Dec 12, 2023
These chocolate-covered pretzel trees are the perfect toppers for festive holiday cupcakes.
Prep Time: 10 mins • Cook Time: 30 mins • Total Time: 40 mins • Serves: 12
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- Green food colouring
- 12 pretzel sticks
- 12 chocolate cupcakes
- White vanilla frosting
- Shredded coconut
- Sprinkles
DIRECTIONS
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Lay out pretzel sticks on the lined baking sheet leaving space between them to drizzle chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate chips.
- To prevent your chocolate from seizing, follow this method before adding colour: Place bottles of food colour into a zip-lock bag, remove as much air as possible, and then seal. Submerge the bag in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. Remove the bag and shake the bottles to distribute the heat. Stir the food colour into the melted chocolate until the desired hue is reached.
- Use a drizzling tip for your piping bag. Fill the bag with melted chocolate.
- Starting about halfway up your pretzel stick, pipe the melted chocolate in the shape of Christmas trees.
- Before the chocolate hardens, add sprinkles, if desired.
- Let the trees cool for 5-10 minutes to harden up.
- Top your cupcakes with the finished trees.
- Using another piping bag filled with vanilla frosting, pipe a mound of frosting around the base of each tree. Sprinkle the coconut over the vanilla frosting.
Dec 12, 2023
These snowman macarons are as delicious as they are adorable!
Prep Time: 40 mins • Cook Time: 15 mins • Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins • Makes: 18 macarons
INGREDIENTS
For the ganache filling:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
For the macaron shells
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ⅔ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 cup almond flour, sifted
- 2 drops white gel food coloring, optional
Royal Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon meringue powder
- 2 teaspoons water, as needed
- black decorating gel
- orange decorating gel
- red food colouring
DIRECTIONS
To make the shells:
- Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter against and around the sides of the bowl to knock some of the air out of the batter. Do this 5 or 6 times. This step is important because too much air will cause the shells to crack while they bake. Draw a figure 8 over the batter with the rubber spatula. Figure eight should start to sink back into the batter after 10 to 20 seconds, but not disappear. If the batter does not pass the figure 8 test, fold the batter with a rubber spatula twice then check it again, and repeat until the batter is correct.
- Line two large baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Scoop the batter into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat, then pipe a large circle for the body and a small circle for the head.
- Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.
- Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 300°F.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 13 minutes. When the timer goes off, carefully open the oven door, and gently touch the top of a shell. The top of the shell should not move from the feet where it touches the pan. If it moves slightly, bake it for 1 minute more.
- Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.
To make the ganache:
- In a small pot, add the heavy cream. Heat it over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. As soon as it comes up to a gentle boil, remove it from the heat.
- In a medium heatproof bowl, add the chocolate chips. Carefully pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 1 minute. Whisk it until fully combined and smooth. Set aside to cool. Do refrigerate.
- Fit a small piping bag with a round tip. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the chocolate ganache into the pastry bag.
- Match up your shells before filling, and then turn one side over. Pipe a little less than a tablespoon-sized dollop of the ganache onto one of the snowman shells. Top it with the matching snowman shell. Repeat with all other macarons.
Royal Icing
- In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar meringue powder. Slowly drizzle in the water a little bit at a time until the icing flows slightly but still holds its shape.
- Then separate the royal icing into small bowls if adding different colored food coloring.
- Use the black decorating gel to pipe on small black dots for the eyes, mouth, and buttons. Using the orange gel for the nose, make one orange dot in the center, then with a toothpick gently drag the icing to make a point for the carrot nose.
- If you want to add a scarf, fill a piping bag with red icing, and pipe a scarf on each snowman.
Transfer the macarons into an airtight container and place them in the fridge overnight, or for at least 12 hours, to soften for the best texture. This step is called maturing.
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating!
Nov 13, 2023
This casserole recipe is loaded with the flavours of Autumn! You’ll love this mixture of squash, cranberries, leeks, kale, and bacon, topped with Parmesan cheese
Prep time: 15 mins • Cook time: 1 hour • Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2-3 lbs. butternut squash
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 lb. bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups sliced leeks
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed (don’t thaw if frozen)
- 2 1/2 cups kale, chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped sage
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Peel and remove the seeds from the squash. Dice into 1-inch cubes. Lightly toss with oil, sprinkle with salt, and layer on a large baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and roast for about 25 – 30 minutes, or until softened. Remove from oven and set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, stirring often, about 5 minutes; drain on paper towels.
