Chocolate macaroons

This is my first attempt in making macaroons and I am quite pleased with the result though not all of this batch turned out consistently perfect. Made with just three ingredients it is still technically challening. These ones are chocolate filled with a dark chocolate ganache flavoured with rum and spices. They would be a great treat for Christmas, too.

CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

140g ground almonds
275g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder
4 egg whites

For the filling:
100ml double cream
100g dark chocolate
1 tbsp rum
1 tsp mixed spices (cinnamon, cardamon, allspice)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Blend the ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder until very fine. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold under the mix. Place into a piping bag and pipe 3cm circles onto a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Let rest for 15-30 min. Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 min with the door slightly ajar. Leave to cool. For the ganache heat the cream, the rum and the spices and pour over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the mixture is velvety smooth. Spread the filling onto one macaroon, then sandwich with another macaroon.

Colour lovers: leaf peeping

I always love the autumnal colours with the leaves changing from green to red, yellow and gold to shades of brown. This is due to the pigment chlorophyll decreasing when the daylight hours shorten and temperatures cool.
Carotenoids are present in leaves the whole year round, but their orange-yellow colors are usually masked by chlorophyll. The reds and purples come from another group of pigments called anthocyanins. Unlike the carotenoids, these pigments are not present in the leaf throughout the growing season, but are actively produced towards the end of summer. Check out the palette at colourlovers

Pumpkin pie

This week was Canadian Thanksgiving. It's occurring on the second Monday in October and is an annual holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. In the United States Thanksgiving Day is currently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November and has been an annual tradition since 1863.

PUMPKIN PIE

sweet pastry base
500g pumpkin, peeled and cubed
2 tbs rum
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
125ml single cream
1 egg
100g sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Peel and cube the pumpkin and place on a baking tray. Cover with foil and leave in the oven for 40 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Blind bake the sweet pastry and prepare the filling by processing the pumpkin and adding the other ingredients. Pour in the filling and bake for about an hour at 170 degrees until set. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Vegan banana walnut brownies

This is a quick and easy recipe for brownies and without eggs and milk vegan too.

BANANA WALNUT BROWNIES

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 ripe banana
150g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
hand full chopped walnuts
1 vanilla pod
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground spice
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Chop the chocolate and mix with the flour, baking powder, sugar and spices. In another bowl mix the water, soy milk and oil. Add to the other ingredients. Mush the banana and to the mix as well as the walnuts. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top looks dry. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Colour lovers: spice route

The colours of dry spices: turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, cardamom and garam masala. These spices are slightly bitter, sweet, peppery or earthy warm. Turmeric itself can be used to make fabric dye but fades quickly with exposure to sunlight. Check out the palette at colourlovers

September

Dates, sunflowers and Spanish tapas.

Update from my garden: tomatoes

These are probably the last tomatoes for this year. We harvested even the green ones and made green tomato chutney with them. Thanks for the idea Denise!

GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY

1kg green tomatoes
4-5 chillies
fresh root ginger
200g crisp apples
300g shallots
2 tsp salt
200g light brown sugar
1/2 pint malt vinegar

Chop tomatoes, shallots and apples roughly and ginger and chillies finely. Place all the ingredients in a deep pot and bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved, and simmer for about another half and hour until desired consistency is reached. Pour into warmed sterilised jars, cover and label.

Colour lovers: Spanish tapas

This palette uses earthy tones like ochre, terracotta and burnt orange. According to legend the tapas tradition began when king Alfonso X of Castile recovered from an illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns would not be allowed to serve wine to customers unless it was accompanied by a small snack or "tapa" (tapar "to cover").
Common Spanish tapas include Tortilla Española, Patatas bravas and Chorizo al vino and lend their names to colours in this palette.
Check out the palette at colourlovers

Update from my garden: chillies

Apache chili peppers are are relatively mild when still light green but once they've matured to glossy red can be very hot...

Seaside

Québec, Canada.

Colour lovers: architectural

Cool colours like concrete and steel combined with warm wood and brick combined with neutral glass in this architectural colour palette.
Check out the palette at colourlovers

Update from my garden: tomatoes

This is a selection of tomatoes we planted this year: German Orange Strawberry, Green Zebra, Black Seaman, Garden Pearl, Yellow Perfection and Moneymaker. Love the colours!