Recognizing Our High School Volunteers

I had to keep Cheryl in this picture of our high school volunteers who helped today — Zane, Sierra, Sam, Micah, Ava and Ian. She gathered them together for the photo and I love the look on her face. It perfectly shows how proud we are of every single one of them and will miss them when they head back to school next week.

At the Wednesday Community Meal today we had to bid farewell to our fantastic high school volunteers since they'll be back in school next week.

It's been an exceptionally busy summer at the meal and quite frankly I don't know what we would have done without their help. Today we served 429 meals during our two hour service and there was a constant line to get inside — every volunteer was indispensable.

My friend Cheryl told me today, "Heidi, it's so hard to see them go, I've enjoyed working with them so much."

When I got home from the meal today, Cheryl sent me this e-mail that I want to share:

Heidi,  I just felt I needed to write some thoughts about the teens and I put this together. 

Today we celebrated the end of summer but more importantly we had a send-off to our teen volunteers.  This group of eight have consistently come for more than five years helping in our kitchen.  What a help they all have been: chopping, carving, making biscuits, checking the oven, prepping desserts, etc.  We are so grateful of their time, energy and willingness to pitch in and do whatever they are asked. This summer I have truly looked forward to the time we have with them: sharing what they did for vacation, learning about their families, what activities they will be doing at school and what their hopes are for after graduation.  Our photo has six teens (Nick and Eleanor are missing).  Four will be seniors, two are sophomores and two are freshmen this year. It has been truly a fun summer for me and a joy to share this time.  Today we celebrated not only their volunteer time but all our faithful volunteers with ice cream ( Sam chose the flavor - a yummy white chocolate raspberry!) and cake.  It was bittersweet for me and I will be missing them all next Wednesday!

The cake and ice cream for our volunteers

It's so hard to believe how fast the time has flown. It's been an honor getting to know our young volunteers, working with them and watching them grow.

All of them have kind hearts and an enthusiastic willingness to help that confirms my hope that they will continue to volunteer throughout their lives.

Lime And Coconut Macarons

I put the lime in the coconut and I'm so glad I did because these macarons are now my absolute favorite. The tartness of the filling perfectly balances the sweetness of the shells.

I used my recipe for Lime Buttercream and just added 2 teaspoons of coconut extract and a few drops of electric green food coloring.

For the macaron shells, I added a just a touch of blue coloring to whiten them (click here for the explanation as to why this works) and topped them with shredded coconut before baking. It's important to get the coconut onto the piped macarons before they dry or the coconut won't stick.

Adding toppings to macaron shells is getting quite popular, I've seen everything from sprinkles and nuts to edible gold. The only downside of adding a topping is that the macarons don't sit flat after filling so a solution to this would be to add the topping only to the top shell. Or, do as I did and top all the shells and simply sit the macarons on their side to serve.

Here's the recipe:

Lime And Coconut Macarons
 180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
smallest touch of blue coloring
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts. Add the touch of blue coloring and mix just until combined.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Top each of the piped macarons with a pinch of shredded coconut.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.
While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with a dollop of Lime And Coconut Buttercream.

Lime And Coconut Buttercream 
Zest of two limes
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch of fine sea salt
2 teaspoons coconut extract
green food coloring

Mix together the zest, 3 tablespoons of sugar and lime juice and add it to a small saucepan. Over medium heat, heat the mixture until it comes to a boil, watching it and stirring it constantly. Simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes until it's reduced and begins to caramelize on the edges. The zest will change color to a darker green.

Remove the mixture from the stove and transfer it to small bowl to cool. Let it cool completely.

Place the whites in a clean mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar and cream of tartar.

Place bowl over a double boiler on medium heat, stir frequently until the mixture is very hot (120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit).

Move to mixer and whip whites on high for 2 to 3 minutes; turn down to medium low until cool (use the bowl as your guide).

In a separate bowl with a wooden spoon, stir butter to soften.

