Lemon Meringue Pie

Friday, a co-worker shared some

lemons his brother had send him.

They'd come right off of his tree

in California.

It was a citrus delight.

 

They were beautiful, firm and tart.

They still had leaves attached. 

What should I do when life hands me lemons?

Why make a lemon meringue pie.

I don't remember where I got this recipe, I've had it for a long time.

All I know is that it's excellent.  The sweet meringue offsets the 

tart citrus flavor. Perfect.

Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

1    9 inch pie crust, prebaked and cool.

Filling:

4 large egg yolks

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup  fresh lemon juice

2 T. cornstarch

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into small pieces 

Meringue 

 I make more than what the original recipe said because when I pipe it into the pie there was never enough to cover the entire pie right up to the edges.  This prevents the filling from seeping out.

6 large egge whites

3/8 t. cornstarch

3/8 t. cream of tartar

3/4 cup superfine sugar * note

1 1/2  t. vanilla 

 Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prepare the filling: 

 In the top of a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Place over simmering water.  Cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should be very thick.  Do not let mixture boil.  Remove mixture from over the water.  Stir in butter.  Pour into crust. 

3. To prepare meringue:

 Beat egg whites at medium speed until foamy.  Beat in cornstarch and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla at high speed until stiff, but not dry peaks form.  It's important not over beat the mixture.

4. Spoon meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe meringue decoratively over pie filling to the edge of the crust.  Bake pie until meringue is golden, 12-15 minutes. 

Now it's time for tea and pie and see

who makes the cut on the Amazing Race.

Until Next Time-

Fabulous Friday

For Today:

Looking Out My Window: We had almost been fooled into thinking that spring was close, but looking outside this morning is just a bit of a reality check. Snow is gently falling once again.  Not much, but just enough of a reminder it is still February.

My Weekend Plans Include:  I'm spending some time with friends and waiting for Ed to arrive back home.

I’m Reading:  The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Steig Larsson.

Movie Marquee: We've been watching the Showtime series, Dexter. Dexter Morgan works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood splatter analysis but also leads a double life.   Very interesting.

Something Quiltie:  I'm heading off to a Colorado Quilt Council meeting this Saturday. Sue Nickels is the speaker on machine quilting with tips and tricks.  You can always learn something new.

One of My Favorite Things:  Trying new recipes. 

I'm Thinking About: Smile at everyone you meet today.  It could be their only smile for the day.
 

What’s For Dinner: I picked up a small quiche from W. F. yesterday. Tonight I enjoy the other half.

A Favorite Photo:

Sea Turtle in Hawaii

  Have a wonderful weekend,

Set The Timer

It's been a wonderful

 productive day.

I had the house to myself,

everything just flowed and

had my timer set.

Why a timer?

By setting the timer, it gave me

a time limit to work on different 

projects.

It helped me progress on a variety

of quilting projects and not abandon others.

It kept me in good spirits,

productive,

  creative,

and I'm one happy sewer.

Yea!

Look at this.

I've been sewing so much

I completely emptied every bobbin.

I've worked on...

It doesn't look like much here.  But wait....

Look how far I got.

If you get the chance,

set your timer and see how far you get.

Oh, yeah, don't forget to add a Mountain Dew,

that helps.

Until Next Time-

The Beauty of Trees

" I never saw a discontented tree.
They grip the ground as though they liked it,
and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.
They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind,
going and coming like ourselves,
traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day,
and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"
~John Muir


 I love the beauty of trees.

Their shape and texture.

Their majestic presence.

We have been trying since 

we moved here 5 years ago to extend the life 

of this wonderful old cottonwood.

But ...

The it hasn't helped.

So today we arranged to have it taken down.

I'll have to watch,

but with a sense of sadness.

"The Old Man of the Tree"

Weird as it may sound,

I can't look into those eyes.

But come spring we'll plant the next generation of tree
and the cycle will start again.

 Until Next Time-

Seize the Moment

This morning was sweet.

The day was starting, but

that moon just didn't want to leave.

I need to seize the moment and

make the day as special as I can.

I was in sunshine,

But parts of town appeared to be covered with fog.

The goal of the day: Stay in the sunshine,

and enjoy the day.

So Good Night Moon

It's a new day.

Until Next Time-

Fabulous Friday

For Today:

Looking Out My Window: Thursday, during the night the wind blew like a wild woman.  There are so many sticks on the ground it's a wonder there are any trees standing.

My Weekend Plans Include: A mixture of work and play. 

I’m Reading:  The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Steig Larsson.

