Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I have to say, sometimes I am disappointed by a recipe. It holds all that promise, sitting there on the glossy pages of a new cookbook. I have all the ingredients in the fridge and pantry. It seems as though everything is coming together perfectly. Then that first taste, disappointment. That is what happened with these muffins. Look at the pictures, they aren’t even that spectacular to look at. Plain, simple, boring, lemon poppy seed muffins.

The lemon flavor was too mild, the poppy seeds gave nothing to enhance the muffins. I was so sad. Although I did eat each and every one of them. It’s amazing what a little butter can do to spruce up a less than successful muffin recipe. So if you are in the mood for kinda boring muffins, here’s a recipe. I might suggest sprinkling the tops with sugar before baking. You know the kind. The HUGE sugar crystals? What are they called? Anyways, that might pump up these muffins from their current BORING status. So sad. Sad sad muffins.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Macarons

There are some things that I have not been able to succeed at. Roller blading without looking like a starfish. Maintaining a sleek hairstyle while living on the East coast. Avoid meeting the other people that live in my building. Try as I might I just cannot manage to accomplish any of these tasks. I mean, I go rollerblading with boyfriend and he skates circles around me. Literally. He takes great joy in circling me like a shark as I stumble and try to maintain an upright posture. Is it so bad to use the trees as methods to stop? Why else are there trees on the bike path?

While living in Colorado I enjoyed month after month of humidity-free days. My hair never looked to good. In fact, in the two years that I lived in Colorado I never once got a haircut. It was so well behaved I was able to wash and wear. Run out the door without being concerned about the craziness that would take over my head later in the day. The East coast hates me, or at least my hair. I step outside of my apartment building and the little frizzies start to creep in. Just this morning a gentle mist in the air destroyed my perfectly straightened hair. Just the right amount of curl at the end. Then BAM! Humidity, blast.

But one thing was not going to beat me. I would succeed at the French Macaron! These cookies are the talk of the culinary world. Adorable little cookies, filled with decadent frostings, ganaches and jams. Walk by a shop that sells them and you encounter a rainbow of cookies. Do a Google search and you’ll find so many different suggestions and recipes. There are cookbooks about macarons being published every month (I have three!). Yet with all this information, there is nothing to do but throw yourself in the deep end and give them a go.

My first attempt was less than successful. The macarons rose like cookies. They were feet-less monsters. Yet I still filled them with peanutbutter and ate every single one of them. Yes, the texture was off, but they still tasted delicious.

My second attempt, armed with a new cookbook, was much better. Weighing out the ingredients and following the directions perfectly I was rewarded with cute little chocolate cookies. Shiny tops with a high foot (or pied, as the French would call them), my macarons were beautiful. And since I’m a sucker for the chocolate peanut butter combo (and I was too lazy to whip up a ganache at ten o’clock at night) I sandwiched them with Jif. Fantastic. Even better after sitting in the fridge for a few days.

Give these cookies a try. All you need in patience, and a good recipe to use up all those leftover egg yolks. I recommend making pie (more to come!)

Dinner suggestion!

Go to Wagamama, order the chicken kari lomen, enjoy!