Mandarin Macarons - I think I've done it!

After a few OK attempts, I think I have nice macarons now. These are shamelessly copied from a FABulous mandarin macaron Jeff and I had at Angelina in Paris.

There's reduced mandarin juice in the white chocolate ganache, and mandarin zest in the shell.

And I found out the secret of getting the really bright colours.

You use a lot of food colouring. Who knew? This is half a teaspoon or so of orange Wiltons gel food colouring.

And the way to stop the cracking was to turn the oven DOWN. I was using 140 (fan forced) and I dropped it to 120 degrees. I also popped a thermometer into the oven, to see what temperature it was REALLY at. Turns out that 120 on the dial, and fan forced, gives us 140 in the oven. And I baked only one tray at a time (there were 7 trays!). Watched Flash Gordon while I shuffled trays.

Now the issue is the big air pocket under the perfect top of the shell. Look at that top macaron in the stack - some of them you can see right through! So that's not perfect. We're in the right ballpark though.

Pretty, pretty stamp set

I bought these new stamps from Stampin Up, cos they are so pretty. And, to make them worth while, I had a go at using them straight away. As you must.

I've used a little masking, and favourite colours, and apart from that, not much in the way of clever tricks.

A winter toadstool

There's a cool toadstool in my garden. None of my kids were energetic enough to go all the way outside to look at them, so *I* was the only one who got to take the photo. Ha!

Salad for lunch

This is the kind of lunch I like to make myself on my days off. Ripe tomatoes from the window, real herbs, plenty of greens, and a poached egg on top.

I just learned how to poach an egg in the microwave - so far, perfect every time! You get a little microwave safe jug or cup (I use one that is big enough for my slotted spoon to dip into). Put in a little splash of vinegar, then fill it enough with boiling water. Crack your eggy into it, then cook for about 40 seconds on high (that may need adjusting in your oven, of course). Lift it out with a big slotted spoon, and there you go!

Using my Belgian stamps

I'm fond of papercrafts generally, and that includes rubber stamps. And that includes (confusingly) clear stamps, that are made of polymer, not rubber. And that includes clear stamps from Belgium. I just never knew until my recent Paris trip that there was such a thing as a Belgian stamp to like.

Well, once I found a shop called "Le Temple Du Scrap" I knew I was on the right track. There, and in a surprisingly well stocked bookshop in the Paris suburbs, is where I found by Belgian stamps (they are made by Artemio - good luck with the website). I'll dig the actual stamps our for a photo some other day, but here's what I made just now:

That rotten old grid paper I've used is actually pristine new cardstock, stamped with two paper-aging stamps - one has a grid design, and the other has aged edges that match. Sigh. There's even a hole! And the fruit comes from another set.

Do you remember when pears were the "in" thing in stamping? Now it's all birds and owls, but pears had their day, and we thought it would never end...

Ann-Marie taught me a great tip too. When I first used these clear stamps, they were stamping pretty badly. Wait, I'll show you...

Bleah, nobody would want to colour in THAT yucky berry!

When your brand new, clear polymer stamps are stamping badly, just run over the stamping surface with an eraser! Then give it a little clean and see the improvement. I've not had this problem before (but then, all my clear stamps have come from

My Stamps here in Melbourne).

Here's the strawberry after its eraser bath...

Hand me some markers, I need to colour that one!

There's more Lego in Melbourne!

There's a big Lego exhibition just opened in fed square- Art of the Brick.
This is a super cool mosaic, which WE made a part of. That's Ryan, who designed it - he's a Lego professional, and that's a rare thing. His mum is my travel agent!

Prize winning coffee

Jeff and I are having a spur of the moment visit to the Good Food Show. This is the prizewinning coffee in the latte art competition. I drank it. Well, they asked for a volunteer, and you have to be quick!