Delights

My Mom came to visit me! I was a little apprehensive about this; I find spending time with my family very tiring, if she was going to come to my place I would have to do a lot of cleaning, and I wasn't feeling well in the week preceding her visit. But it turned out lovely. We spent our time away from my apartment, so it didn't matter that it remained a bit of a mess. Instead, we went shopping and went out for dinner.

The hilight of our adventure was going to the Farmer's Market. I was surprised to find it open in March, and then I was surprised again to find so much classy stuff there. (That's where Mom got the beautiful cup of coffee pictured above.) I discovered some things that I didn't expect to be able to find anywhere - like French desserts!

They had macarons! I've had a macaron infatuation for the last few months, since I found a box on clearance in a grocery store freezer and found them to be amazing. They are soft and crispy and chewy and sweet and magnificent. My wanderings on the internet tell me that they are very fancy and quite rare. It seems that you can get them at upscale stores in large cities, and people become all snobby and insist that only the very best ones are any good. It looks like there is one place here that sells them, but it's really far away from me so I haven't made it over there yet. (Unfortunately the grocery store where I first found them doesn't carry them anymore.) I was astounded to find them at the Farmer's Market! (There were actually two booths there selling macarons.) "This is my dream come true," I told Mom with my mouth agape, and I introduced her to the delight. Someone told us that these are the new cupcakes - the new overpriced rage. I liked them before I knew that. However, I think that part of my infatuation may be related to the fact that they were a novelty - something I couldn't get whenever I wanted. I also think I may have preferred the cheap frozen variety. Still, though, this was very exciting for me.

At the Farmer's Market, I also found madeleines. I have been wanting to try these since I read about Proust and how they feature in one of the scenes in his novels. They are like a pound cake in a shell shape (and somehow pound cake tastes better like that than it does in a slice), dense yet fluffy, with a hint of lemon. They carried an air of simplicity, and in that way they reminded me of creme brulee. As I ate them, I sat quietly and practiced mindfulness.