To Macaron or not to Macaron?

Macarons. 

In my opinion, not only are macarons the best thing to eat but they're the best things to look at (gotta love those pastel colours) and touch (smooooOOOoooth shell baby). I bought Kate some for a birthday a while back and I was gutted I didn't order extra for me : (

But i've always thought they would be THE hardest thing to make, they are the epitome of french baking after all. But they're not as scary as i thought!

I've been practising making meringues on and off for a few months now and I am free of my fear of anything containing egg whites! Personally, I think that's how my first attempt at macarons (salted caramel if you're interested) looked and tasted perfect- I wasn't afraid. Always believe that fear can infiltrate the end bake. 

I chose salted caramel because I'm addicted to salted caramel. For the filling I didn't want anything like butter creamy, i thought it would be too heavy. I had the idea of whipping homemade caramel. Essentially it is buttercream but mousse like and lighter. The butter in the caramel whips fantastically. 

Topped the macarons with a little sprinkle of caster sugar and used a wee bit of ivory colour gel (gel is by far the best way to colour anything) just to make them look a little better. 

Here they are:

And they tasted bloody yummy too!

my life in food

So it seems Liam has been beating me on the blogging front! He is foodie. He is organised. And he is kicking my ass. So, like a small child throwing a tantrum, I thought I'd make a post of some food I've eaten lately. In no particular order:

In a Finnish BBQ Hut at Pot a Doodle Do wigwam site:

Fuck yes, those are bacon-wrapped olives and harissa lamb kebabs. And Guinness burgers, which fell through the grill.

At the Forth Hotel pub in Newcastle:



Bacon, avocado and Dolcelatte burger? One of the best burgers I've ever had.  

Bloody Mary please.

At home, making dinner for friends:

BBQ shredded beef, homemade coleslaw, salad and potato salad.

And just for the hell of it, some recipes I've enjoyed lately:
Healthy chocolate coconut macaroons (so amazing)
Brown rice fishcakes with hot sauce mayo
Roasted broccoli cheddar soup
Jam crumble slices - I made this with this easy yummy fig jam
Green rice with paprika and pine nuts - the compound butter for this is really useful

Get cooking, Liam - you'll love these recipes. Not so bad for you either! x