My name is Erica Sommermann, and welcome to Apricosa! I started writing this blog as a way to share my enjoyment of healthy California cooking, with experiences, recipes, and tips drawn from my Italian and German heritage, my garden, and good times with friends. Having lived in Santa Barbara, California for over 2 decades, my cooking has been influenced by the huge availability of fresh produce both from the family garden (oranges, persimmons, pears, avocados, and more) and from the bounty of the surrounding Santa Barbara area (strawberries, wines, olives, and more!).
In recent years, thanks to living overseas in Taiwan and Korea, my culinary palette has expanded. Yet, at the same time, the intensity of working overseas in the fast-paced biotech industry, juggling multiple time zones and jet lag over and again, and pushing myself to learn Korean and assimilate into the culture has, without a doubt, decreased the frequency of my Apricosa posts.
I'm thrilled to get in the kitchen and behind my camera when I can, and as the opportunities to do so are fewer these days, I treasure them more. Apricosa is my happy space--a peaceful place in which to dwell and to savor and to be inspired. And, I hope what you read here encourages and inspires you in your own kitchen and pursuit of a healthy lifestyle that is mindfully aware of the global community we belong to. Welcome!
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About my blog's name: I've chosen the name Apricosa as an allusion to an apricot tree that once grew in my family's lovely California garden. This tree symbolizes the value I have for natural, local foods, as each summer my family used to make our year's supply of apricot jam from its fruit. The golden blush of the apricot fruit also represents to me the warmth of the summer sun which I enjoy so much....I am, after all, a Sommermann!