Chocolate Chili Macarons

Posted on February 7, 2018March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I love making macarons. I’m still tinkering with ingredients and practising my macaronage (the specific technique by which you mix your batter) and have yet to master this tricky French cookie, but I think I get a little better with every attempt. My favourite thing about making them is coming up with new flavours to try. My husband suggested a chocolate chili vibe a few months ago and I recently realized it would be perfect for Valentine’s Day! I had been sitting on the idea because I wasn’t quite sure how to represent each flavour. I thought about cocoa cookies, spicy jelly filling, chocolate chili chai buttercream, using a fresh chili puree to flavour the cookie, and garnishing a vanilla cookie with cayenne powder or fresh chilies but I ultimately decided to keep it simple with a bright red, spicy, cayenne powder flavoured cookie and bitter, dark chocolate ganache filling. The result is a slightly sweet, seductively spicy, adult cookie.

I used Hisako Ogita’s basic macaron recipe from I Love Macarons and added 1 tsp cayenne powder to the dry ingredients and a whole lot of red gel food colouring to the wet ingredients before mixing. I garnished with cocoa powder after piping the cookies onto silicon baking mats. Bitter ganache is shockingly simple to make, here’s how I do it:

Bitter Ganache

Ingredients

100 ml whippingcream
3½ oz unsweetened baking chocolate

Method

Finely chop the chocolate and place in medium bowl with a tea towel underneath to protect your countertop.
Bring whipping cream to a soft boil in a small pot.
Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate and stir until the ganache is glossy.
Cool to room temperature before spreading between cookies. Reheat using a double boiler if it becomes too cold to spread.

All photos by me.

Complete Collection

Posted on February 2, 2018March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who is organized enough to own a favourite piece of clothing in multiple colours. I never seem to be on the ball enough to go back and grab the same style in a second hue or print after falling in love with the first. I’ve also always wondered, while watching others do it, if this makes good wardrobe building sense.

I bought this skirt from ModCloth a couple of years ago, in yellow, and immediately loved it. I love the colour, the cut, the way it moves and the way I can style it to suit every season. I get compliments nearly every time I wear it and it’s always the first thing I toss in my suitcase when packing for an adventure. I’ve already had to mend it twice and will be utterly heartbroken when it dies.

I’ve been aware since I bought the skirt – and agonized over the colour choices – that ModCloth sells the style in a rainbow of colour options. I’ve kept the notion that I might buy it again tucked in my back pocket but never thought I would pull the trigger; the fashion world is so vast and life’s too short to explore the same place twice, right? But then I saw my beloved skirt on sale, in red, and decided to see what this complete collection thing was all about.

Let me say, I’m so glad I did. I love this skirt as much as the first! The neat thing is, I already know exactly how to wear it… because I sort of already owned it. It seem to me to make good sense when assembling a wardrobe, even on a budget. You know it’s going to work with your overarching style, and match the other pieces already in your collection, because you’ve previously tested it. The longevity of the new investment seems solid too. The risk of the new piece falling out of style or you falling out of love with it are low when the rewards of old one have been so great.

I think I’ve been converted to this way of thinking and shopping. Maybe I’ll become one of those people with the gorgeously curated closet holding a full rainbow of their favourite pieces.

Skirt ModCloth
Sweater H&M
Stockings What Katie Did
Jewellery old

All photos by me.

My Everyday Carry

Posted on January 31, 2018March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

Here they are: the secret contents of my purse. The things I carry everyday. Depending on the day, the weather, the plan or the purse, I frequently carry more, but never less.

So, what’s always at my side?

( from top, down; left to right)

chap stick (Lip Smacker, bubblegum flavour)
stitch ripper
safety pins
handkerchief
cleaning cloth for my glasses
compact mirror
wallet
notebook
hand lotion
gum (the weirder, the better)
ruler
band-aid
pen
nail file
Tide To Go spot/stain remover
lighter
business cards

Some of the things I would be absolutely lost without are my stitch ripper, safety pins, pen, notebook and ruler. As a seamstress, I can’t responsibly leave the house without my stitch ripper and safety pins. They have saved the day on many occasions at weddings, parties and markets. I take a strange joy in asking a man if his suit jacket is new and then helping him remove the temporary stitching on the vents. I use my pen and notebook everyday for lists, ideas, recording or giving out information. I don’t know how others live without them. My ruler is especially handy when shopping or settling those strange arguments that only happen between close friends.

I don’t get to use my lighter often, but I keep it full and ready for those exciting occasions when someone needs a gentleman to light a candle or cigarette. I delight in being a gentlemanly woman among average men.

Some things you may think are missing from my bag are keys, phone and tampons. I hate carrying keys. I don’t drive often and we installed a fancy, futuristic keypad code lock the first day in our new house, so I don’t have much use for keys and frequently forget to take them when I leave the house. I do usually carry my phone, but not always. It’s far too easy for me to work from my phone, so I leave it behind when I need to force myself to rest, relax and be present. I recently freed myself from the need to carry a clutch of tampons and liners when I switched to a menstrual cup and Thinx period panties backup system (both of which I highly recommend). I don’t leave the house feeling unprepared for life with a uterus anymore, so I don’t usually need to carry any disposable products with me.

All photos be me.

False Start

Posted on January 29, 2018March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I was sick with a bad cold and stuck inside almost all of last week, so I didn’t get to enjoy the unseasonably mild weather we’ve been having. It’s been a strange feeling, being sick and bundled up inside at the end of January but looking outside at a garden that looks like early spring. The birds are chirping and the sun is streaming softly through the windows between gently rolling rainstorms but I can’t let myself get excited because it doesn’t feel real; it’s too early to be spring.

It’s hard to know how to dress for this type of weather. We’re still in the middle of winter but the temperature’s above zero in the afternoons and all the snow is gone. The colourful clothes of spring don’t match the browns, greys and muted greens of the world outside but my winter clothes feel a bit too heavy. I’m keeping the spring clothes tucked safely away so I’m not so crestfallen when the chill returns but I couldn’t help but sneak out the kitschy rabbit earrings while the weather is calm and promising.

Sweater ModCloth
Skirt ModCloth
Socks McGregor Socks
Earrings old
Ring old

All photos by Matt.