(define (map-match func list)
  (if (null? list)
      '()
      (cons (apply func (car list))
            (map-match func (cdr list)))))

(map-match
 (lambda (link-path text)
   `(li (a (@ (href ,link-path)) ,text)))
 '(("/projects" "my projects") (("/essays" "stuff I write"))))

; => ((li (a (@ (href "/projects")) "my projects")
;     (li (a (@ (href "/essays")) "stuff I write"))