French Macaroon vs The Cupcake

These gorgeous creatures are from Laduree in Paris. www.laduree.fr/v1/

Are we on the verge of another trend takeover in baked goods?

First it was the fresh baked monster cookie, now its cupcakes. I still love cookies and I still love cupcakes. They both grew to rapid popularity from cookie swaps and bake sales into big money. There isn't a town out there that doesn't have a cute little cupcake shop that sell your standard red velvet, devils food w/milk chocolate icing and traditional birthday flavors to orangesicle, triple citrus and s'mores. And those decorations! See this cool blog about cupcakes cupcakeestakethecake.blogspot.com.
There is a new cookie in town. The macaroon. It's not really new, at least not to the french, but we are discovering this tasty and pretty petite four. When you bite into it your teeth break a thin crunchy outside and immediately you get to the soft cookie, and then... the filling. The combinations of the cookie and filling seem to be endless causing a beautiful color spectrum you just can't resist. More restaurants and bakeries are starting to carry them and more recipes are being tried out by cooks at home. I haven't made any yet but I heard they are not as difficult as they may look. You will certainly see my results here when I do.

The cupcake is still going strong though and I think they will stick around for a while, but watch your back cupcake something just as cute is on the horizon.

Hmmmm.......pie anyone??

Guess who's coming to dinner?

I looove this! Can't beat yellow and green for a fresh look every time.
Dinnerware and table linens are another weakness of mine which is why I am working on my own line of table linens.

So romantic

Celedon green is the star here. Simple sophisticated arrangements make this work.

Love the jewel tones and the plate mixing. My favorite thing to do.

OMG! I hope there are 11 courses at these tables. I would never want to leave!  More is more for a layered exotic look.

Carolyn Roehm is the queen of tabletop in my eyes. She always amazes me with her beautiful color combinations in floral and china selections. Her arrangements are usually simple and sophisticated and leaves the pizzazz to the rest. Her attention to detail is always makes a photo finish. All of her books are amazing, but check out the Notebook Series. Your sure to get plenty of ideas.

I can see the possibilities now!

I love these retro plates. My mom has a set of the top right ones. I might have to steal them from her soon.

Here are some fab choices from Anthropologie

There's Always Room For Jello

I fell in love with jello all over again when I was trying to find sugar free substitutes for my dessert obsession after dinner ( or anytime really), and just wanted to cut down on my sugar intake for a while.  As I was cruising the isles at the grocery store I saw those boxes of jello and thought "Oh Yeah, why didn't I think of this before!" I began making the jello and sugar free pudding and adding a dollop of fat free Cool Whip on top. This was a great guilt free dessert. As I do with most things I make, I began to wonder how I could make this more pretty looking trying to find recipes and ideas, and I came across a great website called Victoriabelanger.wordpress.com, the self proclaimed "Jello Mistress of Brooklyn. She amazed me at the the sheer number of combinations of flavors of jello and the beautiful jello molds she made them in. Cool flavors like Pumpkin Pie jello and ones that look like Candy Corn made with Orange, Pineapple, Rum, and sweetened condensed milk. A true mistress indeed! It also took me back to the 'ol days of Better Homes and Garden's Lime Jello salad with peaches and sometimes vegetables. Remember the jello squares and Jello cake?

I have always loved and admired the Victorian era of extravegance and those fabulous copper molds that they used for gelatins and ice cream. Unfortunately I didn't have one of those molds when the inspiration struck me so  I decided to just use a plain old glass bowl. The flavors as seen in the photo above are as follows from top to bottom:

1st layer: Black Cherry jello with blueberries

2nd layer: Lime jello with Cool Whip

3rd layer: Peach jello with peaches

4th layer: Cherry jello with Cool Whip

It took most of the day to make, but it was delicious. I am now on a mission to experiment more with jello and the endless combinations of flavors and designs.

*Photography by Kai Morrison Vibe-n-Vision.com

Fair Market Value

I went to the Hollywood Farmer's Market this past Sunday to hunt for some deliciousness to prepare for the week. I am in LOVE with all beets right now and been roasting up a storm for the past few months with them. When I saw these lovely baby red carrots I had to have them. I decided to roast them too and they turned out so good that they are now in my top 5 fav veggie recipes. I simply tossed then with some olive oil, a little garlic salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of brown sugar since we were out of honey and put them in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes and then at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Sometimes the mother of invention turns out to be the best thing. They tasted like french fries!!! Any veggie that can do that is one for my recipe book. The beets came out great too as usual (see previous entry for recipe). The tops of the beets looked so fresh I decided to cook those as well. They were the best greens I ever tasted. I prepared them simply by sauteing  some red onion with olive oil and adding vegetable stock to the liquid and cooked on medium heat for 30 minutes. They don't need as long as collard, turnip or mustard greens.
I always have great success with whatever I buy at the market. That's why I was so sad to hear that that day might be the last day of the market!! Say it ain't so people. Apparently the film school nearby does not have access to their parking lot and since the market's permit to close streets has been revoked who's knows what will happen. I look forward to going to the market for the freshest fruits and vegetables and buy varieties I can't find in Ralph's, Von's or Food 4 Less which all by the way could stand improvement on what they do carry. Most of the produce has no flavor and at times has gone bad right on the shelves. The produce at the market is at best 3 days old, but for most vendors has been picked the day before.
The market has been there for 20 years and I hope it stays for 20 more. And yes, I signed the petition.