Fantastic February

February disappeared in a blink of an eye. I am blaming that on the fact it was a short month, although I suspect it was just another speedy month. I know, I know, I say that every month ;)

And the end of the month means that it is time for one thing...another monthly recap!

Did you miss my previous monthly recap? You can check it out here:

• Jolly January

I started the month by reflecting on the year that was, and by making my 2011 goals.

I also found plenty of time to get out on my mountain bike, with some rides being longer than expected...

And others celebrating Valentines Day!

Triathlons were run...

And kayaks were paddled...

This month we also saw some fairly tumultuous weather. From heatwaves to pouring rain, we seemed to have it all. The hot weather was the perfect excuse to make an icy treat...

and spicy tofoodles…

While the cooler weather called for a slow roasted Sunday roast.

I realised, on reflection, that February was quite the baking month.

From raw vegan "baking"...

To indulgent chocolate tortes.

A first attempt at baking macarons...

And a more successful second attempt!

February also saw the return of the Mystery Box, with 8 ingredients being ticked off: spinach, watermelon, sage, anchovy, avocado, lemongrass, turmeric and rice flour.

You can follow links to the dishes created by clicking on the ingredient here.

Wowza - for a short month there seemed to be a lot going on in the BBB household. Here's hoping for a magical March! With quite a lot of travel and functions on the calendar already, its set to be a busy one.

What about you? Was your February Fantastic?

Happy Baking :)

Macaron madness

Yes, you read that right ….

Remember when I tried to make macarons for the first time? 

And remember when I said I was going to try and perfect the recipe?

Well the BBB household has been filled with all things egg whites, almond meal and sugar over the past week. Unfortunately my second, third and fourth attempts at making macarons were not so successful. Think flat and cracked….ugh

That was, until the other night.

 

Feeling rather exasperated by the whole thing I was ready to give up. But with 3 final egg whites ageing in the fridge I figured ‘what the hell’. One more attempt cant hurt.

And thankfully, for my baking sanity, they worked! Prepare for photo overload….you have been warned.

Flours were divided…

Ground….

And sifted…

 

Egg whites and sugar were whipped…

 

And a macaronage was made…

 

Macarons were piped…

 

(hehe yes I need to work on my consistency skills….)

Baked…

And filled…

And voila….

macarons brought to life.

Filled with lemon curd butter cream…

 

 

So delicate…

 

  

So tasty…

     

And the signature feature???

Feet!

It was the lemon buttercream, however, that took these macarons from fine to fab!

It had the just the right level of citrus and sweetness…

   

To provide for the perfect bite sized sweet treat.

Sigh – I really don’t see these lasting in our house too long!

I suggest you make a batch of these…

ASAP!

Lemon curd macarons

• 90g egg whites (left in the fridge to age for 2 days, then brought to room temperature)
• 200g icing sugar
• 110g ground almonds
• 30g caster sugar
• 1tsp yellow food colouring
• 2tbs lemon curd
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 5og butter, softened

1. Process icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor until fine. Sift twice, and set aside.
2. Whisk egg whites until foamy. Slowly add caster sugar until it forms peaks – the consistency of shaving cream. Stir through food colouring.
3. Add the dry almond mixture, and fold gently to combine. Don’t overmix.
4. Pipe rounds onto a tray lined with baking paper, keeping 2 cm apart.
5. Tap the tray against the bench once to remove air bubbles.
6. Sit for 1 hour, until the rounds form ‘shells’ and feel dry when lightly touched.
7. Preheat oven to 150C. Bake for 14-16 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, allow to cool on tray then transfer to a wire rack.
9. Meanwhile, beat the icing sugar, lemon curd and butter until smooth. Pipe onto a macaron, then top with another.

What about you? Any suggestions for a macaron flavour? Yup I think I am addicted ;)

Happy Baking :)

Friday night confessions and my 6C’s curry

Happy Friday!

I hope that the last day of the working week treated you kindly. My day went smoothly, although I do have a few Friday night confessions to make....

1. I signed up and paid to do this race this evening.

However, today I found that my heat wasn't scheduled to start until 7.30pm (and not 6.00pm as originally thought). Given this meant I would not be home until after 9.30pm, and craving a quiet night,  the temptation of heading home straight after work was all too much. So I decided to take a rest day, and opt out of the race (= my first race 'no show' ever and I am still feeling bad about it).  Race FAIL, but given I paid for the race I guess you could call it a charity WIN :)

2. It seems that I peaked too early when it came to making macarons.

In the last week, I have been working on a lemon curd variety. And by 'working' I mean pulling endless batches of flat and cracked macarons out of the oven. With a final 3 eggs in the fridge, I decided to give one more batch a try before I officially hung up my macaron beaters. And, as these things tend to happen, I believe they may have just worked. All will be revealed soon.

3. Speaking of macarons...I am loving Zumbo's show on SBS.

Not only he is a genius when it comes to all things sweet, a modern day Willy Wonka if you will, but he seems like a really nice guy too. Although I suspect he would have been quite horrified at some of the macaron attempts mentioned in (2) above ;)

4. I had all good intentions of bringing last night's leftover curry to work for lunch but I forgot to.

So, it was the perfect excuse to dine out at lunch today and spend a lot more money on lunch than I normally would.

But hey - the added bonus being that I didn't need to make anything new for dinner. Just re-heat , and serve. And is it just me or does curry taste even better the next day?

Particularly when it’s a 6C's curry...

Aptly named due to the abundance of "c" ingredients....

6 to be exact.

Chickpeas, coriander, curry powder, coconut milk, carrot and cauliflower.

Try saying that 6 times fast!

 

Simmered along with a spoonful of tandoori paste (for an extra colour and spice kick), broccoli and spinach (for some extra green).

I just love how the flavour of a curry intensifies when it is left overnight. And this curry was no exception. The chickpeas were soft, and the cauliflower had simmered down to almost nothing making for a creamy sauce that packed quite a punch.

A tasty little curry to accompany some more homemade rice flour rotis.

Given that I opted out of the stair race, and I was able to rely on leftovers for dinner, I have now found myself with a ton of time to relax and unwind.

Now THAT is one confession I am happy to make!

6C's curry (serves 4)

This is a tasty vegetarian curry, that is rich in aroma and spice. It may be light in ingredients, but it is not light in flavour and packs quite a spicy punch. I used dried chickpeas, however you could quite easily used the canned variety instead, and reduce the cooking time.

• 1 cup dried chickpeas (soaked overnight, rinsed, then simmered for 2 hours)
• 1 tbs dried coriander
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 1 tbs tandoori paste
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 - 1 cup water
• 100g baby spinach

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pot over a medium to high heat.
2. Fry the spices for 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.
3. Add the carrot, broccoli and cauliflower, stirring to coat in the spice mixture.
4. Add the coconut milk and 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for 1 hour - stirring occasionally. If the mixture is getting too thick, add the extra water. You want the curry sauce to be quite thick, but you also don't want to burn it.
5. Add the spinach just before serving, stirring it into the curry until wilted.
6. Divide among serving bowls and serve with Akki Roti.

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What about you? Are you an early bird or night owl? I am most definitely an early bird - and the thought of getting home / eating late really bugs me. I guess I need to relax a little more and go with the flow ;)

Happy Baking :)