Slice of Heaven

My dad has always said that you can’t get in to heaven unless you know how to make a really good pie. Well the past few weeks I have been craving lemon meringue pie, which happens to be my dad’s favorite. I think it has something to do with the summertime heat—doesn’t a cool lemon meringue pie sound delish? So I got to thinking, I can already make a mean apple pie, but to increase my chances for heaven I decided that I had better learn to make a tasty lemon meringue pie.

I’ve heard meringues can be tricky, so I did my homework, searched for recipes, and even watched a how-to video online. I am happy to report that, to my great surprise, the pie was a success! It was fun to make and a treat to eat! I thought I’d go ahead and share the recipe here in case anyone wants to increase their chances for heaven…or if they just want a heavenly summer dessert. Enjoy!

Lemon Meringue Pie (adapted from Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie)

Ingredients

Meringue

• 6 egg whites
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon white sugar
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• Dash of vanilla

Lemon Filling

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups milk
• 4 lemons, juiced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 egg yolks, beaten

1-1/2 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

Directions

1. To make meringue: In a large glass bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. To make lemon filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 ½ cups sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in milk, lemon juice. 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.
4. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
6. Let pie cool to room temperature for one hour.
7. Refrigerate pie for four hours and it’s ready to serve.

From Hate to Love

There are very few things I love more in this world than movie theater popcorn and a fantastic movie. This weekend I enjoyed both as I went to see the final Harry Potter movie. You may not know this, but I am now a bona fide Harry Potter fan. It’s funny, I actually used to make fun of Harry Potter lovers. It’s true…as the books soared to popularity while I was in college, I hated all the hype. I’d get annoyed at everyone carrying around their Harry Potter books and I’d think, “There’s no way that a book about a boy wizard can be that good!”

Luckily, my friend Amy, from my book club, came to my rescue…and just in time! A few months ago we were talking and it came up that I had never read the Harry Potter series. She told me that I had to give them a try, so she lent me the first few books and made me promise to at least read the first one. She guaranteed me that if I read one, I’d be hooked. And she was so right! I immediately fell in love with the characters and wizarding world of Harry Potter. The writing and storytelling is phenomenal, and I couldn’t get through the books fast enough. I finished the books and caught up with all the movies just in time to watch the latest HP installment in the theater. The movie was AMAZING. I laughed, and cheered, and even got a little teary eyed. I didn’t wear a cape or bring a wand to the movie, but I am not ashamed to say that I heart Harry Potter.

So, if you’re like me and you’ve been resisting the Harry Potter phenomenon all these years, take it from me…get on the bandwagon! It’s too fantastic to miss. You still have time to watch the first seven movies and join in on the last hurrah! Coming from a former HP hater who is now a HP lover, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Thank you Amy for getting me hooked, and thank you Harry Potter.

I heart the Caribbean.

It’s been a crazy year, so Sean and I agreed that we were in need of a serious vacation this summer. Luckily, our friends, Kyle and Ashley, felt the same way, so we all set off for a seven day Caribbean cruise. We had an amazing time! It was so nice to be detached from phones, emails, work, and just spend an entire week relaxing. It was our first cruise and our first time in the Caribbean. The beaches were incredible. I now officially heart the Caribbean.

Our first stop was Costa Maya. Great food, gorgeous beaches, and a cool Caribbean breeze—what more could a girl ask for?



Our next port was the beautiful island of Roatan. This small island just off the coast of Honduras is covered in green! We couldn’t resist taking a zipline tour of the rain forest. It was so much fun! I am now slightly addicted to the zipline—especially hanging upside down. What a rush!

After the zipline we relaxed at the amazing West Bay Beach.

Our next port was Belize. This was definitely one of my favorite stops. We went snorkeling on the amazing barrier reef just off the coast, and then settled in for some relaxation on this incredible island with white sand beaches and turquoise water. I didn’t want to leave this picturesque setting. The whole day was, yes, you guessed it, “unbelizeable.”

Our final destination was Cozumel, Mexico. It was the perfect end to our amazing week. We spent the day relaxing on the beach and the boys went for a scuba dive. We also had the most amazing tacos I’ve ever tasted. I was this close to missing the boat so I could just stay on this beach forever.

Caribbean, how did you get to be so wonderful? You have certainly won my heart. Thanks for the best week ever! (To view more photos click here)

Dusting Nightmare

Holy cow! Check out this dust storm we had last night in Phoenix. We don't get storms down here too often, but when we do, we don't mess around!


The Phoenix Haboob of July 5th, 2011 from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.