Before I became a fan of THE WALKING DEAD, I wrote about a character named Arlen J. Stevenson who was the author of zombie fiction. I chose that genre for no particular reason other than the fact that it seemed a little different—edgier—than thrillers or science fiction.
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At first, all was great with the meringue. It had the standard stiff peaks and to get that lovely minty color, I added 7 drops of gel food coloring. And that was followed with one drop of pure peppermint essential oil. So it looked and smelled like chocolate mint chip ice cream.
Read MoreFor the record, I'd like to state why an author of books on soap crafting and shampoo bars is actually writing about liquefying soap!
Read MoreMy third batch of lemon macarons behaved nicely! Drying time took 30 minutes, I didn’t add any lemon zest and when I peeked into the oven after 9 minutes I saw pretty yellow shells with feet!
Read MoreI colored the batch green because of the pistachio flour. It also contained that marvelous vanilla bean paste which gives it more flavor and added interest to the shells. These shells came out flat but with feet.
Read MoreThis batter was unlike the others as it was much thicker. I probably used too much cocoa powder. It had only been sifted once, when added with the sugar and almond flour. Whatever it was, this batch was very difficult to mix and I got so tired I just stopped. As soon as it was awkwardly piped onto the parchment paper, it was already dry.
Read MoreThe macaron saga continues as I want to test the King Arthur “super finely ground” almond flour I’d found for a dollar less at Walmart. I also wanted to try a strawberry buttercream filling because I love strawberries and the idea of a buttercream filling seemed decadent to me.
Read MoreMacarons are made with a few basic ingredients: sugar, egg whites, almond flour, and color for the shells. Fillings can vary, including options like jams, Nutella, caramel, or lemon curd. You can also create your own fillings, such as buttercream or chocolate ganache. While I had most ingredients and tools, I was missing almond flour, but had sugar and fresh eggs. I had watched several YouTube tutorials to learn how to make them. Maybe it wouldn’t be too difficult…
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One childhood Christmas tradition that started when I was young and continued until I was in my late-teens was the Christmas Card Clothesline.
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Activated charcoal is the kind of coal you want to use any time of the year!
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