Lemon Meringue Pie

For Easter weekend, Michael’s family invited us over for ham dinner.  We never admitted it, but we were pretty stoked someone decided to host a last minute get together. 



When we asked what we could contribute, dessert was requested. 



The great Spring weather was the perfect sign for me to finally tackle a Lemon Meringue Pie.  It’s just such a good weather dessert to me.



This seemed like the scariest of all pies to make.  Yet again, I was afraid for no reason.  It’s definitely not rocket surgery and after years of fearing pie baking I’ve made about a dozen of them in recent months…all of which have been delicious.  This was definitely no exception.



I turned again to the trusty Robin Hood cookbook.  That bad boy has never steered me wrong.  Every recipe I’ve tried has turned out great! 



(Baking no-no: Don’t use a metal bowl for your meringue like I did…the egg whites won’t get quite as stiff as they should…use a glass bowl.  Lesson learned.)

I pinched back on the amount of sugar the original recipe called for and squeezed a little extra fresh lemon juice into the custard and what we landed up with was a pie everyone enjoyed.



Add this one to the keepers file.  Next time we might need a double batch.

Lemon Meringue Pie
adapted from The Robin Hood Canadian Flour Cook Book

Ingredients:

Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening, chilled
2-3 tbsp cold water

Filling
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
juice of two lemons (at least 1/4 cup)
zest of one lemon (at least 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp butter

Meringue
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. Prepare crust:  Spoon flour into dry measuring cup. Level off and add to mixing bowl. Add salt. Stir well to blend.
3. Using a pastry blender (or two knives) cut in the shortening until particles are the size of small peas. (I actually prefer to blend with my hands).
4. Add water a little at a time, mixing lightly with a fork. Shape dough into a firm ball with your hands.  Round up and flatten slightly.
5. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to a circle 1/8” thick. Place carefully in a 9” pie plate.
6. Prick sides and bottom of crust with a fork.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Let cool.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.
8. Prepare filling: Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan.  Add water gradually, stirring until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture thickens.  Removed from heat.
9. Temper the egg yolks: Stir a small amount of the warm mixture into the egg yolks. Then add the egg mixture to remaining mixture and stir quickly and thoroughly.
10. Return to heat and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. 
11. Fill baked shell with warm filling.
12. Prepare meringue: Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
13. Add sugar gradually, continuing to beat until soft peaks are formed.  Spread over filling, sealing to edge of crust to prevent shrinking.
14. Bake pie at 425 degrees for 4-5 minutes until meringue is golden.
15. Let cool and enjoy!

(Crust can be prepared in advance.  Filling should be warm when meringue is added.)

Moving Ahead

Hey y’all!

It was a busy week but soooo productive!  I’ve finally gotten through some of the simple basics on my to-do list…you know, like the vacuuming and dusting I never did in January (yikes).  It’s so nice to have a clear desk and polished dining room table again. 

It’s the little things…

I usually head out to Michael’s on Friday nights to spend the weekend, but every once in a while I take some ‘me’ time to tackle things around my place.  Nothing can ruin our weekend more than my brain racing with the list of chores not being done at home. 

This weekend I spent my Friday evening making freezer meals, meal planning, doing laundry, and clearing my desk of paperwork from my old job I no longer need.  And I loved it.  Saturday I tackled more minor household chores and took Chibi for a much needed walk throughout my neighbourhood.  When I arrived on Michael’s doorstep that evening, I was refreshed, felt accomplished, and was able to spend the rest of the weekend with him stress free.

We agree that this is one of the best things we do for our relationship.  Doing whatever it is we need to do to feel good about our own homes and lives.  We always feel better when we do this…even if it means we see a little less of each other that week.  He got his boys together for a long put-off poker game, so it was win-win!

I’ve also been tackling blog posts about our vacation…I’m almost done with cruise updates and will move on to New Orleans posts this week.  Take a trip over to my photo blog if you are interested.

Now I’m ready to start working on bigger projects from my to-do list… oh hello tax season.  Stay tuned for a kitchen reno ideas board on Pinterest, and some serious Spring cleaning around here.  My closets don’t know what’s about to hit them!

Maybe I even have some time for a new recipe or two.  Hmmmm.  Wouldn’t that be a kick?!

Have a great week everyone!

Jaime

A Wee Catch Up! (with sneak peek)

Hey you guys!!  How are you?!!  So much has happened since we last spoke!  Hopefully this post marks the re-start of the spark here on my little ol’ blog. :)

January was an utter whirlwind.  I don’t know how else to describe it…life was busy!  Some big news is that I finished up my Job #1.  After more than six months of working my new full time job, as well as holding down my old job in the evenings it was finally time to let go.  I’m going to miss that job (and the dual paycheques!) but it was the right time to move on and get my life back.  I met all the goals I set for myself so even though I struggled with the situation at first, I’m glad it all happened now. 

Training my replacement was draining!  I wanted to be sure she got the best possible training from me and as such, she and I spent A LOT of time on Skype.  I put in more hours than usual so that I could ensure all of my own work was completed, I could write up notes and training plans, and participate in the actual training calls.  I sure hope that everything is working out for her! 

In addition to the extra evening and weekend hours, I kept up my gym schedule too.  I now forget what my goal for January was…but let’s just say it was to hit the gym as often as I could without exhausting myself. :) I’m so pleased with how things went!  As a bonus I lost 4 pounds throughout the month!

Of course, the biggest thing that has happened is that Michael and I went on a super duper vacation for the first two weeks of February.  We took a 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise (no, not THAT Carnival one!), followed by 5 days in New Orleans for Mardi Gras!  We had a great time and I have soooo much to tell you guys about the trip.  As usual I came home with about a billion and one photos, so bear with me while I get those all sorted and ready to share.

There were lots of highlights on the trip, but one of the best things was that I didn’t gain any weight!  Haha.  Trust me, I was worried.  We managed two pretty good workouts in the ship’s awesome gym, but aside from the usual tourist walking and such it wasn’t a terribly active vacation.  And the food was abundant.  Oh so delicious and abundant.  We waddled out of the dining room on more than one evening.  I chalk the success up to boosting my metabolism a fair bit with lots of workouts for the six weeks before vacation.  Or the fact that I came home with a full blown cold, lost my appetite, and didn’t weigh myself for three days post-vacay. ;)

So now we’re home, caught up on the 99% full PVR, and settled back into work.  With my new one-job routine I can finally claim my evenings back and start tackling some projects I’ve had on the backburner for months.  I don’t know what any of this means for this here blog, but at the very least I won’t feel like I have to abandon it completely anymore.  Whatever happens, you all at least have vacation photos to look forward to.  :)  If there’s anything in particular you’ve been missing since I slowed things down around here, let me know!

Hope you’ve all been well.  Talk soon!  Jaime