My Macaroons

Already I have forgotten where I learned this, but recently I discovered that the word "macaroon" in Italian refers to almond paste. The word macaroni is from the same root, something to do with paste. If you go to a French bakery and they have something called macaroons, they are some kind of sandwich cookie, sometimes they have all sorts of different flavors and colors, but they sure don't have coconut sticking out all over-they are strictly an almond based cookie. Just do a quick image search, you'll see what I mean. 

The European macaroons are delicious, but I am obsessed with coconut, and I like my macaroons with toasty coconut and just a little almond. I like the coconut chopped finely, I think it makes a better textured cookie, and I don't get strings of coconut stuck in my teeth. These are pretty sweet cookies, so I started using unsweetened coconut, which I found from Bob's Red Mill at Whole Foods.

Macaroons

1 1/2 c. unsweetened coconut

1/2 c. almond pieces

1/2 c. sugar

2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet. Chop up the coconut and almond finely - I do this in a spice grinder, but don't turn it into powder - place in a small bowl. Add sugar, mix in. Add egg whites, mix well. Scoop small balls of the mixture onto the cookie sheet, only about 2 tablespoons per cookie. Bake for about 10 minutes, let them set on the pan for a couple of minutes, then scoop them off and let them cool on a rack.
Note that these cookies will not spread out, you can place them very close together on the pan and they will not grow into each other.

Mango Sticky Rice

This is a miraculous treat. It's easy to prepare and so delicious. If you have ever had it in a Thai restaurant, my version might not seem as good, but it's a good start. Last night I ate the stuff with mango too fast, so I took a picture today with oranges, which was also delicious. The sticky rice part of the recipe is one that I've adapted from Donna Hay's "Modern Classics 2."
The first time I made the sticky rice I didn't realize how much the coconut milk separates. I opened the can and scooped out some of the solidified fat on top, and much later discovered all the liquid underneath. It was a very rich dessert indeed.

Mango Sticky Rice

1 c. white rice (I used arborio rice once for extra creaminess, and the one pictured above was long grain white basmati rice, either way is delicious)

2 c. cold water

1 c. coconut milk, about 1/2 of a can; shake the can well, or warm it to melt the fat into the liquid

1/4-1/2 c. sugar (I like an evaporated cane juice sugar for this)

2 or more mangos, peeled and chopped

Cook rice in water until tunnels form, keep the pan tightly covered. Remove from heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Stir in enough sugar to suit your taste and coconut milk, stir in coconut milk 1/2 cup at a time, let the first bit soak in. Serve on your favorite dessert plates with chopped mangoes on top. Serves 4-6.

Fried Chickpea Stew

I made something like this dish from Mark Bittman today: pan-fried chickpeas.
I added some diced onion, green bell pepper and a tiny bit of chopped chipotle peppers instead of the chorizo, and it was very good. I didn't fry the beans enough by themselves because I was impatient, so the result wasn't quite the same as what he describes, but it was still very good (even though I generally stay away from anything with garbonzos just because my Dad always made me eat them) and very easy to make, and probably super healthy. We ate ours today with manitaropita, or fillo triangles filled with mushrooms; the two things on the plate looked super Mediterranean.

Now I have to figure out something to do with the rest of the can of chipotle peppers. Any ideas?

The place I will take you for breakfast if you come and visit me

We just discovered this bakery in Pacific Grove called Pavel's Backerei, and I think it is the best bakery I have ever been to. That chocolate-filled croissant was like heaven! The donuts are humongous! Just look at these monsters!

They also had the best danishes I have ever eaten. Better than anything I had even imagined. Right now they have hot cross buns with Easter coming up, my Lovemuffin says that these are the bestest hot cross buns he's ever had,  I've never had them before, but I thought they were delightful! We've gone there three times now and it is becoming our new Saturday morning tradition to ride our bikes out there, grab two or three delectables, eat them down by Lover's Point, then pretend like we're burning off all of the calories on our bike right home. Next time I want to get a loaf of bread, but it's going to be hard to move away from the sweets. I feel totally inspired now to start my baking experiments again. I've been slacking off in that department lately, and it's places like this that make me want to do a baking a pastry program and open my own place.

My Babies

I planted some plants, aren't they cute? I have a tomato, yellow bell pepper, zucchini and oregano. I'm especially excited about the tomatoes, they are a French heirloom called Jaune Flamme that is supposed to be good for drying as well as just eating, of course. Sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil are one of my favorite things. Speaking of my favorite things, Lovemuffin told me that I look like Julie Andrews. I can't see it.

try this:

Get some fresh shitake mushrooms.
Remove the stems, disard.
Brush caps lightly with olive oil.
Grill. (Or throw under the broiler, if you can't grill it)
Enjoy.

Seriously, this is my new favorite thing. I got goosebumps when I tasted it. It was delightful. This mushroom farm is what I need, because buying those shitakes once a week at the farmers market is going to add up pretty quick. I would have taken a picture, but it doesn't look like much, also I was too busy tasting, and tasting and tasting.....

Peanut Soup

I recently have started watching "The Minimalist" podcasts from Mark Bittner in the New York Times, and I'm hooked. I love the way he cooks; it's very easy, no emphasis on exact measurements, but you can find the recipes if you feel like you need exact measurments. And I'm a fan because the very first video I watched of his, he explained how to temper chocolate, which I have always heard is important, and I've had it explained to me before, but I never understood it until he talked about the different temperatures and admitted that he thinks "bloomed" chocolate looks lovely (I have always liked the look of it myself). Plus, I think he's pretty funny.

Well, I tried this peanut soup the other night, leaving out the chicken, of course. It was great! It was rich and delightful. I used collard greens for the first time in my life, and Lovemuffin even ate leftovers from it. Lovemuffin's one criticism was that he thought the sweet potatoes could be in smaller pieces, and I had even started with small cubes instead of slices the way Bittner did it. The leftovers were creamier and even more delightful than the first time around. I actually forgot the whole peanuts, but the peanut butter did a good job of flavoring the whole soup and it goes so well with the flavor of the sweet potato. I suppose because it's one of those sweet and salty combinations. Here's the exact recipe, if you need it.