Tour a Private Garden in Pleasantville on August 10th
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The Garden Conservancy Open Days Program is offering a tour of a private garden in Pleasantville on Saturday August 10th. Visitors are invited to see the garden of Jean and John Nonna on Ashland Avenue from 10 am to 4 pm.
Jean's designed and planted the garden and maintains it herself. After years of collecting she has acquired a large and varied dwarf conifer garden. The Japanese maple collection has forty-one different varieties. A zelkova and Japanese emperor oak are among her rare trees. You will find a varied selection of shrubs. With a large garden, Jean has divided it into theme gardens that include a miniature, white, fern, and hosta garden as well as a chartreuse-and-purple room. Summer will show off the dahlias, varied zinnias, and marigolds, along with the other annuals. The natural rock formations and garden ornaments lend interest and beauty to Jean's work.
Visit the Garden Conservancy's website to learn more. Admission to the garden is just $5.
Directions:
- From Sawmill River Parkway north, take Exit 28/Bedford Road. Turn right at end of ramp onto Bedford Road. At first traffic light turn right and continue 0.06 mile. Turn right onto Ashland Avenue. Number 21 is on left.
- From Sawmill Parkway south, take Exit 29/Manville Road. Turn left at end of ramp. At first traffic light, turn right onto Bedford Road. At second traffic light by Keyfood stay straight for 0.06 mile and turn right onto Ashland Avenue. Number 21 is on left.
- From the Taconic Parkway, take the Pleasantville/Briarcliff Exit. Take Pleasantville Road toward Pleasantville. At second traffic light by Keyfood in Pleasantville, stay straight. Manville Road becomes Bedford Road. Go 0.06 mile and turn right onto Ashland Avenue. Number 21 is on left. Park only on right side of street.
Work of Nicole Eisenman to be Featured in Solo Exhibit in St. Louis
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The work of Scarsdale-born artist Nicole Eisenman will be featured in a solo exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis from January 24 – April 13, 2014. The show is being funded by at $75,000 grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation. The show will display more than 50 works of art including drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture.
Nicole Eisenman grew up in Greenacres and is the daughter of Scarsdale Village Trustee Kay Eisenman. Her bold and colorful works are often a commentary on gender identity, race, politics, technology and other contemporary obsessions. In 2012, Eisenman's work was part of the Whitney Biennial and 45 of her colorful portraits were hung on two large walls of the museum.
At that time, Scarsdale10583 interviewed Eisenman about how growing up in Scarsdale influenced her career. Read the interview here.
The upcoming show in St. Louis is being called the "definitive mid-career survey" of her work. According to
the Contemporary Art Museums website, "Eisenman has developed a creative and versatile vision that combines high and low cultural markers with virtuosic skill. From her comical drawings to much-lauded portraits executed in monotype, she consistently mines a broad spectrum of influences, including art history (Italian Renaissance, German Expressionism, early twentieth-century Social Realist painting), everyday visual vernacular, and various artistic mediums to illustrate the multifaceted richness of the human condition. By refusing to limit herself to one particular style or sensibility, she creates work that echoes the frenetic pace and shifting complexion of contemporary life."
See more about Eisenman and the show here:
Evelyn's Fruit Tart
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Evelyn Stock, who has lived in Scarsdale for over 40 years, is a consummate volunteer, but more importantly an accomplished baker. She even taught baking courses at the Scarsdale Adult School and was one of 12 finalists in the Journal News Cookie Swap.
Now that summer's here, Evelyn took a few minutes off from attending meetings to share her signature recipe for a summer fruit tart. Use your choice of apples, blueberries, pears, peaches, nectarines, or Italian plums ... all readily available at farmer's markets.
Try this recipe, take a photo of the results and email it to [email protected] to share with your neighbors.
Evelyn's Fruit Tart:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pastry
Combine in the bowl of a food processor
1 ½ C. flour
3 T. sugar
Pinch of salt
Add 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
Process until well combined. Add 1 ½ t. white vinegar.
Process until dough forms into a ball.
Press into bottom and ¾" up the sides of a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan or tart pan.*
Use your fingers to make the top of the pastry look finished.
Filling
Use apples, blueberries, pears, peaches, nectarines, or Italian plums.
Combine with ½ C sugar, 3 T. flour, some cinnamon depending on the fruit.
Mix through the fruit.
If you use apples or pears, put a layer of cut up fruit on the bottom. Then lay out slices on the top in a decorative manner. (Divide the flour-sugar mixture and mix it with the bottom layer of fruit, then sprinkle the remainder on the top.) With peaches, nectarines or plums, lay out relatively thick slices and sprinkle the flour sugar mixture over the top.
Bake 50 minutes.
With blueberries, press fresh blueberries onto the top of the baked pie. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
*It is worth buying one of the tart pans with the fluted edge.
