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.

Valentine’s Day Birthday, Part I

Posted on February 11, 2015February 12, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

I think this will be the best year of my life. We’re only two weeks into February — one week away from my 27th birthday — and the hubs and I already have big things coming together for 2015. My husband is moments away from inheriting a cottage in Northern Ontario that has been in his family since the 1920’s (don’t get the wrong idea, it’s a money-pit) with intentions of rescuing it from back tax limbo and restoring it to it’s former charm and I achieved a big goal of seeing something I made in a for-real, brick-and-mortar shop window when Craft Arts Market opened up a few blocks from my house, just to name a couple. When I was a child, I always thought 27 was the best age a person could be. I felt it so strongly that the feeling alone has survived in my memory far longer than the reason why I felt it. I can’t believe I’m finally here. I think it’s time to plan the celebrations.

$Building a Backdrop \\ Sophster-Toaster$

With a birthday that always seems to land on the same weekend as Valentine’s Day, I don’t think I’m ever had a birthday party colour scheme other than red, pink and white or a theme other than today is also Valentine’s Day. This year, I’m branching out. I’ve chosen pink, orange and gold as my decoration colours and the theme of … birthday party. Alright, I’m not great at themes.

I’ve spent the last two weeks making my invitations and decorations, and planning food, drinks and furniture arrangement. For the most part, I’m treading in unfamiliar waters and choosing nondescript seasonal decorations and food ideas over festive ones. However, there is one tradition, started by my mother, that I have never gone a year without and have decided to continue, with restraint: there will be one heart…

$Heart Backdrop \\ Sophster-Toaster$

… and I’m making it a big one. (Find the DIY I used to make the backdrop here.)

$Building a Heart Backdrop \\ Sophster-Toaster$

$Valentine's Date Outfit \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Bow Tie \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Valentine's Day Outfit \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Poetic Licence Heel \\ Sophster-Toaster$

Dress: Modcloth // Bow Tie: Sophster-Toaster // Tights: H&M // Socks: The Green Room (old) // Shoes: Modcloth (old) // Hair Clip: H&M (old) // Earrings: Modcloth (old) // Bracelet: Sweet Auburn Studio

Chair is Ikea.

Handmade Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

Posted on January 14, 2015January 14, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

My favourite grocery store is currently brimming with plush roses, brightly coloured boxes of cheap chocolate-like product and, inexplicably, giant stuffed bull dogs holding hearts in their mouths that say “I woof you”, or whatever. Does anyone actually buy this stuff? I’ve always assumed these things were for 14-year-olds to give to other 14-year-olds, maybe because that’s what my middle school Valentine gave to me.

I’ve always thought that something lovingly handcrafted by your partner makes the best Valentine’s gift, but if you don’t have the time or know-how, handmade gifts from skilled artisans are a close second. Let’s leave that weird, mass-produced stuff on the shelves this year and get our Valentines something they will actually use and enjoy, like:

$Handmade Valentine's Day Gift Guide \\ Sophster-Toaster$

1. Plexida 2. RossLab 3. NAHINAshop 4. Pousse Pousse Citron 5. Sea & Lake 6. Sophia Victoria Joy