Movie Marquee: It's a history weekend, starting with Napoleon, from a PBS show and ending with WWI,the Last Battalion.

Something Quiltie:  My quilt group met this week.  I am always so inspired by what my friends create.  They're great motivators.  It's so important to surround yourself with creative, positive and supportive friends.

One of My Favorite Things: I always  make Ed his favorite dessert for his birthday...Chocolate pie.  It's a favorite of mine too.

I'm Thinking About: Today is Ed's birthday.  What a blessing he is to my life and to many others.
 

What’s For Dinner: We're going out to celebrate with some friends at a Thai restaurant.

A Favorite Photo:

 "The Running Man"

  "Happy Birthday"

 Have a wonderful weekend,

On A Roll

I'm going to need a good massage.

Over the past few days I have been

busy quilting, quilting, quilting.

I have finished machine quilting

5 crib size quilts.

Here's one.

Peek-a-Boo Animals

It's a freebie pattern from Henry Glass.
 We're going to kit it at the store for those

who want to pick up a cute quilt.

 It's an easy design that could be used

with any border striped fabric.

Wonder what I did with all that

 Dr. Seuss fabric I just

had to have a few months ago?

Well, I've made 3 crib size quilts.

It's one of my "go to" designs that I've had 

forever.  It's a pattern that highlights the

focus fabric and then you build a border

with nine patches and strips.

Easy.

I love that center fabric.

They still need the binding, but that's another

weeks worth of work, at least

The last one I did is also with the Dr. Seuss fabric.

How much did I buy?

It's is a smaller version of the free pattern that 

Robert Kaufman had on their website.

 It's called Bump Thump.

The original pattern was to big, so I reduced

the number of blocks, did a little math

and made it smaller.

OK, the quilting is done.

Now where do I go to get that massage?

Until Next Time-

Family

Family has always been an important

part of my everyday life.

They've shaped me into who I

am today.

My family has taught me about love, affection,
caring and sharing,
and  building strong and healthy relationships.
Obviously, my list could go on an on.

Friends may come and go,
but my family remains.

It's a reassuring consistency in my life

We had a delightful Sunday spending time with our family.
There were 12 of us together, sharing a meal,
time, laughter and love for one another.
 A special day!
It doesn't happen often enough.

 Ed's brother shared this wonderful photo
of their maternal grandparents
on their wedding day.
1910

Nancy and Anthony Sorrentino

(the English versions of their first names)

They both were from the Naples area of Italy,
and met in Connecticut.
She was 18 and he was 28.

When I looked at their photo

and then at their descendants  around the table today,

I think, they would be pleased to see who has

followed in their footsteps.

Family, past and present.

We're all connected.

Although, I'm not sure though who will carry on with that
spectacular mustache.

Until Next Time-

Fabulous Friday

For Today:

Looking Out My Window: The weather is suppose to be a lot warmer over the weekend.  Granted, I live in Colorado and we do have cold and snow, but I'm ready for a break.

My Weekend Plans Include: We're heading to Boulder on Sunday to see Ed's brother and family.  It will be like a mini family reunion.  Maybe I can to stop in a couple of my favorite places while we're there.  Like the Cost Plus World Market and  the PepperCorn, Gourmet Goods. 

I’m Reading:  All that Remains, by Patricia Cornwell.

Movie Marquee: The Crossing and Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Something Quiltie: Yesterday was our Stashbuster's club meeting.  We had 50 women attend, ready to dive into their fabric stashes and project collections and get busy.  The facilitator was, Tah Dah, Me.

 A couple of the quilts I shared were the pink and green flying geese, a pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilts and the purple one, I call Wiggle Jiggle, is a pattern from Karla Alexander. The theme for the first 3 months was using triangles.

One of My Favorite Things: I love to cross things off of lists.  It's a wonderful sense of accomplishment for me.  I'll even add things I've done just to be able to cross them off.

I'm Thinking About: How my quilts will be a footprint for my family that I was here.
 

What’s For Dinner: I made Chicken Verde Stew with Hominy from Cooking Light on Wednesday.  Leftovers!!!

A Favorite Photo: I love to make cupcakes for our class at the store.  It gives me a reason to experiment with  lots of different flavors.

 For Valentine's Day

Chocolate Cupcakes with Bacon

with Carmel Frosting.

 Have a wonderful weekend,

What's Happening

I finally had some time to work on

PROJECTS!

I've been embroidering on the 

Crabapple Pattern, 

Snowmen From A to Zzz.

I've got a couple blocks done, 

but each block sure takes me a lot of time.

