Coconut Macaroons

So it's meant to be Spring and yet it continues to snow. Despite the fact that Passover and Easter are upon us, there's still snow on the ground. So sad. Due to complicated family connections, I recognize both holidays. This weekend I will find myself at a nice relaxed family Seder as opposed to the formal events we attended as kids. I really enjoyed going to Seder with family and friends but as a kid, it took forever and you can't eat for awhile and then when you think it's over it's not and then you're still hungry. Clearly a whiny child. But I do remember there was jello and coconut macaroons.

All the ingredients. Simplicity.

And so, for our chill Seder, I made some macaroons based on the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I was surprised at how easy these were to make. I envisioned condensed milk as being the evaporated milk you use in pies. Fortunately I actually read the labels this time and they are next to each other in the aisle. It looks like pudding actually. I think the only thing I did 'wrong' was I didn't have the eggs at room temperature when I beat the egg whites. But it clearly didn't matter because they are delicious! So simple, so quick.

Egg whites on the left and coconut-condensed milk mix on the right.

And for extra deliciousness, some chocolate.

Part two of this short and sweet post: book review! I was wandering through a used bookstore the other day and I came across Let Us Eat Cake. It sounded interesting with recipes and stories about cooking. Written by a restaurant critic, it chronicles her memories of food starting when she was a little girl and watching her mother in the kitchen. And then it moves through her life and learning to cook, the ups and downs of relationships and friends. I thought it was a good mix of food experimentation (complete with recipes), the changing role of women and the importance of friendship. I feel like she just saved me 30 years of figuring out what's important in life. It is non-fiction so pretty much an autobiography but with a focus on how she grew up (not just from kid to adult). I want to lend my copy to friends but I also want the recipes. One day it will join my recipe books and I will make the Husband Catching Cake because it's pure chocolate. Yup, now you're curious.

Compliments of Amazon