Dedicated to Barbara Bennett

My beautiful grandmother has helped me so much with learning to cook. She is the person I call when I need help solving a meringue problem and she encourages me to eat new foods (mostly the vegetables I don't like). Grandma is the type of person who believes anyone can cook, sew and learn. She has taught my sisters and me all how to cook as well as showing us how to do different crafts and artistic projects. Just last quarter she helped with my first sewing project which created my first apron. Once it was done we put it on then made Ratatouille to break it in. This blog is dedicated to you Grandma, Thank you for teaching me how to cook you are the best grandma a girl could ask for! 

Easy Meringue Recipe! A Gluten free, Dairy free, nut free cookie!

I figured I might as well add one of my favorite recipes! 

This cookie is the super cookie! Being gluten, dairy, and nut free it is edible for even the most sensitive stomach! The best part is these cookies taste absolutely amazing and have endless possibilities! Whether you want a Chai meringue to a raspberry lemonade one this recipe can help! While some may say that Meringues are difficult I have proof that anyone can make them as long as they have the ingredients and a hand mixer! But wait it gets better, meringues are a low fat food! 

A bit about meringues

Meringues are delicate little cookies of egg whites, sugar, and magic. In the 1600's Lady Rachel Fane published a manuscript of collected recipes calling these delicate cookies "pets" which translated from French to English means "farts". The reason behind the naming is the cookies Light and fluffy texture. Meringues are still called Pets in the Loire region of France to this day. 

The meringues were originally shaped with two spoons but Antonin Carême introduced the idea of using a piping bag.  Now there are three types of meringue, the meringue I will be focusing on and cooking is the French meringue. Growing up meringues were my favorite cookie, they were so light and just melted in my mouth. My goal was to learn to cook meringues and thanks to my grandma we have found the easiest way to do so!

  

Dropped using bag technique

Dropped using spoon technique

Peppermint meringue with dark chocolate ganache 

Recipes and cooking adventures are on their way!!

The difficulty in starting a cooking blog while on break and at home is that you do not get enough time in the kitchen to really experiment the crazy recipes that you’re conjuring up! Well my New Year’s resolution is to start the year off with a bang and recreating American staple foods for my first week of recipes after January 6th! It is going to be fun recreating favorites like hot dogs, Hot Pockets, and so much more! I will be posting an ingredient list as soon as I can, and the cooking adventures can begin once I am back to school. My goal with the meals is to be able to save money and use leftovers for lunches or other dinners later on in the week. As far as what I plan on cooking, there will be three planned dinners each week. I will try my best to use ingredients in the meals that are similar so shopping trips can be quicker and cheaper! 

Looking forward to cooking! 

Madeline Bennett

What is this blog about?

What the heck is "Joie De Vivre"?

Life can get hectic, frustrating and overwhelming. As a sophomore in college hassling a double degree, Job, and company of my own it’s easy to get swallowed in the everyday stresses. In my first year of college I learned to really appreciate the ability to go home and enjoy home cooked food. This realization spurred a passion to adventure into the kitchen to teach myself to cook. With this passion I am now starting a blog. Joie De Vivre means the enjoyment of life. Life is crazy and busy, and cooking is easy to get put on the back burner when there is frozen meals and easy takeout. However, what I have found is cooking is an amazing way to let yourself sit back and really enjoy life. I know when I finish a meal at school I am at ease and ready to take on the next essay or all night study party. So cook with me and read my blog as we can decipher life and learn to cook!

- Madeline Bennett