Coconut Macaroons

Not to be confused with the pretty but (kind of) pointless French Macaron, these macaroons are like little moist clouds of deliciousness.

They take mere minutes to whip up and due to their snowball appearance are very apt for this time of year. A welcome respite from mince pies, make these your new Winter treat! 

Ingredients (makes around 8)

2 large egg whites

One drop of vinegar

Pinch of salt

50g ground almonds

80g sugar (granulated is fine) 

250g desiccated coconut

1 tsp vanilla essence

To decorate 

100g milk or dark chocolate 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan) and grease a baking tray. 

In a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand whisk, whisk the egg whites until frothy.

Add the drop of vinegar and then start to whisk in the sugar (around 20g at a time) until it is all combined and the meringue can form stiff peaks.

Add the vanilla essence, salt, almonds and combine until the mixture is sticky. 

Using slightly damp hands, roll the mixture into around 8 golf ball sized portions.

Place on the greased oven tray and bake for around 18-20 minutes, until the tops of the balls are golden. Allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate over the macaroons and allow harden.

 

Meal Plan w/c Monday 6th October

Monday: It's such a rainy day today, and apparently it's going to be like that all week long, so it's time to break out the comfort food! Tonight's dinner is going to be a hearty minestrone soup and wheaten bread. The perfect meal for a wet and dull Monday. 

Tuesday: Tonight is quiz night. I need to make something that can be prepared in advance and then easily reheated when we get home, but I don't want to serve something too nice as it won't be appreciated after a few drinks have been consumed... I haven't used my slow cooker in a while, so I I might throw together a casserole and let it do all the hard work.

Wednesday: We're trying to up our intake of oily fish during the week. Last week we had smoked mackerel with puy lentils and a green salad which was delicious. This time I might make some light mackerel fish cakes and serve them with sweet potato chips and a cress and rocket salad.

Thursday: Tonight I'm thinking of making either a meatloaf with tomato passata and truffle mash, or a lamb and date tagine with pomegranate cous cous. Both are equally gorgeous, but the tagine requires a bit more effort. I'll have to see how I feel...

Friday: We'll either go to the Vietnamese if we're planning on going to the cinema, or else I'll cook something. I'd like to make some more ravioli soon. Last time was a very stressful experience, but it was worth it in the end. If I'm feeling adventurous I might make two fillings- wild mushroom and ricotta, and spinach with Parma ham.

Saturday: Fish day! If I'm organised enough today, I'm going to try out something a bit more exotic than I usually do on a Saturday. Maybe some monkfish with a nice garnish and some veg.

Sunday: Hopefully Borough Market will have some pheasant this weekend. If they do, I'm going to serve it with a spiced plum sauce and seasonal vegetables. I'm also going to start making cocktails to pair with my desserts, so I'll buy some nice fruit, make a syrup with it, and mix it with spirits. Dessert will be chocolately this weekend, maybe a chocolate and pear tart.

Banana Split!

The difficulty in obtaining banana spilt dishes perhaps points to this once revered dessert's decline in popularity over recent years. After much searching, I eventually came across a couple of mock-crystal dishes, covered in dust in a far corner of the local "£5 shop".

I decided there was no point in attempting to modernise the humble banana spilt and instead embraced the tacky nature of this classic dessert.

Gorgeous firm bananas, silky smooth Green & Blacks Vanilla ice-cream (I draw the line at Neapolitan!) softly whipped cream, chopped nuts, fruit coulis, hot chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries and, of course, a double fan wafer to top it all off. The only thing missing was a cocktail umbrella for decoration- an item so "retro" that it cannot be found in even the most archaic of shops.

Undeniably delicious and indulgent, it is surely only a matter of time before the banana spilt makes a well-deserved come back.