- Chocolate Macaroons
Ingredients
125g plain chocolate
100g granulated sugar
30g coco powder , Valrhona Chocolate or Scharffen Berger Cocoa powder
140g desiccated coconut
50g almond meal
1tspn almond essence or rum !
2 egg whites
60g each of white and dark chocolate, Callebaut ChocolateMethod
Melt chocolate and set aside to cool.
Whisk egg whites until they form a soft peak. Add 3-4 tablespoons
of the sugar and mix until the mixture is glossy and firm. Fold in the remaining sugar,
chocolate and coconut, followed by the almond essence.Place rounded spoonfuls of the mixture 2.5 cm apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-18 minutes until the macaroons are dry on the outside
But moist and soft in the center.
Melt the chocolates for the decoration separately. Half-dip the biscuits in to one or the other
Chocolate. Lay on silicon paper to dry.
Spoon the remaining chocolate into a piping bag and pipe contrasting lines over the macaroons. - Bread
- Honestly I should wear elf ears!
The nearing end of the year always makes me a little melancholy. Remembering family Xmas’s long gone, fading, never to have those feelings of anticipation again. Nothing but happy memories of that little fibro house in the backyard, hot sweaty summers and the sound of cicadas. A plastic green Christmas tree, and the worn cardboard box from under the bed. A box full of secrets and mementos. Letters tied with string, old photos, an empty, small champagne bottle, a wedding head dress, pressed between tissue paper. It was also a box of magic, magic that was held in suspended animation inside the old glass baubles and tinsel.
I loved that little cardboard box, it’s probably why I love making Xmas decorations now. In the hope that someone out there shares that same feeling of joy that such objects can bring. A little colour, a little brightness into the world. A remembrance of our childhood, of those feelings of something new was about to happen.
- Spring in The Garden -Tulips
Last year I planted some new varieties if tulips into my front garden. I hope the will multiply profusely and that the late winter rains don’t rot the bulbs! In the past I have lifted the bulbs and replanted them in March. This year I’m going to be a little reckless and leave them in the ground!
Pretty Woman
Inimitable
Jan Van Ness
Mascara
Columbus
Hot Honey Rag
Other bulbs I planted this year are Purple Rain -Allium and Fritillaria meleagris, (a plant I have wanted forever)!
- Making a Mixed Media Painting
A quick look at how I make my mixed medium paintings! Enjoy. I may one day add sound to it.
