I swoon for macaroons

Here's a little snapshot I took today of my counter. Its usually much fuller than this, and my hubby likes to comment how he feels we live at Jewel. Haha. But can it get any better than watermelon season??! This is the second watermelon I've eaten this week, and I could've eaten double that amount. Its been sad trying to choose between watermelons and mangoes this week. Also in my refrigerator you will find 5 pints of gigantic, red strawberries, and 2 cantaloupes I can't wait to dig into it. I find myself drawn to very ripe fruit. I think most average people would like to eat their bananas this way in the picture? I will start to eat them when their brown and spotty. This really shows me how much my taste buds have changed, because a couple years back I remember despising over ripe fruit! The limes there are going to be used in a big batch of guacamole I'm making for a party tomorrow along with the bag of Guiltless Gourmet chips to go along with it. I'm also bringing a tray of veggies. I wanted to make a raw dessert to bring to the party to show off just how amazing raw desserts truly are! I couldn't decide between making a cheesecake or....................





Raw macaroons!!! I couldn't pass up Sarma's beautiful illustrations in this incredible book. Her picture of macaroons make my mouth water. I've tasted them straight from One Lucky Duck and let me assure you, there is no more perfect dessert. I got my trusty 1920's dehydrator down from our shelf and dusted it off and plugged that baby in. OK, I'm sorry Mom, thank you for this machine, it works wonderfully!!




I headed straight to our local Dominick's for some Unsweetened shredded coconut. Well, of course theirs was sweetened. This sort of stuff is really irritating! Why do they assume people want their coconut sweetened?? Anyways, it was OK. I calmly kept my composure even after asking the service manager if they carried it anywhere else in the store. Of course not. Not to fret...my sister (http://twoveggiebabies.blogspot.com/) was on her way to my house to pick me up for a trip to Whole Foods!! Yay! These trips make my month. Seriously. I never want to leave a WF once I go in. Why can't I please just curl up next to their salad bar and take a nap? Everyone that works there is so nice..they actually probably wouldn't mind. So back to the trip...I picked up 2 bags of coconut, some mung beans (anyone try these before? If you have, please share your thoughts!) and brown rice veggie sushi. I did not successfully get my 3 yr old niece Bella to try my sushi, but she did SAY 'sushi' which was quite cute.


So this batch of macaroons was.....OK. It was my first time making them so I know what to do next time to make them even better. I made the rounds smaller than I should have, and I also think I didn't add all the oil it called for in the recipe. Sarma says to dehydrate them for 12-24 hrs, or until crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Well, I put these in around 6:30, went to dinner with my hubby, came home and they were definitely crispy by 11. But that's ok! I took them out, of course tasted one or two and decided they were done. If they were bigger, I could see them taking longer but this batch was still delicious and I'm sure they will be a big hit at the party. I live for anything dark chocolate but actually I prefer the blonde! So does my hubby. He helped me taste test. :)



Tomorrow I am going to try to wake up around 7 and go for a jog. I seriously need to get my butt outdoors and moving. I feel so lazy if I let a week go by without running. I remember once reading a quote (possible from Dr Doug Graham himself? I can't remember, please forgive me!) that said "earn your fruit". That sticks with me. Makes me feel like I need to work for all that beautiful juicy fruit.

Goodnight!

xo Kat