A few weekends ago, I was engaging in my favorite Sunday afternoon activity, reading the Sunday New York Times and dozing between sections. I treasure the afternoons when I can do that. We have a big sectional couch in our family room that can hold all five of us at once. And that is exactly how I like it on a Sunday afternoon. All of us sitting or lying on the couch, reading, resting, or playing quietly.
So there we were one Sunday afternoon when I heard Olivia gathering Oscar and Chloe in a hushed voice. I wasn't sure what they were up to, but I knew it was something. So I continued to read and doze. Or maybe I should say doze and read. When I finally pulled myself out of the couch, I followed their voices to the kitchen.
There they all were, flouring, mixing, and generally conspiring. I didn't care what they were making; it was great to see them collaborating. They wanted their creation to be a secret so I went back to the couch.
It turned out that they were making meringues from Mary Poppins in the Kitchen: A Cookery Book with a Story. I picked the book up at a book sale in the spring when the children were going through a period of singing many of the songs from the soundtrack (especially The Perfect Nanny, I Love to Laugh, and Let's Go Fly a Kite). Olivia tweaked the recipe here and there to make it her own, including adding blue food coloring. When my children get together in the kitchen they often consider the color as much as the taste.
Gabe dubbed them "blumeringues," which I thought was very clever. But the children had already come up with their own name based on the color: robin's egg meringues. So sweet (the meringues, too)!
Robin's Egg Meringues
Adapted from Mary Poppins in the Kitchen
15 minutes preparation time
40-45 minutes, baking time, plus an hour for cooling
3 eggs
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
food coloring (optional)
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Lightly butter and flour two baking sheets.
Beat the egg whites with a mixer on medium-high speed. Add the salt and cream of tartar and mix until the mixture holds its shape. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is shiny and quite firm. Using a tablespoon, drop the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch or more between the meringues.
Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the meringues are firm to the touch. Turn the oven off and let the meringues sit in the oven for an additional hour with the oven door open. Serve immediately.
The meringues will keep in an airtight container for a few days.
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