Summer Recipe: Plum and Avocado Salad
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Summertime and the cooking is easy. Here's a novel creation for a nice quick summer salad courtesy of food website Food52.com. A study in contrasts, this salad offers an unexpected combination of flavors and textures. Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 medium ripe avocados
5 medium sized ripe black plums
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small clove of garlic
Several pinches sea salt (try pink himalayan salt if you can find it)
1 medium lemon
A few glugs of olive oil
1 dried red chili pepper
Directions:
- Peel the black plums and cut into cubes (worth the task of peeling!).
- Peel the avocado and cut into cubes.
- Gently place the black plum and avocado chunks into a dish -- be careful not to mix too much, otherwise the avocado mushes all over. Squeeze with lemon and sprinkle in a couple pinches of sea salt. Do not mix.
- In a mortar and pestle, smash up the garlic clove with a little salt. Add the red chili pepper and continue crushing (should still be in big messy chunks). Add the cilantro and continue to mash until the ingredients are combined. Drizzle in the olive oil (1/4 to 1/2 cup) to make the dressing, mashing well.
- Drizzle the dressing with a spoon over the plums and avocado. Salt to taste.
- Let the salad sit for 5 to 10 minutes to soak in a bit and then enjoy.
JCC Dance School Summer Intensive Takes A Holistic Approach
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Every dedicated dancer knows the importance of staying in shape year-round. Enrolling in a summer intensive program can help students keep on track. Indeed, a full-day, 5-week summer session can be equivalent to 6-8 months of regular weekly training. Summer options of all sorts abound, but the Summer Dance Intensive at the JCC of Mid-Westchester in Scarsdale offers experienced students (7th grade and up) a uniquely fun and healthy approach. Its comprehensive curriculum, taught by professional instructors in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Jazz, Tap, also includes classes in Nutrition, Injury Prevention, Yoga for Relaxation, Pilates Mat for improving core strength, as well as a Stretch Class to increase dancers' flexibility.
Jayne Santoro, who has directed the JCC Dance School since 2002, launched the JCC's Summer Dance Intensive four years ago to meet a need in Westchester for a well-rounded, holistic summer program. "We provide a healthy dose of technique classes, as well as a chance to decompress through more relaxing options, such as stretching and alignment class," Santoro says. "We are emphasizing a full body, mind and soul approach, because I know, as a former dancer, how beneficial it is after a strenuous day of technique classes to wind down and release muscles with relaxing activities -- yoga, stretch, or nutrition class -- to give our bodies a rest while feeding our intellect."
The JCC summer program offers a flexible schedule: dancers can attend two, three, four or five weeks between June 24 and July 26. An informal in-studio demonstration takes place on the last day of the summer session. "My goal is to help teen-aged dancers feel that they have increased their skill level and formed new friendships, while exposing themselves to various forms of dance, and most of all, staying healthy and strong." This summer, students will have a special treat with a lesson in Israeli Folk Dance. Classes are limited to 16 students and there are still a couple of openings available to qualified students.
Santoro received her classical ballet training at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York City and performed with Pittsburgh Ballet 
Theatre and Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company, as well as New York regional companies. With more than 30 years' experience teaching ballet throughout Westchester and Rockland counties, she directs the Westchester Theatre of Dance (JCC's resident dance company), and continues to enjoy teaching all levels of ballet to children and adults. She also runs the JCC's Ballet Outreach Program, which performs for seniors and children several times each year. Her goal for the JCC Dance School year-round is to meet her students' needs in developing their personal preferences, and at the same time, ensure quality training. She hires top instructors who provide hands-on correction and help students become more in tune with their bodies and health.
As director of a dance school within a Community Center, Santoro also believes it's important to help the students build a sense of community. Edgemont resident Liz Salshutz, whose daughter Karen is one of six seniors graduating from the JCC Dance School this year, appreciates the program's supportive environment: "The camaraderie that develops from the small class size has led my two daughters to develop lifelong friendships. The dancers support and encourage each other in a very positive way, and my daughters think of the Dance School as their second home, their second family!" Indeed, her older daughter Emily, home from college for the summer, recently joined several other JCC dance alumnae for an impromptu reunion with Ms. Santoro after a rigorous workout in one of the school's daily Adult Ballet classes.
Serving more than 80 adults and hundreds of younger dancers in 45 classes, the school offers the highest quality instruction for preschool through adult students. "I believe our training is on par with schools in New York City, and nearly every JCC ballet class has a pianist for accompaniment -- a rarity in suburban dance schools," Santoro says. "I believe it is important that students take their training from A to Z, and their efforts make them feel successful...I know it is emotionally very gratifying to see yourself progress over the years and feel a sense of accomplishment. We want our students to be tenacious learners, to get positive results from hard work and good training, and thereby become more diligent and self-disciplined throughout their life endeavors."
As one of Santoro's former students, Stephanie Millman of Scarsdale, stated: "When I danced in college with a highly selective dance team that practiced five days a week, I thought constantly of Jayne and the JCC ... without whom there is no way I could be where I am today."
JCC of Mid-Westchester Dance School is located at 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale, NY.
For more information, contact Director Jayne Santoro at (914) 472-3300, ext. 320, or by email at [email protected]. Visit the JCC's website at www.jccmw.org.