With mixer on medium/high speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, adding the next tablespoon just as the previous one is blended in. Once all the butter incorporated, add in the salt, coconut extract and cooled lime mixture and whip on high speed until fluffy. Tint with green food coloring.

Macaron Coloring Tip

Mini Lime Macarons

My macaron coloring tip is to color your macaron batter darker than you want your macarons to end up. The color of a macaron lightens after baking so if you want bright macarons be sure to intensify the batter. I find that gel food colorings work best.

To show the difference,  here's a side by side comparison of my recent batch of Mini Lime Macarons.

And, here's my recipe for Mini Lime Macrons filled with a buttercream flavored with fresh lime zest and juice. These were my favorite of three flavors including Almond Chocolate and Strawberry that I recently made for a baby shower

Mini Lime Macarons
(makes 75 quarter-sized macarons)
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
green food coloring

Line five heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.  Towards the end of mixing, add the food coloring.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small nickel sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Lime Buttercream

Filling the Mini Lime Macarons

Lime Buttercream 

Zest of two limes
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch of fine sea salt
green food coloring, optional

The lime juice, zest and sugar before cooking.

Mix together the zest, 3 tablespoons of sugar and lime juice and add it to a small saucepan. Over medium heat, heat the mixture until it comes to a boil, watching it and stirring it constantly. Simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes until it's reduced and begins to caramelize on the edges. The zest will change color to a darker green.

Remove the mixture from the stove and transfer it to small bowl to cool. Let it cool completely.

Place the whites in a clean mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar and cream of tartar.

Place bowl over a double boiler on medium heat, stir frequently until the mixture is very hot (120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit).

Move to mixer and whip whites on high for 2 to 3 minutes; turn down to medium low until cool (use the bowl as your guide).

In a separate bowl with a wooden spoon, stir butter to soften.

With mixer on medium/high speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, adding the next tablespoon just as the previous one is blended in. Once all the butter incorporated, add in the salt and cooled lime mixture and whip on high speed until fluffy. If desired add a touch of green food coloring.

Macaron Advice

The grand window display at Bon Macaron in Victoria, B.C.

This tower of macarons was also on display in a second window of the small macaron only shop at 1012 Broad Street.

The shop carried 24 flavors of sweet macarons and 12 flavors of sweet and savory macarons. Eleanor and I had a hard time settling on three to try. In the end we chose White Truffle and Sea Salt, Cantaloup and Sour Plum. The Cantaloup was our favorite.

My daughter Eleanor and I unexpectedly came across a macaron shop on our recent trip to Victoria, B.C. and in addition to tasting some delicious macarons, I was able to glean some valuable information from the chef.

Eleanor and I were just walking one evening when I saw the macaron window displays of a small shop called Bon Macaron and shrieked with delight. The shop was closed for the day but we went back the next day for a taste and I got a chance to speak briefly with the chef.

I asked him what was the base of the filling of the delicious White Truffle and Sea Salt Macaron I had just tasted.  He said cream cheese so I asked if his experience was similar to mine that cream cheese filled macarons don't last as long. He agreed that cream cheese filled macarons don't last as long as buttercream filled ones because of the cheese's higher moisture content.

He said cream cheese filled macrons are best eaten one to two days after they're made and buttercream filled ones last three to four days.

What I have found can also cause a macaron to not last as long is the addition of fresh fruit to a filling. I think the taste of fresh fruit is preferable to preserves because it's less sweet but it also contains moisture that can cause the macaron shells to soften and gradually dissolve. When this happens, the taste is still great but the texture isn't. I've tried to combat this problem by cooking fresh fruit first to eliminate moisture but it doesn't always work. Strawberries are especially troublesome and I might just have to resort to using a low-sugar preserve.
 
Knowing how different fillings affect how long a macaron will last is very important when it comes to deciding what flavor to make. Because there are so many variations possible, there are so many variables that can affect the outcomes. This unpredictability is part of what makes macaron making exciting but it can also make it stressful, especially when you're making them for an event.

