compote.

I ended up with five jars of jam and three quarts of compote, two of which I froze and the one of which I used to make this lovely coffee cake...

Studded with apricot compote, drizzled with amaretto sugar glaze.  I served these for after worship treats at my church.

For the compote, you would want to use a fairly firm fruit that's not too ripe.  Otherwise they won't be able to tolerate the hot sugar syrup and potentially disintegrate during the cooking process.  The ripe ones are perfect for purees and just eating it straight.  Most of the fruit I picked were pretty ripe, so I ended up pureeing and freezing a lot of them, flattened in freezer bags.  I didn't add any sugar to the purees, since I plan on feeding them to the baby once she get started on solid foods in a few months.

...And the last thing I made with the apricots?  Sorbet, of course.  To my knowledge, there is no manufacturer that sells apricot sorbet, which means that the only way to have it, is to make it.

There are definitely ups and downs, but I plan on making the most out of my maternity leave!