Les Macarons d'Été

What to do with leftover egg whites? Well, if you, like me, are stuck with the whites of nine eggs after making a whole lot of crème anglaise, then you have a few choices. Meringue, angel food cake, and macarons come to mind right off the bat, but there are plenty of other options. But as it's been a little while since I've made macarons, and feeling slightly out of practice, I wanted to create a few flavors to give to friends on picnics along the Canal St. Martin. The inspiration for flavors usually comes from scavenging through my cabinets until something catches my eye or an idea pops into my head. This time I found a little matcha and thought it may go well with some dried apricots leftover from when I made a chicken tagine recently. The other flavor is a bit more out there, but delicious none the less, and a favorite of a lot of my friend, black pepper and vanilla. It sounds a little odd, but pepper, when used in a sweet, rather than savory, preparation, comes off a little bit fruity, and the spice lingers in your throat. With some vanilla added, the flavor becomes more rounded out, and it's not as bizarre as you may think. So here are the newest flavors of macarons: Macaron au Matcha et aux Abricots Macaron au Poivre Noir et à la Vanille