Yesterday was supposed to be the kick-off to another five-days-straight of baking. Except that it was 87° F in the kitchen. If I knew the book would be heavily marketed in tropical regions, maybe I would've given it a go, but given the size of my pregnant belly, and the fact that I no longer breathe the way I used to thanks to the baby hanging out on my lungs, I decided to wait until the night to cook.
And cook I did. I tested Macaroon Brownie Bars and Spiced Sugar Tartlets, and made two extra batches of tart dough, now on retreat in the fridge. Results were mixed. The brownie bars weren't sweet enough. I'm finding I get really conservative with sugar (impending motherhood?), and often have dry, even bitter results. I'll retest that one with another egg for moisture, a little more sugar, and a little less cocoa powder.
The tartlets were great; very simple, but delicious given a nice dollop of crème fraîche.
Today, a little more prepared with ingredients, recipes, and juice frozen into some of my ice-cube trays, I'm shooting for four recipes. I'll let you know tomorrow.
Recipes Tested: 2, late last night!
Average Per Day: 3
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Spiced sugar tartlets sound great! Looking forward to that recipe for sure.
And baking when it's hot is rough. My externship from culinary school was in Atlanta during the Olympics, and half of the time I was working at a bakery. Thank goodness the hours were 10pm to 6am, it was brutal during the day!
The tartlets look yummy:)
I was baking Sunday morning for a brunch and there was a definite temperature change going from the kitchen into the living room. Too hot I have sworn off baking until it cools down.
Good luck with the next installment, can hardly wait for your book to come out:)
I was just looking out for some cold soups to beat the summer heat.
cold salad with lettuce etc have becoming boring.
Anybody with some cold soup/salad receipe ideas would be awesome
oon--
just got back from a family vacation, and one of the cousins had an amazing couscous salad recipe. well, you can just toss in whatever you like, but hers had
couscous
yellow bell pepper
scallions
cucumber
raisins
feta cheese
vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic
i think it would be yummy to make a couscous salsd out of antipasti, too: sundried tomatoes, marinated mushrooms and artichokes, kalamata olives, maybe some dice salami...
I threw my leftover vegetable salad into a blender with extra lemon juice for a mock gazpacho. It was easier going down in mush form.