Amaretti di saronno (and exhaustion)
A proper recipe (!) and recent musings
Hello friends!
I hope all is good with you. If it’s not, I hope you make a batch of amaretti (recipe follows) and have it with a strong coffee/espresso and maybe feel like life is okay for as long as your coffee lasts. If you’re in luck, maybe the rest of your day/week/month will go swimmingly! Something about manifesting what you want and the universe will conspire to make it happen and all that jazz. I haven’t tried it personally, but if you have with success, please enlighten me.
ANYHOO. I think I’ve reached peak exhaustion. I can’t be sure, as I think this is a sort of “in retrospect” thing i.e if you get through it and then have another “peak exhaustion” episode, then THAT’s your true peak exhaustion.
I’ve been eating ALL the sugar and (it’s so bad, help me) not exercising and the concept of a week doesn’t exist to me anymore. Time(, in actual fact,) is a continuum that humans have felt the need to structure in a way that makes sense and helps everyone feel comfortable. (Not a bad thing.) I don’t think I’ve had day of not touching work in… A LONG TIME. I’m not all about that hustle culture so this is very upsetting to me. (I’m not one of those people who are like, “oh you think you’re tired? you’re not even doing as much as i am”. That’s a dumb competition where there is no award besides a warped, inflated sense of ego, which is just sad, and a competition i have negative interest in winning.) I’m more of a work a good amount, and smell MANY roses along the way kinda gal.
All this is just to tell you that yesterday, I cancelled yoga and still woke up involuntarily but somehow thought it a good idea to make some amaretti. Because I really felt like having some and had some egg whites waiting to be used. Of course I had a chocolate sable with my coffee while waiting for them to bake. (I was having a must-have-chocolate-cake-but-there-is-none-so-maybe-deeply-chocolaty-ice-cream-but-there-is-none-either kinda night the night before.) I then headed to hang / help (I really wasn’t much help, more of a nuisance) a couple of friends with their sandwich event, yada yada and had more improper food and coffee and let’s just say i was a restless, cranky mess. Props to my partner for dealing with my weirdness. He did remark that I was being very weird.
I did end the day with this glorious spread:
And oh my goodness, it was heaven. I know I’ve said that I’m not a fan of meat these days. But processed meat is something else. I truly, truly love processed meat. Luncheon meat / spam, SAUSAGES (a juicy, SNAPPY one reigns supreme in my heart), GOOD chicken nuggets, charcuterie, pâte, nduja.. the list goes on.
When I sank my teeth into those nuggets with the BEST curry sauce ever (McD’s please take notes), inhaled some fries and chowed down on those bangin’ bangers, it dawned on me that.. happiness is real?? And it’s so simple and so good. But then 10 minutes in (I’m a speed eater), it also dawned on me that the law of diminishing returns is real. But oof I’d like to eat that meal again - why is fried brown food so good?
I LOVE lad & co for their $9.90+ highballs/beers/G+Ts, and their chill, dog-friendly space. Plus points to them for playing Jungle. So, if you’re into all that, do get yo ass down there on a nice weekend.
On Amaretti di Saronno
Now. I’m not really an American cookie kinda person. I do love a good cookie from time to time. It usually happens while on vacation or maybe during the festive season; rarely during regular life. I much prefer biscuits and other types of cookies.
These almond macarons are crispy, chewy, sweet, and super addictive. It’s difficult for me (or anyone) to stop at one. It’s good as dessert, as a small sweet with coffee for breakfast or a mid-day pick me up, as a snack any time of the day. I have very briefly sold them but I know it’s not a thing here. I still do want to try making it a thing because it’s just so good?! Anyway.
One thing to note, though — this recipe calls for egg whites. If you, like me, make a ton of custard, you’ll have plenty of extra egg whites on hand. If not, save your yolks for tamago kake gohan or some mayo or some seasoned yolks to enjoy over hot rice! YUM. (Or, it could be the other way round and you’re left with whites from making those.)
Italy is a large country and its cuisine varies from region to region. So there are several variations of amaretti - crisp and chewy / soft and chewy / crisp and brittle / etc etc. The one I particularly love is Amaretti di Saronno (not like I’ve tried many variations LOL), which is a Lombardi almond macaron. They are usually made with bitter almonds (not actually almonds, but the kernel of apricot seeds), which contain amygdalin and are toxic in large amounts, but carry that lovely almond flavour we all know and love. (If you don’t love it, I’m sorry. That such a delight escapes you.)
As apricot kernels aren’t the easiest to acquire, I use regular ground almonds with a good quality almond extract for these. Although, really, I should be grinding my own almonds for maximum flavour. Most chinese medical shops sell apricot kernels, which I really should also test to see if they work in this recipe. I will get to it one day. Promise. BUT if you don’t want to track apricot kernels down, know that regular almonds with a good glug of almond extract or Disaronno (Amaretto di Saronno) will work perfectly!
Unfortunately as I did not have the foresight to take pictures for this post, it will be a rather wordy one. I apologise.
The easiest recipe!
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