Macarons

Santa brought me a macarons book, and although it's been 8 months I am feeling proud of myself for making a successful batch. 

First, you start with egg whites:

Then pipe the dough:

 After they bake:

Make the filling (but forget to photograph it), and then fill the cookies. I made chocolate cookies, with grand marnier filling. Yum!

Lime Cake

I made a clementine cake in January 2009 and it happened to be on inauguration day, so I called it a celebration cake. I was celebrating George W. Bush no longer being the president of the United States. The clementine version is delicious, and unexpected. You don't expect a cake that is made without butter or flour to be good, but this one is fantastic. I made a recipe that was not from Nigella, but after I learned that Nigella is famous for her clementine cake.

I bought ground almonds in January of this year with the intent of making the clementine cake again, but I never got around to it. I wanted to use the almonds, so I decided to make a summery version of the same cake. 

 

Limes are my favorite citrus fruit these days, so I found some unwaxed limes and went for it. The result is delicious...it's moist and limey. I reduced the amount of sugar very slightly from what the recipe calls for, and found it a little bit tart, so I quickly made a simple syrup with the water that the limes boiled in, poked the finished cake all over and poured on the simple syrup. That made the cake shiny, and less tart. The result is not overly sweet, so much so, that if I were to serve this to guests, I would serve ice cream with the cake. Maybe raspberry ice cream. Or vanilla.

I made simple syrup with most of the water that the limes boiled in. I will perhaps make a few cocktails with it this weekend.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

I will be the first to admit that this picture doesn't make this soup look all that good, but trust me, this is delicious. I fear that summer has come and gone and the other night it was cool enough for soup. That's sad in August, but that's London. 

The recipe is here, on My Recipes. You can play with the level of spicy; I kept it low for a certain someone, then added hot sauce on my bowl. It is smooth and very delicious.

Greek Dips -- Hummus and Tzatziki

Sadly, I have no pictures, but wanted to share these two easy recipes for Hummus and Tzatziki.  These are of course quite simple, but making them reminded me how much better the homemade versions are than the store-bought. 

The Kitchen's Hummus
Makes 1-2 cups

NOTES: This is a very easy recipe that’s great to have around. It has a pretty good shelf life; just keep it covered in the fridge. It goes wonderfully with grilled bread drizzled with excellent olive oil.

INGREDIENTS: 1 15-ounce can good-quality chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed 2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup tahini paste Salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.Taste and adjust seasoning. Tzatziki Cooking Light Prepare this traditional Greek dip within an hour of serving time to prevent it from becoming watery.   1 cup grated peeled English cuke (I didnt peel) 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 T. chopped fresh mint 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 garlic clove, minced Pat cuke dry with paper towels.  Combine cuke and rest of ingredients in a small bowl.  Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Southwest Rice and Corn Salad with Lemon Dressing

This Bon App recipe (I swear I find recipes elsewhere) was delectable and I highly recommend it. It almost tastes like the part of a Chipotle burrito when you get a big bite of rice and the corn salsa, so good. I bought a lot of the veggies at the farmer's market, which makes me happy.

The white rice threw me off and clearly is the demise of this being a healthy recipe, but still, delish. I cooked a cup of dry rice, but used about 1/2 or 3/4s of it, and I used a whole avocado not half. The avocado sort of binds the whole thing together, and almost tastes like you have dairy or cheese in it. Make it!

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Eggplant and Cinnamon-Cumin Dressing

This recipe from Bon Appetit was really different and interesting. I think if I make it again I will be really careful with the amount of cinnamon I add as it can easily bcome too sweet. It's a good side dish thought if you like eggplantand Israeli coucous. (Oh and I didn't add raisins, Sarah that should make you happy!)