Creating a blog was out of the question for a long time for me, as measuring everything in the kitchen was like biting into an eggshell. I enjoy cooking and don’t want to waste even a slightest bit of enjoyment in that small world of mine. But little did I know that everything will change, when my husband came home with the Oscar nominated film ‘Julie and Julia’( a real life story) where Julie Powell (part played by Amy Adams) challenged herself to make all the 524 recipes from Julia Child's cook book ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and blogging all her experiences (The Julie/Julia Project). It was an inspiring movie. A few days later when we were discussing this casually with a friend of ours over tea…everything changed dramatically…..” How about you making at least half of it in one year? Not French but your own. 262 recipes that will inspire others and present it as a blog?” For a minute my mind traveled faster than light… With an experience as a helper in my mother in laws kitchen for 6 years followed by a three year everyday struggle to satisfy the palate of my foodie husband, if I cannot do it then why should I cook? But on the other side with an experience in English literature extending no more than expanding outline stories in English grammar class when I was 18 and two small kids that come in handy at times, will a commitment for the next one year work? Anyway my ‘cook's ego’ didn’t allow me to say no...

So my friends …here I am opening my recipe book, trying to perfect and present 262 recipes in the coming 365 days….A Challenge that will of course tastes good. Come.. Have a walk with me along my journey.. Cheering and inspiring….Forgiving and tolerating…Testing and tasting….for ‘A Tasty Challenge’

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Macaroons

Recipe No: 14

I first ate this tasty treat from a bakery near our house in Thiruvananthapuram. I put the first one in my mouth and it was gone in a second. It was the first time that I had that awesome sensation. Later I found it was just Egg white and Sugar with a bit of flavoring!!  This is the outcome of my trial and error.

Ingredients
  • Egg white………………3 large
  • Powdered sugar…….7 Tablespoons
  • Cream of Tartar………1/4 Teaspoon (available in most of the grocery stores)
  • Vanilla essence………1/2 Teaspoon
    Method of preparation
    1. Preheat oven to 200˚F/95˚C
    2. With the help of a hand or a stand mixture whip all the ingredients together in a large bowl to a standing consistency. This means if we turn the bowl upside down the egg whites should not fall down.
    3.  Place teaspoonfuls of this mixture onto a sheet pan one inch apart. If you wish you can fill a piping bag attached with a big round tip and pipe tastefully on a sheet pan. Please note the consistency of the egg white in the above picture ,where it is ready to go into the oven.
    4. Bake for around 1 3/4 to 2 hours till the macaroons are dry and crispy. It may be a bit soft in the oven but once out of the oven it will become crisp. Do a trial with one macaroon before taking the whole batch out.
    5. Once cooled, store in an airtight container up to a week.
    Notes: Even though beating egg whites can be done by hand, it is a pain and time consuming. So I prefer an electric beater...
    Don’t make this on a humid day as the egg whites won’t dry out or become crispy. It will simply become chewy and sticky.
    This is very temperature sensitive so don’t raise the temperature beyond 200˚F. Low and slow baking is essential. 
    Don't forget to make a huge batch as it will be consumed very fast...

     




    Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and 
    serve it to your family with love….

    1 comments:

    Raga said...

    Hi Asha,

    Spend close to 3hrs yesterday reading your receipes and gave an attempt to make Macroons.
    I never knew it was so easy....Added coconut to your receipe and tried..Though shape didnt turn out so good as urs...tasty was very yummy....
    Keep posting more receipes for intros like me....

    Best Wishes,
    Raga

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