Author shares fruits of her labor with Milpitas garden club
Fifth anniversary edition of ‘For the Love of Apricots’ released.
Local author Lisa Prince Newman shared her love of apricots with the Green Thumb Garden Club of Milpitas at the group’s June 26 meeting.
Newman recently released the fifth anniversary edition of her cookbook and memoir, “For the Love of Apricots: Recipes and Memories of the Santa Clara Valley.”
The author was raised locally in the ’60s and ’70s surrounded by acres of old French prune trees, persimmon, fig, apple, Meyer lemon, pomegranate, kumquat and loquat. Growing up, her mother Aileen instilled in her a love of farm-to-table cooking.
On a winter walk through Novakovich Orchards in Saratoga, Newman was inspired write “For the Love of Apricots.” The book combines her passion for apricots and her culinary skills with regional history and environmental perspective.
Club members and Newman engaged in a lively discussion in the community room of the Milpitas Police Department, sharing their childhood memories around apricots. Garden club president Valerie Meisner remembered cutting apricots as a teenager near Sunnyvale orchards. Terry Cuneo shared similar memories of receiving boxes of apricots from the owner at the Garrod Farm Stables in Saratoga, and cutting and placing them in large wooden frames or trays to be dried in the sun for weeks. Another member said slicing and freezing apricots when they are in season means being able to enjoy them year-round.
Founded in 1956 by Maybelle Breen, the garden club’s objectives are to create and promote interest in amateur gardens, conserve natural resources, participate in charity and community service and enjoy each other’s company.
Club members have installed the Blue Star Memorial in the Memorial Garden at Milpitas City Hall, planted flowers at Christmastime in front of the library and maintained the plants at the Milpitas Senior Center.
The club supports organizations include the Cal Hills Garden, the Randall Elementary School garden and Sempervirens in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The club has donated for years to Penny Pines, which plants new pine trees in California forests.
Events include field trips to nurseries and farms in the Bay Area and socializing around dinners, barbecues and ice cream socials. Those interested in joining the club are welcome to attend meetings, held the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m.