Lemon Meringue Pie

Such a simple title - somewhat misleading to many cooks who fear this pie as much as an arachnophobic fears 8 legged creatures. A common misconception is the complexity of this dish. Not too hard - but time consuming. You MUST be a patient person.

The significance of the lemon meringue pie in my family goes way back. My dad's dish of choice growing up; my grandma could make a wicked lemon meringue pie. Restaurants just couldn't give him that favorite familiar taste. My two older sisters and I have always had a kind of 'battle' concerning our pie making skills. We all have our issues with it - runny filling, overbaked meringue (a big no-no), or shrunken crust. My relationship with the lemon meringue pie is a love-hate one. As I have previously stated, pie crust is not my forte, and included in this recipe are two other picky elements; lemon filling and very fussy meringue that insists on having it's way. ;-). I documented my afternoon for you all to see!














Give it a few peaks for texture - trust me, they make the pie.


Enjoy your creation. You have now conquered the most 'complex' pie out there. Heck, go climb Mt. Everest or something.

Until next time...Happy cooking. :-)

Do you have a CV's card?

My days currently consist of taking people's money at our local grocery store - yep, you guessed it - I'm a cashier! It's a very glamorous job. When I'm not running your bloody ground chuck over my scanner, you can find me putting up the Cheese-It's you left behind because you didn't have enough money on your Food Stamps. It isn't my first choice as a job, although it is closer to what I'm going in to - food!

I interact with a huge array of different people on a daily basis. From the old guy who comes in to buy his single slice of Petit Jean Bologna and solo banana every single morning at 10:15, to the backwoods couple that comes in once a month and buys $600 worth of groceries. Occasionally I encounter middle aged men in business suits, to which I am as polite as I can be without being overly so, in the hope that they are the owner of our grocery store chain and will give me a huge raise on their next visit. :-).

Some day's I think almost without ceasing about how long the 5-hour shift is taking, and how much longer I have to stare at the clock until my break comes around. Then other days I shake my head when I realize how fast the day has flown by. I really and truly love what I do. Southern people really bring out the best in me. Some times I realize I have been smiling without ceasing for the last 20 minutes at the people coming through my line. There is the older lady with the bright orange hair and makeup plastered face. And there's the older guy who always responds, "peachy!" when I ask how he is. These people make my day, I look forward to seeing their bright toothless smiles every day. I wish you could see my smile right now, I smile just thinking about these people :-).

Above all I see the huge ministry opportunity I've been given. I don't know where these people are coming from - or what is going on in their lives. What I do know, is that I have about 3 minutes with them to show the love of my Savior. It may be through a nice comment, a smile, or a mistakenly counted amount of money on their part, because of which they get an 'extra' dollar back. I'm trying to do what I can to show God's love to the people of Ozark. One can of Pork'n'Beans at a time. :-)

English Muffin Bread

Simple and delicious. A bread made with baking soda to give it an interesting texture. Absolutely irresistible when toasted. It brings quite a process however. Although this is irreverent if you don't mind sticky dough all over your hands. I made it tonight and it turned out quite fabulous :-).

Pie crust is my arch enemy. I swear it is out to get me, I nearly end up in tears when I try to toss the water in every time. I made brunch for Mom yesterday for Mothers Day. My first attempt at the meal, and not as hard as expected! It began with quiche, broccoli and cheese to be exact. The pie crust finally relented for once and let me move on. It chilled for an hour after which it rolled out absolutely perfectly and even let me flute the crust. Props to the pie crust.

The meal preparation continued on with blueberry muffins, covered with an irresistible strussel topping. Definitely a keeper for future brunch menus :-)

Most likely this is going to be the most ridiculous blog on record. I have to somehow vent these feelings about my cooking as my family does not exactly appreciate listening to it. They patiently listen but don't enjoy discussing my latest recipe find. Haha.

That's all for now, if you're lucky, maybe next time I'll go through the basics of making a killer lemon-meringue pie. :) Meanwhile, I must go study for my World Civ final, the cooking must wait . . .