Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Coconut Macaroons


I have never met a coconut dish I did not like. My short list includes, Pina Colada, coconut ice cream, coconut cake and coconut macaroons.

Coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe. A drupe is a fruit with a hard stony covering enclosing the seed, like a peach or olive.

Macaroons are light baked confections. The original macaroon was a small sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds, similar to Italian amaretti. Most recipes call for whipped egg whites, sugar, nuts or coconut.

Here is a super easy and quick coconut macaroons recipe:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 ½ cups flaked coconut
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and coconut. Stir in the milk and extract using your hands until well blended. Use an ice cream scoop to drop dough onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toasted.


May 31st is Macaroon Day

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Homebrewing

May 7th is National Homebrew Day


The Ten Commandments of Homebrewing

1. Always Sanitize.

2. Practice patience, when the recipe says condition in bottle 3 weeks, do it.

3. Take notes.

4. Share your brew.

5. Never turn down a homebrew. Taste, learn and enjoy.

6. Be ready with a blow off hose.

7. Dark beer is good.

8. Save all brown non-twist bottles.

9. Sanitize.

10. Relax and enjoy your homebrew.