When Life gives you Lemons…..

Make lemon meringue pie. Today, August 15th is National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.

Did you forget? That’s OK .  If you use the blender – yes, blender pie – it goes fast. And easy. My mother used to make this pie. I associate it with my father’s poker nights….

It was a different lemon meringue pie then Ma Flynn’s, but still GOOD. And the goodest thing about lemon meringue pie is it comes with it’s own topping – no need for ice cream or whipped cream or other heavy dairy, although a little hot caramel sauce…. I digress.

Our old friend, the Waring blender

Begin with the crust……

HOW TO MAKE A CRUMB CRUST FOR A 8 or 9-inch PIE IN 18 SECONDS

15 graham cracker squares

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup melted butter

Make crumbs 5 crackers at a time on 7(BLEND)

Put the crumbs into a bowl

Ass the rest and stir until they are moistened

Press into a buttered pie plate

Chill until ready to fill OR bake in a pre heated 400 oven for 6 minutes and cool before filling

WARING COOK BOOK FOR THE 8 PUSH BUTTON BLENDER 1967 p. 17.

Since it’s summer, you probably have a lemon in the house….you’ll need the whole lemon.

Lemon Pie Filling

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 cup water

¼ cup lemon juice

Yellow rind of 1 lemon

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon soft butter

 

Into container put all ingredients

Cover

Press button 6 (PUREE)

Blend 20 seconds

Empty into saucepan and cook over low heat stirring constantly until thickened

Pour into crust line 9 inch pie plate

Cool

If desired top with meringue and brown in oven (trust me, you want the meringue – desire the meringue. Also easy and very impressive. And tasty. Luscious yummy tasty.)

 

When I went to England, the filling was more like lemon curd and the meringue wasn’t as mile high as back home.

Meringue Topping for Cream Pie

Cover cooled pie with a 3 egg white meringue and bake in a pre heated 425 oven for 5 minutes

 

They did not choose the quick and easy and no fail and tasty Graham cracker crust, but nice fluffy meringue

WARING COOK BOOK FOR THE 8 PUSH BUTTON BLENDER 1967 p. 98.

Super (Salad) Bowl Sunday

I am not a football fan, but it’s Superbowl Sunday and football is hard to avoid/ignore/escape on this day.

So I offer my own Super Bowl –  a really great middle of winter salad. It has the color and flavor and scent of a warm and exotic and very NOT New England place. It’s not a terribly locavore sort of thing for New England. Sometimes the mere sound of the word ‘locavore‘ makes me crave the not from ’round here’. Turnips and bacon and dried beans can wait for another day.

Today is rich and sweet and fragrant and bright and sharp, all at the same time.

Oh, yes, this is one Super Salad.

This salad is from Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Cooking.

Mediterranean Cooking – Paula Wolfert

I’ve cut down the original recipe to serve one (or two – it depends, too, on what else you’re serving. And who.).

Salata Letchine

Serves 1 or 2

Romaine lettuce – ½ a head (or however much makes a salad for you)

Romaine lettuce

1 orange

Just one will do – sometimes I use 2 clementines

2 tsp lemon juice

Wash the lemon. Juice the lemon, take what you need and FREEZE the rest. Grate the rind and save that too.If you’re feeling extremely frugal, plant the seeds to see if you can make little lemon trees. I don’t try this in the Winter because my house isn’t citrus sprouting warm then.

2 tsp sugar

Sugar

Pinch each of salt and cinnamon

salt (this is kosher, which is what I usually use)

You’ll want the powdery stuff

2 tsp orange juice

If you don’t have orange juice on hand – juice an orange – then you’ll need 2 oranges

1 tsp orange flower water

Make sure your orange flower water is food grade – it’s also great in cold bubbly drinks (Prosecco) in the summer!

1 oz chopped dates

You can also buy chopped dates (sometimes it’s the only option offered, which is how I came up with a weight ) otherwise 2 or 3

1 oz chopped blanched toasted almonds

These are smoked almonds – what you have, what you like

1. Wash, dry and shred lettuce.
2.  Peel orange and separate into sections.
3. Mix lemon juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange juice and orange flower water together.
4. Just before serving, pour most of the dressing over the lettuce and toss. Put the orange sections on top of the lettuce. Top with the dates and almonds. Dribble the remaining dressing over the top.
5. Dust with a little more cinnamon.
6. Serve at once.

Adapted from Paula Wolfret Mediterranean Cooking. 1994, rev. ed. p. 287.