Monthly Archives: March 2012

Lemon Marin-goo Pie

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The first time I saw meringue powder in my mom’s pantry, I asked her, “what’s marin-goo?” Who the heck chose that spelling. Anyway…

This the ONE dessert I don’t eat. I always eat loads of desserts I don’t really care for, but this…this is just gross. So, you ask, why would I make a dessert I hate? Lemon meringue pie happens to be Kyle’s favorite. Of course.

I always use this recipe from allrecipes.com and get fantastic feedback; I hear it’s just like grandma’s.

These little pies are so cute because I made them in a muffin top pan, only because I cannot for the life of me find my pie pan. I’m kind of glad I can’t, because I love how these look! There is a greater pie crust to filling ratio, so if you’re a crust lover, these are for you.

 

Tips for your meringue: I read a few things about meringue in the middle of my egg whipping because I was sure I was headed down a dark path; it wasn’t doing anything. Turns out, it just takes longer than you think it should and you can add a few drops of lemon juice with the sugar to give it a boost. It is also key to bring the whites to room temperature before you get started. Who knew!

 

      

Grandma’s Lemon Meringue Pie

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspon salt

1 1/2 cups water

2 lemons, juiced and zested (about a half cup of juice for me)

2 tablespoons butter

4 egg yokes, beaten

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons white sugar

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
  3. To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Be patient, this took a few minutes for me. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

A whole new drawer.

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A little Mod Podge goes a long way. It’s amazing how lining our drawers and shelves with wrapping paper completely transformed them. The drawers were permanently dis.gus.ting with previous tenants’ who-knows-whats and I was not willing to live with that.

What I’m telling you is this: If you want to smile when you open your kitchen drawers, I can help you with that.

All you need is a roll of wrapping paper, a bottle of Mod Podge (a glue/adhesive found at an arts and crafts store), a paint brush, scissors, and a utility knife, if you have it.

 

Before: yuck.

Remove the drawers and clean them out. I had to peel off the classy faux wood contact paper.

Spread a layer of Mod Podge onto the inside of the drawer. I went up the two sides (not the front and back) but you can just do the bottom if you want.

Cut a piece of wrapping paper larger than what you need. Mine is striped, so it was very helpful to have these grids on the back of the paper.

Lay your piece of paper into the Mod Podged drawer. Start smoothing it out with your hands from the center, working your way outward and up the sides.

Then use your utility knife (or scissors) to slice off the extra paper.

Lastly, paint a layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper. It doesn’t have to be too thick; it’s just to protect the paper. Pay extra attention to the edges of the paper since the Mod Podge will act as a sealer so it won’t peel off.

It’s okay if there are some bubbles. A lot of them will shrink as it dries. You should wait a day before replacing all the drawer/shelf contents because…well, I did. Just seems like a good idea.

                                  ——>  

After: wonderful.

There you have it! Practically brand new drawers! We did the same to all the shelves in our kitchen too.  So if you didn’t have anything to do this weekend, now you do!

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Over-use seasonal produce? Not possible.

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Anyone taking advantage of the beginning of asparagus season? I am. We’ve had it six days in a row. Not even sick of it yet.

This seems kind of weird for breakfast (or at least it did to me) but OMGeeeeZY it was so delicious!

Also make sure you’re sick of oranges before they’re out of season! The oranges we just bought are really really good!

Avocado Asparagus Egg Sandwich

(found in the March issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine)

1 avocado

16-20 asparagus spears

splash of lime juice

4 pieces of bacon (if you’re a bacon lover, upgrade to 8 )

4 eggs

4 slices crusty french bread (I sliced a loaf the long way, then cut them into pieces that would fit an egg)

Snap off the woody stems of the asparagus (grap the spears by each end and bend until they snap) and steam, boil, or saute them until bright green. I like to steam them; it preserves more nutrients than boiling and you don’t have to use any extra fats (like sauteing).

Finely chop about 6 of the asparagus spears and mash into the avocado. Add the splash of lime and mix.

Cook the bacon according to package directions. Set aside on some paper towel.

Cook the eggs until the whites are set, or over easy. In the meantime, toast the bread.

Spread avocado mixture onto pieces bread, put 2 pieces of bacon on each, a few asparagus spears, and top it with an egg.