It’s about learning something new. Do you have something that you just want to learn for no reason other than just wanting to? These things don’t always have to make sense.
This is how I feel about Macaroons {or as the French say, “Macarons”}. I want to learn how to make them. Their rainbow of colors, their symmetry, their exotic flavors and cosmopolitan flair — these things all speak to me.
I’ve always wanted to bake something that looks like this. Well maybe not like the top one, which looks like a hamburger.
The easy route; buy French Macarons by Janjou Patisserie on Etsy. Click Image for Link.
So how can I go about learning a new skill? This macaroon obsession gives me good reason to blog about using the web to learn something new.
Look at Skillshare!
One thing that gets my inquisitive self all revved up is my excitement over Skillshare, “a community marketplace for classes.” With Skillshare, anyone can learn a new skill online or in person through local offerings {which are of course more plentiful in metropolitan areas}. I did a search and — this was rather painful — the perfect class popped up for $35 in New York on Sunday! I don’t think I can pull it off… but it’s good to know that such a thing exists.
Or…
Before I go dashing to New York, I could take a stab at it right here at home {if you are a macaroon expert and want to teach me here in Saratoga, please speak up now!}. I spent an hour or so cruising YouTube, Pinterest, and books on Amazon and found some mouth watering online inspiration. I also asked myself several times, “am I up to the challenge of making temperamental macaroons?” Just reading the reviews of the books I found was so informative, as readers wrote lengthy comments about their quest for the perfect macaroon and all of the tweaks they had made on their macaroonian journey. No, “macaroonian” is not a real word as far as I know. But it absolutely should be.
It was gratifying to focus on a specific interest and spend an hour or so today fantasizing and researching. There’s certainly more to the macaroon than I initially realized. Did you know that a macaroon has a “foot”, for example? I’m not sure if my macaroon making will end in just an afternoon with a couple dozen eggs — or if I’ll pursue confectionary perfection. But it’s just amazing to think that we can now learn almost anything with such ease and access. So, why not do it?
What do you want to learn? Have you learned something new recently?
P.S. Is anyone thinking “well if she’s fantasizing about baking she must have a snazzy new renovated kitchen in which to work”? Well …. everything is done but the countertops. We hit a snafu with our concrete countertop plan and now we’re starting fresh with a new contractor and new materials. We have cabinets, new flooring, and appliances. It’s going to be great, but it’s not great yet. It’s going to be a wonderful macaroon-baking spot for sure! Eventually.
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Tags: learning, macaroons, Skillshare
You had me at macaroon! It’s funny that you picked that delicacy as something to learn about..being here in France – they are all over – and I’ve often thought about trying to make my own..you are right, it’s an art. (An aside, they do have macarron mixes (like cake mixes) here which are suppose to be pretty good, and take some of the tweeking out of it..but I have still not been brave enough to even try those. )There is something to be said about being willing to try to learn a new skill & be willing to fail….I feel this past year as been full of new skills for me…trying to understand the French and how things are done here…is a skill in itself – I think at times I’ve learned some things and other times, I fail and fall flat on my face. But each day I get back up and start again…Great post!! Thanks
Hi Jennifer! I’m always glad to hear from you to get another perspective. I would love to be surrounded by French macaroons, as you are in Bordeaux. I admire your flexibility in learning something new every day, in a new culture and place. What an experience for your family! Beth
Thank you Beth, your blog keeps me connected to the place I call home, Saratoga! We actually only lived there for 13 years but it felt like home – a place I could be grounded, a place that has everything you need or want – and now, I can say from this perspective – a bit of Americana – History, horses, & health! There are days I do miss it! So thanks for blogging – you now have a loyal follower!
There’s an easy way to learn how to make macaroons, if you can find a willing participant. Try going to a local boutique-y bakery/cupcake shop and see if you can get them to do an after hours macaroon experiment. Blog it. Vlog it. You get to learn a new skill, they get some cool exposure and it’ll be a lot of fun.
Hi Patrick! Finding the willing participant in my non-urban area is the trick, but I absolutely prefer a real live person. I’ll put out my feelers, as that’s definitely how I learn better. I would have no idea how to Vlog, frankly — a blog post would be so much fun (perhaps not as much if they were a colorless flop…)! Thanks! Beth