Purple Shows Sweat.

I have a couple friends who get sweaty upper lips when they're really hot. I'm not one of those people. In general, I'm not a very sweaty person. Last week was an exception. We were experiencing a heat wave where I live and I loved it. It was so hot, in fact, that I experienced this sweaty upper lip phenomenon that I have often teased my saucy friends of having. So what better time then during a heat wave to bake! And even better yet, to bake French Macarons, which require that the oven be on for over an hour. Fun tidbit that is the basis of this entry: weather can effect the success or failure of macaron shells, especially humidity. We're lucky here because in general its a very dry climate so that's one thing we can all cross off our lists of variables that will muck with the success of this endeavor.
Except for last week. High humidity, high heat, an air conditioner that poo-pooed out this season and macarons that had to be made for a friend before I left town for a week meant that I became sweatier than I ever remember being before and apparently this didn't sit well with my meringues either. Small spots appeared on the shells the day after I baked them. I have no explanation for this nor could I find one. I guess dogs pant, humans sweat from their upper lips and macarons sweat out in little unsightly spots.