Monthly Archives: January 2016

Earl Grey Madelines

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For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I spent a long time perusing Susan’s Australia-based blog, My Whole Food Family, bookmarking recipes such as Cappuccino Brownie Bites,  Palmiers, Pear Tea Cake,  Christmas Cake, and Caramel Cheesecake. I had my heart set on re-creating this daring Bûche de Nöel and even bought a silicone mold for it, but time got away from me.

But then I remembered that over a year ago I had purchased a madeline pan from World Market and still had not used it. Additionally, I had all of the ingredients for these Earl Grey Tea Madeleines on hand, including a brand new tin of Cream of Earl Grey.

I took a batch of these over to our veterinarian as a thank you for all of their help during Leopold’s last days.

These madeline cake-cookies were the perfect treat for tea-time. The fruit zest is bright and the madeline texture is springy without being greasy. The tea flavor was lost on me, but it might have been the tea I used (even though I added more than the recipe called for) or the fact that my lemon zest was extra “zesty”. The original recipe calls for the zest of half a lemon, but the recipe printed in Bon Appétit lists only a packed half teaspoon, which I would recommend to have more balanced flavors.

If you are planning to make these, remember to allow the batter to chill!
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Romesco Sauce

Back in August of last year our cat Leopold had a scary incident where he couldn’t walk. After a visit with the neurologist and a MRI we decided that he was having a feline vestibular episode. While we were monitoring him for the week while he was visiting with the doctor and recovering, we were under a sort of house arrest and made a few recipes, including 45-second strawberry frozen yogurt. We also made a big pot of this romesco sauce to get us through lunches and dinners.

This sauce is very simple to make, yet has a depth of flavor that tops jarred sauce. We used it as pasta sauce, topped chicken with it, and even spread it on sandwiches.

Remembering Leopold

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Leopold passed away this morning.

He chose us at a local pet shelter and we fell in love immediately. Over my birthday dinner we decided we would adopt him permanently. He was our first pet and he was in our lives a little over 5 years.

Through the few short years we had with him he touched everyone’s heart. He was the sweetest boy that would want to be around you no matter what room you were in. He loved head butts, chin scratches, and ear rubbings. He would do almost anything for some lunch meat and would love to watch us in the kitchen while on the dining room table. He loved exploring his kingdom, whether inspecting the hallway, patrolling for unsanctioned closed doors, running throughout the place and growling, or finding new spots to sleep and claim his own.

I am glad he is no longer in pain but I will miss his morning wake-up cuddles, his meows hurrying us to feed him, and relaxing with him on the balcony and watching the world go by. Thank you for letting us adopt you Leopold. There will be a hole in our hearts and home forever.