- Heat a large saute pan to medium heat. Add the butter, sliced leeks, kale, cranberries, garlic, and sage. Saute until softened and golden brown, stirring occasionally; about 10-12 minutes. Stir in the chopped bacon.
- In a 13×9 casserole dish, layer half of the leek mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then layer half of the butternut squash on top. Add another layer of leeks, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with another layer of butternut squash. Add the cream, then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake uncovered at 375°F for 27-30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh sage leaves, if desired.
Nov 13, 2023
These mushroom and cheese twice-baked potatoes can be served as an appetizer, or side dish.
Prep Time: 15 mins • Cook Time: 50 mins • Makes about 18-24 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lb red or white potatoes
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup shredded parmesan
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup shredded parmesan
- chopped parsley
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Place the potatoes on a sheet pan that’s been lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle the potatoes with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and toss with your hands to coat them evenly.
- Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the remaining olive oil and, when it’s heated and shimmering, add the mushrooms and red bell pepper. Cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are starting to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Remove half of the sliced mushrooms, and set aside for topping potatoes. Chop the remaining mushrooms and return to the skillet (these will be added to the potato stuffing mixture).
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half. Using a small spoon, gently scoop out the inside pulp.
- Place the pulp into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter, milk, salt and pepper.
- Stir the chopped mushroom and red bell pepper mixture into the potato mixture along with the cheese. Scoop the mixture back into the potato halves. Top each potato half with the remaining reserved sliced mushrooms.
- Return the potatoes to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are hot throughout. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and more shredded parmesan cheese, if desired.
Nov 9, 2023
By Stephanie Simons,
Head Pharmacist,
Lindo’s Pharmacy in Devonshire
As the winter nears, it’s not unusual for us all to feel an end of summer slump. But what happens if the slump doesn’t lift? Thankfully, mental health has become a more talked-about topic in recent years but for some, it remains very difficult to discuss or indeed to get help. This is especially true among men.
As we head towards International Men’s Day, it’s important to check in on the men in our lives and offer support if they are showing signs of poor mental health.
Men’s mental health
Millions of men in the US suffer from mental illness of some sort. More than six million men suffer from depression, with many more going undiagnosed, and at least three million have panic disorder, agoraphobia or another phobia. LGBTQ+ men are even more likely to suffer from mental health issues, as are those living with disabilities.
However, research shows men are far less likely to seek support for mental health problems. There is still a lot of pressure on men and boys to hide their emotions, and many feel that struggling with mental issues shows weakness or a lack of masculinity. Evidence suggests that as little as 40% of men with mental health conditions receive mental health support, and men are more likely to turn to substance misuse instead.
The sad truth is that without the support they need, men are far more likely to end their own lives. The suicide rate among males in 2021 was four times higher than for females – and suicide is the leading cause of death in men under 50. Rates are higher among men with lower incomes and/or within minority communities.
Symptoms
While many symptoms are the same for all genders, men have been found to exhibit certain specific signs. Many become angry, irritable or aggressive, and engage in more risky behaviour than usual such as reckless driving or drug misuse. Men are also more likely to engage in escapist behaviour, spending far more time at work or the gym, and to suffer physical symptoms like headaches, or digestive problems.
How to help
For those worried about their own mental health, there are simple ways to give your mood a boost, from spending more time in nature to paying more attention to your emotions and taking the time to explore and reduce what may be causing feelings of sadness or anxiety.
While it may be tempting to use alcohol or drugs to improve your mood, this can have a more negative impact longer term, impacting work, family and other key relationships. The most important thing is to talk to someone, whether that’s a friend, family member, GP or pharmacist so you don’t feel alone and can get some helpful advice on how to proceed.
If you’re worried about someone close to you, it’s important to maintain contact, as many people – men, in particular –find it difficult to reach out. Let them know you’re available to listen to them and take the time to talk through their problems. Try not to leap to judgements or insist on the right course of action – instead, find out about local support from GPs to support groups, and help them to identify what might help most.
Whether you’re struggling yourself or concerned about a loved one, the pharmacy can be a great place to start. We can advise on symptoms and support, and also suggest items that may help in the meantime like Calm, Magnesium, Ashwaghanda and Olly Stress Relief to help regulate mood, CBD products like USA Hemp oils and gummies which can ease anxiety, or sleep remedies like Valerian, Melatonin and Sleep Eze. Whatever your gender, there’s no shame in asking for help – we’re here whenever you need us.
Stephanie Simons is the head pharmacist at Lindo’s Pharmacy in Devonshire. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and has been practicing for over 20 years. She is a registered pharmacist with the Bermuda Pharmacy Council and is a member of the Bermuda Pharmaceutical Association.
