The Best Valentine's Day Ever....

The delicious hand dipped berries that hubby had delivered were fabulous. It is also wonderful to think that this day commemorates the day 18 years ago that we officially began "going out". That being said, I must take a moment to gush about the one that I am most passionate about. He is truly amazing and he's been up to some really awesome stuff lately.

"Who?"

"What Stuff?"

Well,I thought you would never ask.

His name is Jesus and he has been creating quite a stir around here. As a matter of fact on this Valentine's Evening He made a way for us to bring a tub into the local prison and we

baptized 12 women in the name of Jesus

and one woman was so stirred, that she continued to pray until

she received the gift of the Holy Ghost!

Thank You Jesus For The Greatest Gift of All.

Ooooh La La....

 There is a local sweet shop that specializes in these lovely little pastries. They are common in France, but are a rare find on this side of the "Pond".  Locally they are only sold at a store called "Sucre" in New Orleans. Sucre caught the attention of a few celebrities and has been featured in magazines such as "O". These little morsels are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the taste buds, but not so appealing to the pocketbook. Being the curious chef that I am I tried to imagine what ingredients and methods would yield a treat so delicate, yet crisp to the tooth. I couldn't figure it out, so I pushed the thought of them out of my head.

 A couple of days ago I was browsing around T.J.Max, when all of a sudden this beautiful cook book screamed my name. So of course you know what's next.....

 You have probably noticed that what the French call a "Macarone" is not the same as the gooey coconut mounds that you will often find at Chinese Buffets.

 The pastries themselves usually only vary in color and are made of ground almonds and powdered sugar that has been sifted to remove any lumps and a meringue made of egg whites & super fine (caster) sugar.

 After stiff peaks had formed, we added a touch of blue coloring. Next we folded in the almond/sugar mix. Then we piped  1 1/4 inch circles onto parchment lined pans. The macaroons had to rest for 30 mins before baking. After we removed them from the oven we had to let them cool completely. There are dozens of ways to fill them, but we decided that the blue would work for the "Blueberry Cream Cheese" filling.

Genius I know!

 Here is Eloise with the finished product.

It must be all that French blood in her.

 I wish you could taste them.

~Someone needs to talk to Bill Gates or those guys over at Apple and tell them to get busy working on the "See-Smell-Taste" computers. ~

Bonus Pics:

Above are a few of our young ladies who attended our Valentines "Making a Treat for Someone Sweet" fellowship party.

 Above/Below: samples of our creations.

We had a fun evening of creativity & fellowship.

THERE....ARE YOU HAPPY BEPPI?....I FINALLY POSTED.

Love & Prayers,
~Me~



For TT & Gayle...