I must be a slow stitcher.

It's what I had planned to work on

while Ed ran his race.

But I did get a block done with Elizabeth's help this weekend.

I sure appreciated that.

There's nothing better than receiving  help from

someone when you least expect it.

Tah Dah!

Also had time to do some machine quilting on Monday.

 I have 5 small quilts ready to be quilted.

Finished one.

Now for the binding.

I actually love that part.

I guess because I can sit, do some

hand stitching  and  I'm almost done.

Don't you love striped bindings?

I'll be able to show you more of the quilt later.

I facilitate the Fig Leaf's Stashbuster's Club tomorrow.

 Here are a couple of my ideas for class.

I've found, identified and made a list 

of all of my "Unfinished Projects".

(That's always enlightening)

I've sorted them into categories.

A= Absolutely, Almost Done

B= Back on Board, I still love it and I'm ready to Bounce Back

C= Careful Consideration, to finish or not to finish that is the question

D= Dump It,

I'll pick 4 projects to work on.

Something that will be fast to finish (see quilt above)

Something that I will love to work on, (love that embroidery)

Something that has a deadline, (antique ocean wave)

and Something that is long term. (The Roseville Album Quilt)

 Ready to make some progress.

I'll keep you posted.

Until Next Time-

What? No Plan?

I'm a planner.

 I like to know what's happening and when.

Even on a so called, "free day", I've got to have a plan.

This past weekend we were suppose to be in 

Huntsville, Texas.

When our travel plans were canceled, it

suddenly became 3 "free days" without a plan.

So dispite the fact that Ed couldn't

run his 100 mile race, 

it was a serendipity kind of a weekend.

 We enjoyed some wonderful things

we weren't planning on.

We enjoyed dinner with friends.

I didn't have to work on Friday so I could 

have lunch with my sister and a friend.

Elizabeth can to visit and to cheer up her dad.

We got to go shopping, play with

my Cricut Cutter, and watch movies.

We slept in, had time to make

pancakes for breakfast, read the paper,

watched the Super Bowl, and

just RELAXED.

I had planned my weekend to be one way, 

and when that didn't happen, life

slipped in and opened other doors.

Keep your eyes open for those other doors.

Until Next Time-

Fabulous Friday

For Today:

Looking Out My Window: The lake is frozen solid so I ventured out to see what it was like out there.

Fun, even without skates

My Weekend Plans Include: Well, plans come and go.  And ours went.  The plan was to fly to Houston today for Ed's 100 mile race.  There are no planes flying into Houston today in order for us to get there.  So his big race is off.  Hopefully, it's just temporarily postponed until he finds another somewhere else.. All of his training and dedication will have to be redirected to another venue.  He's pretty bummed.

I’m Reading: Absolutely Beautiful Containers by Sue Amatangelo. With all this freezing weather, I'm looking ahead.  If only I could  be planning and planting flowers.

Movie Marquee: More of The Office, season 6.

Something Quiltie: I've been hand quilting this week.  My Ocean Wave antique quilt is looking great.  It seems like I use to be faster at this.  Maybe I use to sit longer and stay focused or I'm just savoring the moments.

One of My Lease Favorite Things: Despite the water dripping effort, Tuesday night the one vulnerable pipe froze.  After a half a day of warming the bathroom walls, it began to drip again.  Fortunately, it just froze and didn't break.  Lesson: Let the drip be a drip not a minuscule drop.


I'm Thinking About: Ed and his disappointment.  

What’s For Dinner: I guess I'll have to do some quick planning to take care of the weekend at home.

A Favorite Photo:

 Feathers?

On the lake there were these fantastic ice crystals

perched just on the surface and a couple of inches tall.

They look like down feathers.

Until Next Time-

Keeping Warm

This cold weather seems to be affecting

the whole country.

We haven't recieved much snow, but

it definitely was a frigid Tuesday.

The reports indicate the temp

might go as low as -20 degrees Tuesday night.

That doesn't happen often around here.

We keep the water dripping in some of the faucets

that are prone to freeze,

I'm wearing my Cuddle Duds, fingerless gloves,

a scarf and two sweatshirts

and it was the perfect night for soup.

You must think that's all we eat.

Not every night, but often!

I found this recipe awhile ago on 

the Well Fed Newlyweds blog,

Tortellini Soup.

Please check it out.

It's fast, quick and delicious.

The other way to keep warm is with a flannel quilt

tucked under your chin. 

  As soon as I'm done here, I'll be

sharing.

Keep warm 

and don't try this...

Even if you are double dog dared.

Until Next Time-