i'm waking up to us

so many things get overlooked.  in life, in work, even things that are right before your eyes.  i really enjoy making macarons...the flavors are limitless, fillings and colors are only limited by your imagination.  but sometimes you forget the simplest of pleasures.  this time around i was wondering what flavor to make and realized i had never made a vanilla macaron. 
what a wonderful awakening.

creamsicle

next week i am going to Germany for the Rheingau Gourmet & Wine Festival.  i will be absent from my kitchen for about 15 days.  i needed to make a menu here that could be executed easily with basic preperations.  the problem is i still want to keep certain flavor profiles and not dumb down the aesthetics.

this preperation looks simple and feels simple but has a very satisfying appeal. 

frozen powdered white chocolate and frozen mandarin powder bury a tres leches cake soaked with mandarin juice, whipped vanilla cream, and carbonated mandarin segments. various herbs finish the dish.