Tea for 7x7

A few months back, I shot Samovar Tea for 7x7 Magazine--the teas were absolutely beauutiffullll, all of these gorgeous, bright colours that glowed in the sunlight. This was such a fun shoot because it was a prime example of following one's instincts and chasing the light. As we were setting up, I looked over at the prep table, and the direct, strong sunlight streaming down on the table provided such beautiful backlight for the teas. The outcome (above) was my favorite image from the day.

Vanilla Bean and Thyme Madeleines

Madeleines are one of my favorite ways to have cake: they're shaped like cookies, which makes them like a portable version of a cake, and they're so toothsome and fluffy, all at once. I realized recently to my surprise that I have never actually posted a madeleine recipe publicly before, even though I've been making them for years and years! So, for my Anthology Magazine Blog post this month, I decided that this situation must be remedied.

I've made madeleines in so many different flavors before--saffron, berry, pumpkin, etc. etc.--but for my first public post, I wanted to go with something much more classic. Because sometimes, you don't have to mess with a good thing. So here they are: vanilla bean and thyme madeleines. My base recipe also uses a bit of coconut oil, for just a hint of floral aroma from the coconut underlying the cake. You can find the recipe on the Anthology Blog here. (All blog posts that have Anthology recipes will be updated one month after the initial posting with the recipe here on desserts for breakfast.)

My favorite moment with these madeleines is when I took a box of them into work, and offered one to a particularly prominent scientist in my department. While most people focus on the pretty, scalloped side of madeleines (versus the humpy backside -- which reminds me, this would be my totally non-classy theme song for madeleines :P), my colleague took a madeleine and flipped it scalloped side down. Holding it sideways, he looked at me with a smile and said, "Look! it's like a little boat! Toot toot!" while scooting the madeleine over imaginary waves. When I grow up, I want to maintain that sort of child-like playfulness in creativity and imagination!

Also, I picked these "wild" roses from my backyard. I sort of love how delicately imperfect they were, so fragrant but at the same time, completely fleeting in their beauty.

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In a few weeks, I'm headed to Hawai'i (Oahu and Kauai), ostensibly for a work-related conference! I am. so. excited. If you have any recommendations for places to see or eat on those islands, please leave them in the comments below! Thank you!