Twelve Days

...until I fly home to Philadelphia. It's the day after finals and I will officially be on spring break! While I'm home, I'll be attending a very special event. My sister Rachel's birthday is on March 10, so I'll be celebrating it a little bit late by taking her to a concert. We aren't seeing just "anybody". No, there's a fantastic lineup of 3 of our favorite artists. They are as follows: Angel Taylor, Ingrid Michaelson, and Mat Kearney. We are SO STOKED. Yes.

So, I have a few musical youtube links to keep you occupied for a little bit. Enjoy.

(This song helped me through a lot.)

(I love all of his powerful lyrics)

(It's as if she took pages from my journal)

Harry Potter en Français

Yup. That's right. I totally went "there".

I'm not fluent in French by any means, but I

am fairly proficient. This is coupled by the fact that

I'm taking intermediate level French classes at UCLA.

So, in the interest of making my learning even more

"fun", I've decided to read through Harry Potter in

French. Don't get me wrong, French classes are one of

the highlights of my day. I love learning this language and

using it. If I had more time at UCLA, I think that I'd make it

my minor. Oh well. If I can't take upper div. lit. classes in

French, I can at least learn enough to read the literature for myself.

So, that's the plan. I'd really like to take a French class from

now until I graduate, so about 4 quarters. (Phew.)

Just a word of warning, I may just be posting here and there in French.

If you follow me on twitter, you know that I sometimes add a little

Francophone flair to my tweets. If you don't like it or don't understand

it, I'd recommend using an online translator or you can just ask me.

Anyway, I bought Harry Potter in French today from the French

version of Amazon.com. So, that's going to be my spring break/spring

quarter reading. Wish me luck!

S'il vous plaît commentaire sur mon blog. Merci!

Makeover

...guess who's trying her hand a "graphic" design for her blog banner.

(raises hand)

...guess who's not really succeeding.

(raises other hand)

That's right. I give up. I give big ups to the people who use

typography and Adobe Illustrator to make very pretty

things. I, on the other hand, just plain suck when it comes to

any sort of design. I can take photos and "edit" them, but when

it comes to creating cool stuff... yeah... it's laughable.

So you'll notice that this blog is pretty, erm, sparse when it

comes to prettiness. Well, I hope that you enjoy the content

rather than my attempted Picnik banner. (I know. I know.)

Well, my blog is called "Les (Més)Aventures" for a reason.

Chalk this one up to another "misadventure".

Someday, I'll get the guts to ask some of my fabulously

talented amis to help me out. (sigh)

...anybody wanna help out a poor blogger in need...?

Raspberry Macarons

Okay, so anyone who knows me remotely well knows that I'm a little bit of a foodie. I'm not really a "restaurant foodie". I'm what (I refer to as) a "cooking foodie". That means that I love to cook. I love to cook easy things, difficult things, weird things, ethnic things, etc. Put it this way: If it's edible, I'll make an attempt to "re-create" it.

Lately, the thing that has been grabbing my culinary attention is the Macaron. Yes. I spelled it right. It is NOT Macaroon, as your spell checker will suggest. It is Macaron. The word macaron comes from the Italian "maccherone" and the Venetian "macarone" (meaning fine paste), from which macaroni is also derived. So, it's really an Italian cookie, perfected by the French. Seriously. They're ALL over France, including MacDonalds. I know. In the US, we get hash browns. They get pastries. As the French would say, pas juste!

Anyway, the recipe looks deceptively easy, right? But the trick to these delicious pastries is technique and baking skill. They're one of the most difficult things to bake, because they're just so temperamental! Over spring break, I'm going to attempt to create a successful batch of them. Oy vey, wish me luck. I have the feeling that my first few batches are going to end up in the trash. Macarons require finesse. If this goes well, I'll also document my foray into pâté. I have a great recipe but I think that I'll need to wait until summertime for that one.

Bon Appétit!

(Please note, they usually don't go on sticks. But aren't they so pretty?!?!)

Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons:

For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
1 tablespoon cherry pink powdered food coloring

Prepare the macarons:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar and almonds and powdered color in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

For the filling:
4 oz mascarpone, room temperature
2-3 tablespoon good quality raspberry preserves

In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and preserves together until well incorporated. Fill a small piping bag with a large plain tip (Ateco #809) with it and pipe in the center of each shell. Let the shell mature at least 24 hours in the fridge so all the flavors have the chance to meld together

Aujourd'hui

(sigh)

I need a "rewind" button on my life.

Excellent Verses to Meditate on

Lamentations 3:21-33

This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope.

The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

"Therefore I have hope in Him."

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

To the person who seeks Him.

It is good that he waits silently

For the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man that he should bear

The yoke in his youth.

Let him sit alone and be silent

Since He has laid it on him.

Let him put his mouth in the dust,

Perhaps there is hope.

Let him give his cheek to the smiter,

Let him be filled with reproach.

For the Lord will not reject forever,

For if He causes grief,

Then He will have compassion

According to His abundant lovingkindness.

For He does not afflict willingly

Or grieve the sons of men.

A Good Quotation

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc.

Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.’…

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted?

You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.

Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: ‘I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.’”

–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure