Key Lime Pie

Okay, so this summer has been really bizarre so far. It hasn't really felt at all like summer yet! We'll get a couple of summer-ish days, then Mother Nature is all like, "Just kidding!" It's almost July and I'm still wearing pants. I've worn shorts maybe twice so far. Yesterday, I wore pants AND a sweatshirt. Today actually has turned out to be a pretty nice summery day. It started out all not-summery, but now it's finally sunshiney and warm out. And I'm wearing shorts. Finally.


Anywho, the point of this post isn't to complain about the weather! The point is to share with you this lovely key lime pie that is the epitome of summer. Key lime pie just shouts summer. Whenever I eat key lime pie, if I close my eyes, I swear I'm sitting on a deck overlooking the ocean in Florida. Key lime pie is my dad's favorite dessert ever. When my brother and I were little, our family always took a road trip down to Georgia every spring vacation to visit our aunt and uncle. Usually we would continue down to Florida. And whenever we ate out at any restaurants in Georgia or Florida, my dad would ALWAYS get the key lime pie for dessert.

For Father's Day, I decided I would make my dad an authentic Southern key lime pie. And it came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. The meringue has some lime zest in it, so this pie is extra-limey. And extra delicious. When trying to figure out the perfect Southern key lime pie recipe, I pulled out my "Savannah Classic Desserts" recipe book. And bingo -- there was Uncle Bubba's Key Lime Pie. Perfect! (Uncle Bubba is Paula Deen's brother -- so you know it's very Southern and filled with butter).

This recipe is pretty easy to make. I'd say the hardest part is zesting those limes (zesting takes foreverrrrr). But, I mean, zesting really isn't that hard I guess. Plus, limes give off the most wonderful, fragrant smell when you zest them. So. Good. The effort is worth it.

By this point, I'm sure you're like, "Okay, let's get onto the recipe already!" Okay, okay -- without further ado, here it is!

UNCLE BUBBA'S KEY LIME PIE
gluten-free

INGREDIENTS:
CRUST
5 tablespoons butter, melted (I used EarthBalance instead. I know, not very Southern.)
2 cups gluten-free graham cracker crumbs (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup of slivered almonds. I left 'em out since my dad isn't a fan of nuts, but I bet almonds would be tasty)

FILLING
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (I used non-fat -- I know, I know -- again, not very Southern. Shhhh.)
1/2 cup Key lime juice
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup of sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust: Combine the graham crackers and melted butter (or Earth Balance, in my case) in a food processor. Put the mixture into an 8-inch pie pan and pat along the sides and bottom to form an even crust. Bake for around 5 minutes, until crust is set. Let cool.

To make the filling: Combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon of the zest in a medium bowl. Beat in the egg yolks until smooth. Pour the filling into the crust.

To make the meringue: Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon of lime zest until the mixture is stiff. Spoon the meringue over the filling and spread it around. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.

Let cool before serving and then be transported to somewhere tropical!

Artist Spotlight :: Babeth Lafon

I stumbled across Babeth Lafon while scrolling through illustrations on one of my all-time favorite websites, The Jealous Curator. And I absolutely fell in love with her work. Her illustrations are so graceful and peaceful. Ahhhh.

So lovely!

Babeth is a French artist and illustrator who now lives in Berlin, Germany. I love that she shares little snippets of her studio on her blog. There's something about artist's workspaces that I find so fascinating; being invited in for a sneak peek of that space is something special.

I want to hang all of her illustrations on my walls. I feel if I were surrounded by her work, I'd always feel calm (well, okay, maybe like 90% of the time).

Gorgeous.

Friday Freebie (On a Sunday)

Wow, I haven't posted a Friday Freebie in a while. Or actually posted a Friday Freebie on a Friday. Or posted anything, really! Well, here's a Friday Freebie (finally) -- on a Sunday! (sidenote -- whenever I hear the phrase, "on a Sunday," I always think of that Citizens Bank commercial advertising Sunday hours, and an older gentleman says, "On a Sunday?!?!" At least I'm pretty sure it was Citizens.)

Anyhow, today's freebie is another one of my favorite scriptures. It isn't the entirety of Romans 12:9 -- the scripture goes on to say, "hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good." Verse 10 is good too, "love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor." Or, as the Message translation says, "Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle." Good words to live by! Print out this week's freebie here!

Speaking of genuine love, this video made by SheKnows, which showed kids pictures of Caitlyn Jenner, is wonderful. These kids are the definition of genuine love and empathy. "It's important to be yourself, because if you're not yourself, who are you?" Good point, kid! Genuine love is all about accepting people who have different backgrounds, beliefs, abilities -- and simply loving them. And these kids nail it. Go, kids! ♥

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Monday Things

1. It's National Best Friends Day! So send your bestie(s) an e-mail, or a text message, or give them a call, or mail them a card, or a letter (snail mail is pretty much the best thing ever) letting them know how awesome they are and how much you love them! And check out 13 reasons a bestie is irreplaceable -- so very true.

Love you, ladies! ♥

2. The Next Food Network Star is finally back. Yesssss. It's still early in the competition, but I think my favorites are Michelle and Jay. They both seem genuine, have point-of-views that are interesting, and delicious sounding (and looking) food. I'm also pulling for Rue -- I think her background is really unique and she can bring something totally new to the stage. That Mozambique stew she made sounded ah-mazing (minus the peanuts because I can't eat peanuts. But for those who are peanut-eaters, I'm sure it was delicious). But, she's got to work on her camera presence and how to describe herself and her food. "Aggressively charming" -- what what? What does that even mean? Come on, Rue! I'm rue-ting for you! (Har, har)

And then there's Matthew. I think B. Flay summed it up best when he said, "Hashtag? More like WTF." That's pretty much all that can be said.

3. Can I just say how much I love Emily Henderson? She is one of my favorite designers, hands down. Her style is amazing, she's super down to earth and hilarious. One of her recent posts, 12 annoying things I ignore every day, is a must-read. Keeping it real, girl!

4. I've been kind of obsessed lately with putting kale and radish slices on my turkey sandwiches.

5. One of the highlights of my day yesterday was when parents were coming to pick up their little kids from summer Sunday School, and I told one of the girls that it was very nice to meet her when her nana came to get her. And she said to me, "It was very nice to meet you too. I hope that we see each other again!" Adorbs.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Mint and Gold Coffee Table

Remember that coffee table project I posted a couple of weeks ago? Here it is in the beginning stages:

And in progress:

And, voila! The finished product!

I decided to go with a very light mint green because a) I've been really wanting to paint something mint green lately and b) I already had a can of light mint green paint. The paint was actually a reject paint from True Value, so I got it for around $3 (score!). I love checking out the reject paints -- you never know what you'll find! I also used reject paint from True Value for this project that I did a couple of summers ago.

Anyway, the fact that I already had this paint was the driving factor behind the re-design of this coffee table. I also decided that I wanted to try out the dipped-leg look that's so popular. And, I already had gold spray paint, so BAM! Another decision made! And I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Not bad, eh? Now it just needs somewhere to live!