It felt good having my experiences confirmed by a macaron professional. If I ever get back to Victoria, I want to go back to Bon Macaron — There are still 33 flavors I haven't tasted like Mimosa, Pineapple & Basil and Siracha. I'm definitely going back!

Mini-Macarons

Strawberry and Lime Mini-Macarons

Chocolate Almond and Lime Mini-Macarons. (Notice how the green color of the Lime Macarons shows up so much more when next to the paler Chocolate Almond Macarons.)

Mini-macarons are adorable and perfect for parties. You'll get 75 macarons from one recipe and they are so pretty that they can do double duty as both a treat and a centerpiece.

These mini strawberry, lime and chocolate almond macarons are for my friend Shannon who is throwing a baby shower this weekend.

I also find mini-macarons are the easiest to pipe so they're a good place to start if you want to try making French macarons. I pipe them nickel-size and then they spread a bit and end up about the size of a quarter.

If you want to make an assortment of colors from one batch like I did, don't add the coloring to the egg whites as usual.

Instead mix the almond meal and powdered sugar into the egg whites and then just as it comes together, divide the batter and then add the coloring you want and proceed with the technique of folding the batters with a rubber scraper until they are the right consistency for piping.

Once you have success making these, I guarantee you won't want to stop because it's so satisfying and the flavor and color choices are endless.

Click here for the basic recipe and my video showing how to make them.



 

Lots Of Veggies

In memory of our friend Sue who passed away last week, we placed flowers and a card at her reserved seat in front of the kitchen window.

Guests at the Wednesday Community Meal today were treated to lots of  veggies courtesy of The Oregon Food Bank and volunteer Kate who has an amazing garden and is so generous.

From the Oregon Food Bank we received four cases of asparagus that we roasted in the oven and seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper. From Kate we had garden fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, carrots, beets, onions, garlic and cantaloup.

We sliced the cucumbers and seasoned them with rice vinegar, garlic, salt and a touch of sugar. They were crisp, cooling and an absolutely delicious addition to the meal. We used the tomatoes for the salads and roasted the squash, beets and carrots to serve as sides. The plates today were so colorful!

It's so wonderful to be able to treat our guests to such high-quality, fresh and nutritious produce. Our guests love it and many stopped by the kitchen window to say thanks.

We served 346 meals today.

The salads we served today.

Asparagus ready for the oven.

Another treat today was chicken from Phil's Uptown Meat Market that we coated with barbecue sauce and baked.

Pink Vanilla-Almond Shortbread

Because the flavors of almond and cherry taste so similar and these cookies are pink, I almost named them "Mock-Cherry Shortbread." And, when I asked my husband what flavor he thought they were, cherry was his very first guess.

No matter the name, these pink shortbread cookies are pretty, delicious and simple to make. Using the slicing method you can have these cookies ready to go into the oven in no time.

I also coated the cookies with pink sanding sugar for a glitter effect and extra crunch. If you don't have pink sanding sugar (I bought mine at a baking supply store), use turbinado sugar, it works just as well.

Here's the recipe:

Pink Vanilla-Almond Shortbread

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 1/2 cups flour
a few drops pink food coloring (I like the gel paste coloring)
1/2 cup pink sanding sugar or turbinado sugar

The coloring and sanding sugar that I used.

In a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, sea salt and pink coloring. Whip until well-combined and light and fluffy.

Add the flour and mix just until combined.

Divide the dough into thirds and wrap each in plastic wrap and roll into a log. Refrigerate the rolls for at least 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line four baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the logs from the plastic wrap and roll in the sanding sugar, using your hands to gently press it in and evenly coat the logs.

Slice off 1/4 inch rounds and place them on the baking sheets, spacing them 1-inch apart. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown just along the edges.

Teapot Cookies

I just returned from a fun trip to Victoria B.C. with my daughter Eleanor where we splurged and enjoyed high tea at the Empress Hotel. It was a memorable experience that Eleanor and I made last more than two and half hours by eating and sipping very slowly.

Eleanor at high tea at The Empress.

