Macaron Adventures Part Deux

Okay, so... I made a new batch using a different recipe. Feet formed beautifully, but the tops were warped! I've never had this happen to me before! I saw pictures of warped macarons (wavy tops) before, and I thought, "Nah, that's never happened in any of my batches, so it'll never happen" .. it happened. I looked into it, and after reading several blogs, I realized I more than likely overmixed. I thought maybe it was because I was using too low of a temperature (understandably due to previous cracked macarons).. but I increased the temperature of the oven for the second baking sheet, yet they were still warped. Nope, wasn't the heat.. Definitely overmixed. Ugh. Back to the drawing board!

I've come to the conclusion that I'm really going to have to look into the ratio of the ingredients. I've obtained a few from several sources. Once I use them, I'll let you guys know! I feel like I'm getting closer though :) I really don't remember struggling this much when I made them before. I'm taking this way too seriously than I did before I guess, haha.


Until next time!


xoxo

French Macarons!

Macarons. Or French macaroons. Whatever. Dainty pastries that have a filling sandwiched between two delicate meringues. One of the best things I've ever had. Mind you, I've never been to France (yet) but the ones I've tried have shown me what a good macaron is. Flavourful, not hollow, not hard, and not too small! I've had macarons that were a bit blah (I don't even know how that happens with all that sugar), too small, and pretty hard (like cardboard).

I tried my hand at making macarons by compiling information from various sources. I made a few batches, which I barely have any photos of.

My first batch was pistachio - I mistakenly didn't add enough sugar so the ratio was so off, they were flat cookies. No feet, no rising. Just flat failures lol. But delicious failures nonetheless. 

My second batch - I added enough sugar but my oven was too hot. They formed feet but unevenly.

My other batches - I always piped them too close together. So they were monster macarons. They had feet though! And they were the closest thing to perfect macarons. My very last batch was chocolate macarons with chocolate ganache. 

I stopped making macarons for months simply because I didn't like using my electric hand mixer. I finally got a KitchenAid (hallelujah!).. So I started making them again.

The first batch I made after a hiatus was a failure lol. I don't know what it was. I tried a recipe I used to use with techniques I gathered elsewhere. Everything seemed to go well until feet didn't form. The oven was too hot, I think? Oh, and I screwed up my filling. Too watery. Sigh, one failure after another!

The second batch I made, some formed feet, and some didn't. And a lot of them cracked. Oven too hot. I don't remember my oven being this annoying before!!! Maybe it's me, lol. 

The third batch I made... they cracked, even with lower oven temperatures, and a wooden spoon keeping the door open!!! Ugh. But they did form tiiiiny feet. Not good enough, lol. I think despite what I've read telling me not to let the piped macarons rest, I probably should :(. But I'm so impatient!!

 Please stop cracking! :(

~

The macarons I've made all tasted the way they were supposed to, but aesthetically, it's not what I want. As long as they're eaten, I know, but the perfectionist in me wants to get this right. I have all of the tools I need! I just need to figure everything else out. I may look at the egg:almond flour:sugar ratios as well.


I've compiled information from the following (so far that I can recall)...
bravetart.com
foodnouveau.com 

notsohumblepie.blogspot.ca

WISH ME LUCK!!

OYSTER MOTOYAKI

I love oysters. I tried oyster motoyaki for the first time when I was out west. I was too scared to try it myself. I mean... Shucking oysters?? Myself?!

Alas, I gave in to my craving. I hauled my butt to the grocery store and purchased oysters. Smaller ones to eat raw (hehe) and larger ones for baking. 

You can honestly just bake Japanese mayo on top of the shucked oysters, but I wanted more than that. Here's the recipe I used..

6 large oysters 

1 cup Japanese mayo

1tbsp red miso paste

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms 

1/4 cup onions

1 tsp of butter

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F

2. Whisk together Japanese mayo, miso paste, and peppers

3. Sauté mushrooms and onions with butter

4. Make sure oysters are separated from shell. You can cut the meat in half if it's too big. Spread a thin layer of the mayo mixture on the shell.

5. Place oysters back on shells. Top with the mushrooms and onions.

6. Top oysters with the mayo mixture.

7. Bake oysters on baking sheet for 15-20min.
8. Serve warm!

Me

I love food. I love to laugh. And I love to learn. I'm easy to please and easy to entertain. If it were up to me, I'd clone myself just so I can be at various places at once.

I love baking and cooking. If I love something a restaurant, I'll try and make my own version until I'm sick of it. I know, it's a problem. But better than craving it ;)

I love eating. Hopefully I can take enough pictures to keep this blog entertaining!!

This blog is dedicated to things I like.. And hopefully I can update this quite a bit! Talk to you soon. Xoxo

DO'S AND DON'TS OF INSTAGRAM

I'm sure you have or at least know about Instagram. It's a really addicting photo-sharing app is what it is, lol. You get to post cool pictures of things you see, food you eat, etc. Of course, like with Facebook and Twitter, there are people who abuse it and kind of ruin it for the rest of us. In all honesty, I think some people need a reminder as to what's okay and not okay to do on instagram.. so here's a list! ;)


* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't post 20 photos at once. Nobody wants to see a whole album of what you did that night. To me, Instagram is for sharing the odd photo from an event.. and I mean, that's why there are frame apps (e.g. Pic Stitch) to share more than one photo at once. I really don't think it's okay to be flooding people's Instagrams with what should be in an album elsewhere... like on Facebook maybe?

* In addition to adding 20 photos at once, please don't post blurry pictures or pictures that look like the ones you've already posted. Like what's the point? Why would you post a crappy picture?!

* Do you really need to hashtag the crap out of all of your pictures?!

* Why are you taking pictures of notes?! Isn't that what Twitter is for?! (Or Facebook, but too many status updates on there is annoying too lol) But really.. who wants to read a paragraph on your Instagram? Use other social media if you "must" share your thoughts lol.

* If you look at the thumbnails of all your photos, and you see that a majority of those pictures are of your own face with the same pose... I think it's time for you to sit back and think about why you take a bajillion pictures of yourself and post them all the time lol

* Just like with everything else, nobody needs to know what your personal problems are. Instagram is supposed to be fun!!

DENIM: FINDING JEANS THAT FIT

I'm really picky when it comes to shopping for jeans. Having had to personally sell jeans, I expect sales associates to have good knowledge about denim as well. You should be able to trust the person selling you your jeans! If you look like a sausage, you'll want that person to grab you another size, not insist that a size 24 is actually nice on your size 26 waist.

- Try on different sizes, and even two of the same size of the same pair of jeans. And you HAVE to try on the jeans you buy before you buy them. Jeans of the same size can actually fit differently, especially if somebody tried them on already and stretched them out a bit.
- If you're debating on which pair to go with because one fits just right, and one's just a TINY bit snug, go with the snugger pair (IF they stretch out). If the jeans have a stretchy material, and you get the pair that fits just right, you're more than likely going to have a saggy bum and a slightly looser waist.
- There's a difference between a little snug and REALLY snug. Muffin tops aren't nice, and aren't comfortable either.. so go with what's comfortable for you, not the smallest size you can zip up.
- Always make sure you can move around in your jeans. Sit down, stand up, squat (not a lot cause you're gonna stretch those jeans out for another customer), etc.
- You never know how jeans are going to fit until you try them on. Held out in front of you, they'll look too skinny or too flared, but try them on! And especially if you're already going in there with a pair of jeans, you might as well try other styles ;)
-

* A trick I learned when I was younger was to take the jeans and wrap the waist band around your neck to see if it'll fit. This KIND of works, but I wouldn't trust it as much as actually putting the jeans on lol I'd only do this in a rush and when the store has a really good return policy

DENIM: KEEPING YOUR DARK JEANS DARK

I'm not saying I'm a denim expert, but I worked in retail for YEARS, and part of my job was to know denim. I've learned a few tricks along the way of course  ;)

KEEPING YOUR DENIM DARK

People looove dark denim. You can dress them up or dress them down easily. But the downside to owning them is when they lose their dark colour. That's part of the reason why I always decided against purchasing dark denim, because I thought, "What's the point? They're going to be a light blue in a few months anyway!" Now.. you're really not supposed to wash your jeans that often to preserve their colour in the first place. But this will slow down the process of losing its colour: soak your jeans in salt water! I don't know what it is, but when you soak your jeans in salt, it locks in the dye a little longer. I haven't scientifically assessed this, but it works for me!



What you'll need:
About 1/4-1/2 cup of salt (I just eyeball this, you really don't need to be precise)
Hot water to dissolve the salt
Cold water
Bucket or a large container you can put your jeans in
Your jeans (zipped and buttoned up, and turned inside out)

- Take the salt and dissolve it using the hot water.
- Add the salt water to a bucket or whatever you're using.
- You can either add your jeans now or add some cold water first and then add your jeans to the bucket.
- Fill the bucket with enough water to cover your jeans
- And now you have to wait! You can wait a day or two, but I typically let it sit in there for at LEAST two days, depending on how dark the jeans are.
- Once you're done soaking, it's time to wash your jeans!
- With the jeans still inside out, wash them in cold water in the delicate cycle. I also use detergent for dark clothing. It's up to you whether or not you want to dry them in the dryer. Jeans will last longer and stay darker if they're not put in the dryer, but I'm impatient so I just throw em in there (I mean, after waiting for days, who wouldn't be impatient?!)


* You can also add vinegar with the salt. I don't know how this actually affects the process, but I don't add it to the water that often anyway.
* I've seen other places where people soak their jeans for an hour prior to washing, and I haven't tested this out or anything, as I'm completely fine waiting for my jeans for days.
* The water may turn blue while soaking, but DON'T PANIC! Just let the jeans soak in the water for another day and the water will turn yellow and the blue will be gone.
* You really should limit the rubbing of your jeans while washing too.. like wash maybe 3-4 pairs at a time, and don't dry them.


Dark denim takes a bit more work and effort into caring for them, but it's worth it if you want them to keep their colour. I've had compliments on jeans I've owned for years because people think they're brand new!

First post!

So the other day, I got to thinking.. I've developed my own list of random tips and tricks that I've obtained over the years, and what better way to share them than by blogging?!

I'm completely new to blogging and actually having a theme to a blog, so this is going to be an adventure lol

I've debated on whether or not to remain anonymous, but for now, I think I'll keep it that way ;)


WISH ME LUCK!