Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Fall is without a doubt one of the best times of the year in New Mexico. Mornings are crisp and afternoons are comfortable. The state fair comes around, there’s green chile roasting, and there’s the Albuquerque International balloon fiesta. It’s also the perfect time to enjoy hiking in the mountains and see how the aspen trees change colors.

As you may have noticed, our scrubs have changed colors, too! Our team is now proud owners of burgundy scrubs which happen to go perfectly with the fall season. We hope you like them! Don’t forget that you can also get a little sweet treat the next time you come in if you like us on Facebook.

We love to travel in our office. This month Lucie had a family reunion in Canada and Stephanie had one of the most relaxing vacations one can have in our opinion: a staycation! If you haven’t tried having a staycation yet, give it a go. You may enjoy it a little more than you think. We also love to get lost in a good book. Two books that we plan on reading this month (recommended by our lovely patients) are The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

Dr. Twohigs’ tomato plants and basil produced abundantly this year. In order to make the most of the fruits from the garden, she recently made this tomato and mozzarella tart with a recipe from Cooks Illustrated, which is perfect for fall (or any time of year, really!). You can find the recipe below. If you give it a try, be sure to tag us in your photos!

We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather and making the most of this beautiful season.

Tomato and Mozzarella Tart- Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:

Flour, unbleached all-purpose, for work surface

1 box frozen puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm, 1.1 pound), thawed in box in refrigerator overnight

1 large egg, beaten

2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

1 pound plum tomatoes (about 3 to 4 medium), cored and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Salt

2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Ground black pepper

8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions
Thawing the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight will help prevent cracking while unfolding it. Be sure to use a low-moisture supermarket mozzarella sold in block form, not fresh water-packed mozzarella. If you prefer to do some advanced preparation, the tart shell can be prebaked through step 1, cooled to room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, and kept at room temperature for up to two days before being topped and baked with the mozzarella and tomatoes.

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Dust work surface with flour and unfold both pieces puff pastry onto work surface. Following illustrations below, form 1 large sheet with border, using beaten egg as directed. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over shell; using fork, uniformly and thoroughly poke holes in shell. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

2. While shell bakes, place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes. Combine garlic, olive oil, and pinch each salt and pepper in small bowl; set aside.

3. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over warm (or cool, if made ahead) baked shell. Shingle tomato slices widthwise on top of cheese (about 4 slices per row); brush tomatoes with garlic oil. Bake until shell is deep golden brown and cheese is melted, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, sprinkle with basil, slide onto cutting board or serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.