Good Times - A meeting and peppered lemon macarons

Do you remember when I wrote about how nice everyone in the food blogosphere is, and how rare that is for an online community?

It turns out, food bloggers are nice in person, too! At least, the ones in Montreal are…

Last weekend, Laurent and I were fortunate enough to attend a get-together with several other food bloggers living in the Montreal area. It was wonderful to meet these people, some of whom I had been reading for quite some time now. It was also comforting to be around people who are equally passionate about food, and who don’t think it’s weird that you obsess over making the perfect chocolate pastry cream, or that you take pictures of everything you eat. I unfortunately didn’t get to talk to everyone, but hopefully there will be other opportunities for that, because the people I did get better acquainted with were absolutely charming!

And guess who was the loser-foodie who forgot to bring her camera to the restaurant? Yours truly, of course! So, no pictures of the yummy omelet I had, or of the good company I was in.

In other news, The Chocolate Bunny will be on hiatus for a little bit, while “the crew” recuperates, stocks up on sleep, and gets a little sunlight (as opposed to neon kitchen lights and the glare of the computer screen). I probably won’t be able to resist popping in every now and then, but there won’t be any major, croquembouche-like culinary achievements during this time.

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d leave you with something pretty: peppered lemon macarons. Macarons are among my favourite things to bake, but sometimes, as I’ve already demonstrated, they don’t come out quite as planned. I try to make them as often as I can, hoping I can eventually feel my way towards getting the perfect batter consistency. Good macarons are not difficult to make; pretty ones are. It’s often about intuition, at least for me. I’m getting better, though.

More to come!