At the Empress gift shop we came across this cute set of teapot cookie cutters and Eleanor encouraged me to buy them by sweetly saying "Mom, you should treat yourself."

I'm glad I did because when I use these cutters I'll fondly remember our trip together.

To decorate the teapots I outlined and flooded the cookies with white royal icing and then let that dry completely before painting them using gel food colorings and a bit of water and lemon extract as thinners.

My painting supplies.

For more tips on how to paint cookies click here.

When I first started decorating the teapots, I tried to get too literal and realized I don't have the artistic ability for that. I especially had a hard time trying to add the space between the handle and the teapot. In the end I decided a simple flower decoration was the best I could do.

Here are pics of my teapot failure and closeups of the simple flower designs:

I just wasn't able to figure out to add the air space between the handle and the teapot. So in the end I scrapped my initial idea making a detailed teapot. A simple flower design was all I could tackle.

Hammer Cookies

My hammer cookies are done and ready to share. The design was simple but making 200 still took a lot of time and counter space!

I was lucky to have my friend Pam visiting me the day I decorated the tops of the hammers and she helped me find space for them in the kitchen and smooth out the icing after I filled them.
 
I purchased the cute hammer cutter online from a company called American Tradition Cookie Cutters.

Here's how I made them:

I baked a lot of cookies.

I used a #2 tip and gray colored medium consistency icing to add a line at the head of the hammer. I then let this dry for about 15 minutes before I outlined and filled the top of the hammer with flood consistency icing.

I just kept working in sections until I had the top of all the hammers completed.

I let the cookies dry overnight before moving onto the next step. Because I had so many cookies all over my kitchen, I knew I needed to be able to pick them up and move them around. Letting the tops dry overnight means that I will be able to touch that area and move the cookies when I decorate the handles.

To decorate the handles, I outlined them with red medium consistency icing using a #2 tip and also added two lines down the middle.

I let this outline dry for about 1 hour before moving onto the next step.

With flood consistency icing and a #2 tip I filled in the handles. I like the textured effect on the handles and think it adds a lot of interest to the cookies. Once the handles are filled in you just need to wait for them to dry completely. This takes about 8 hours.

Here are all the cookies packed and ready to be delivered. When tackling big cookie projects, be sure to give yourself three or four days to work on them. Big batches of decorated cookies aren't something you whip up last minute.

Coming Soon...Hammer Cookies

I've been very busy the last few days making 200 hammer sugar cookies for an upcoming ground breaking ceremony.

Making so many cookies took eight batches of my favorite cookie dough and much patience but I'm liking how they are turning out and can't wait to share the results.

Stay tuned....

Sue

We served 400 meals at today's Wednesday Community Meal but we should have served 401.

Just as we opened our doors, I received the sad news that my friend Sue had passed away.  Sue has been an important part of the meal since the very beginning — We always held a special table for her and her friends, right in front of the kitchen window.

Every Wednesday she would look into the kitchen for me and I would look out into the dining room for her and when we made eye contact we would smile and wave at each other. Sometimes I would find time to run to the dining room and give her a hug and visit for a bit. I deeply regret that I didn't take the time to give her a hug and visit the last time I saw her.

Below, I'm reposting my blog post from October 3, 2012 in honor of Sue. I miss her and will never forget her. She has a special place in my heart.

Forming Friendships:

 My favorite table of friends. Clockwise from back right - Sue, Gideon, Peggy, volunteer Dan, Billie and Marilyn. Today I asked Sue what she liked best about the meal and she said, "it's the people here and the variety of food you serve."

The Wednesday Community Meal enriches lives. It connects people in our community and as a result many friendships have formed.

Someone I'm so pleased to have gotten to know is Sue.

Every Wednesday, I look forward to seeing Sue and her group of friends sit and eat at their reserved table right in front of the kitchen window.

Sue has a warm personality and lovely smile. She always goes out of her way to greet me and simply makes my day.

I also enjoy seeing her and her friends visit and enjoy the social aspect of the meal.  Sue reminds me of the importance of friendship and that it can be just as nourishing as food— I'm blessed to know her.