It is very tempting when blogging to present a picture of perfection. To fool people into thinking I have a magic touch and everything I do turns to gold, that I live in a perfectly designed house with kidlets always dressed beautifully and myself with never a hair out of place (ok everyone who knows me stop laughing now!).
I do want this blog to be inspirational and inspired but sometimes it is good to tell the truth.
Last week I had our More Than A Mama Easter Fayre I was feeling fairly confident as I had been doing fayres for a year now and I think I know what I doing.
The week before I had another fayre and had made some french macarons. Now I have a history with macarons, I think they look divine and have always wanted to have them on my stall.
This is what they should look like .
Thanks to Melena for her gorgeous pictures. (She teaches classes on how to make them.)
I have made some in the past from Nigella's Domestic Goddess and while they have been very yummy they looked blobby and cracked.
So I tried another recipe, and another and another and another etc.....and finally thought I had cracked it. I made a batch that had the 'foot' and kept their shape which was a little bit like a meringue and they didn't have the lovely glossy top but I thought I was close.
So the day before the fair I took my aged egg whites and whipped up two batches of macarons. They looked perfect on the trays I let them form a skin and put them in the oven.
After a little while I checked and they were losing their lovely colour and going brown so I took them out.
They did have lovely flat tops and a glossiness but I couldn't get them off the tray! I tried cooking another tray for longer at a lower temperature but no matter what I did they were too goey and stuck.
ARRGGHHH!
I WILL crack them one day!........(or I just may crack first!)
Anyway after that I broke a cookie topper ready for a cake.
Our internet went down for four days.
My oldest kidlet caught croup and we had to get the paramedics out and she has missed a week of school! Finally in my frazzled state I was foolishly taking a picture of a cake while the kidlets were having lunch and 'tiny k' knocked her juice over which spilled straight onto the cake!
Fortunately I managed to rescue it from disaster, and I am now starting to calm down and relax for Easter...ok yes I have also had a great big Barcadi and Coke (it's all we had in!) and some of the kidlets Easter chocolate (I will replace it).
Anyway hopefully with more time now I can post some beautiful things and fool you into imagining my 'perfect' life again.
(Look away now!)
(Look away now!)
Natasha, I have only just now discovered your blog! I have had a giggle reading this post... and I see you are also talented at writing!!!! Love your work.. and I look forward to following more of your adventures here! Toni
ReplyDeleteHi! First of all, I love your blog, I always get the most amazing ideas from it!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I have tried twice to make macaroons, the first time everything came out perfect, so I thought, "I got this in the bag! I have a natural talent for this," etc... well, the second time around was a disaster! I don't know what went wrong, I was so pissed off, I spent a day trying to make them and no luck...so I feel your pain...
I'm gonna try to make them again someday, so good luck to you too...we'll get those suckers!!!
Lara
You are too funny! I especially love the last picture- if I want to do anything creative, I pay for it with a destroyed house.
ReplyDeleteYou will crack it one day! :) And compared to me, you are definitely a Domestic Goddess!
ReplyDeleteHey Natasha........I am totally feeling for you right know.........and also having a little giggle! you are not alone though.. I have just posted my disaster story from the other day and hubby said I should've taken photo's of my broken cake....NOT!
ReplyDeleteYou will make perfect macaroons one day I am certain of it....just think, you can't be perfect at everything now! ;o)
Hope your daughter is better now!
Take care
Nicky x
Hope you have a lovely Easter and Hope you crack the macaroons xxx
ReplyDeleteoh dear :o( - I know you will def crack it one day, if anyone can, you can! Hope A is feeling better and that you are back to perfect life and having a positively perfect weekend :o)
ReplyDeletexx
Thank for being so honest with us all. I love being inspired by blogs but it can be exhausting seeing all this golden goodness sometimes!
ReplyDeleteHaha so funny. Have been following your blog for a while. I adore the painted cookies. Any mum knows exactly what you are talking about. I love that you have shared the bad as well as the good.
ReplyDelete