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I forgot to give you an update of my perpetual baking cycle!
* I had black licorice left over that I wanted to use up.
*Result: I made black licorice ice cream. The ice cream wasn't as bad as we feared it would be. The cream part was fantastic, but Thatboy picked out all the black licorice pieces.

*The black licorice ice cream used three egg yolks, leaving me with 3 egg whites.
*Result: I decided to try my hand at macarons. It was a new experience for me, but something I always wanted to try. I went to the master of all macarons, Tartlette, and attempted her Espresso Toffee macarons. I was expecting bite-size morsels, and got chocolate chip cookie size treats! They tasted just as they were supposed to, and Thatboy declared them to be excellent macarons - just extra large. Ever the gracious blogger, Tartlette emailed me to see how they turned out and diagnosed my problem as overfolding the batter. Next time I'll know better.

*Despite the ice cream, I still had leftover licorice.
*Result: I used up the rest in one fell swoop - making black licorice creme brulee tarts. These were a bit labor intensive, but SO fabulous, it was more than worth it. I love these. I love how the chocolate crust contains the brulee. I love how the creme just barely has a hint of the licorice flavor. I love it topped with the black licorice ice cream....love love love love.

*The creme brulee left me with more egg whites!
*Result: I decided it was cupcake time. Cupcakes are easier to share than ice cream or creme brulee. These were fantastic. I especially love the frosting because it reminds me of Sweetcakes frosting - perfectly formed and melt proof.

*This baking baking baking week left me with two problems. 1) I still have some more egg whites, which means tomorrow there will be even more baking! 2) After all that baking I didn't want to be hanging out in the kitchen making dinner. So I turned to stew. Something I could stick in the oven and forget about and then just relax. It was really cold tonight, so stew was the perfect choice. My only problem is the lack of color, so I threw together some zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, and parmesean cheese to go along side. It was a warm and filling dinner on a cold night!


Beef Stew

• 1 lb beef stew meat
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 potato, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 can whole tomatoes, chopped, undrained
• 1/4 cup minute tapioca
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 1 cube beef bouillon
• 2 cups water

1. Preheat oven to 300. Combine all ingredients in dutch oven or oven proof pot. Cover and cook four hours, stirring occasionally.

Serves 4.
Each serving has:

Calories		450.5
Total Fat		23.8 g
Total Carbohydrate		34.9 g
Protein		23.5 g