(A real pro’s macs.)
Well I have been busy enjoying what’s left of my vacation by traipsing around Illinois with my mom…and reading books on the couch (I finally got to read “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and loved it). While in Evanston, mom told me that there was a magazine article about a local bakery (Bennison’s) which makes macarons. Of course, we had to stop in! So, in the name of research, we bought some official macarons!
I purchased (ok, mom purchased) three different macarons: one red velvet, one lavender, one strawberry.
They were each unique and quite enjoyable. The red velvet was mild and just tasted creamy. The lavender tasted floral-y (duh) and pungent and kind of reminded me of a fancy bathroom soap. The strawberry one was quite strong and sugary and tasted just as I assumed it should (like fake strawberries). I was excited to get some “research” in but also disappointed a tad because staring at beautiful macarons was like staring at my own failure (they looked nothing like mine). However, I am encouraged and even more determined to successfully make beautiful macarons.
ALSO this week I’ve made a ton of sourdough bread! Today I made another loaf and have finally mastered the shiny golden crust I’ve always known I could achieve. Sigh, I’m a pro, yes. YES!!!! I hope when I return home that my new roommate appreciates the fact that I am an artisan bread-maker and doesn’t complain about the abundance of carbs that are going to smack her in the face this semester. A slap in the face by sourdough bread? Um, yum!
(It’s magically delicious!)
PLUS!! I went to the grocery store today and discovered something magical and shocking! The Keebler elves have obviously kidnapped some girl scouts, held them captive in their tree factory, and made them spill their cookie secrets! Look: a mysteriously familiar coconut and chocolate cookie and mint cookie…looks a little like Caramel Delights and Thin Mints to me! Now, this is the best news I’ve heard since discovering that “Matt” on Friday Night Lights has not been killed off. After countless phone calls this season (cookie season, that is) to my mother, demanding she keep her eyes peeled for little girls in brown or green vests skipping about with bags of boxes, and many tanks of gas burned on driving to every grocery store in Fayetteville just to see if they might be camped out with a table or two of cookies…fruitless efforts to get my hands on my favorite cookies, I am so happy to see that those crafty little elves have got it! Um, yes, I even went to my local girl scout office to ask them for some only to find out they only had extra boxes of the crappy ones that nobody wants. My clinical instructor also brought her last box of Thin Mints to our clinicals one day because she knew I’d be elated! Well anyhoo, best shopping experience ever, I must say. Keep on bakin’, Ernie!
(I think you mean Caramel Delights, Ernie!)
(That’s a Thin Mint, right buddy?)
