France - Dessert - Chocolate Macarons

Macarons are my obsession. My friends constantly send me pictures if they ever see something macaron related in a store (and tease me about my emphasizing the difference between macarons and macaroons, which are a completely different, traditional Jewish pastry). My family has caught onto it too and since then I have received macaron pajamas, macaron baking kits, macaron phone cases and pretty much anything else you can think of. I don't know where this obsession came from. I can't even remember the first time I had a macaron. When I went to Paris, I had only a couple minutes on the Champs-Elysées to shop, so I dragged my friend to Ladurée. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in in time and we had to turn around. I was morbidly upset, but luckily got to spend the rest of my euros at the Ladurée in the Paris airport. I bought a box of 16, and it was the best decision ever. They were gone in a couple days. I was in heaven. I have tried making macarons before sophomore year, but they didn't turn out all too well. Here is my attempt to make them again, of course chocolate using this recipe. Enjoy!

India - Dinner - Chicken Tikka Masala

A few days ago, my friends and I went to this amazing Indian café in Wellesley. We got the lunch buffet and the dish that I enjoyed most was the chicken tikka masala. I had never had it before, and was already planning to make it for my senior project. I loved it so much, especially when I dipped their naan in the sauce. I had it over white rice and was full for the rest of the day. Here is a healthier version of chicken tikka masala that I found. The recipe includes veggies, and I incorporated whole wheat rice (even though I like white better oops).

Japan - Dessert - Green Tea Crêpe Cake

In all honesty, I've never really liked green tea at all. I tried my friend's green tea latté once and fought the desire to spit it out. For me, the green tea flavor was way too strong and having it iced made it even worse. That's why I was so hesitant to try out this green tea crêpe cake. Matcha powder (which is flipping expensive from Whole Foods) is present in both the pastry creme filling and the actual crêpe, so I was scared to have that overwhelming green tea flavor. Boy was I wrong. I found myself slabbing the pastry creme onto the flopped crêpes and having them as a mini dessert. The texture is so light and airy, as is the green tea flavor, so you get the essence and not a punch of matcha powder to the face. This recipe made the process super easy, and I've adapted it below to how I worked it out.