Where did Summer Go?

     

Wasaga Beach Sunset

    

OK, so I may have misled you people.  I promised to me back to blogging and well, I did not live up to my promise.  So here I am sitting at my desk at work at 7:15AM in the morning, with a little time to spare before my workday starts at 7:30AM and I was thinking about my little blog and serious lack of recent (can you say, “understatement”?) entries.  I should not have committed to updating in my last post.  What I should have done was just take post that I was taking the summer off. Which I did kind of, I mean I did work but I did spend a lot less time in the kitchen.  The reason…pretty simple actually…it was so bloody hot this summer and the thought of turning on that oven was just as appealing as watching paint dry.  We live in a very old house so we only have two window AC units, therefore, the house it still relatively warm.  I mean it was so hot that I actually went to sleep downstairs on the couch to get some relief.  But now the weather is changing the mornings are cool and frankly there is no excuse for me anymore.  I’m actually looking forward to getting back in the kitchen with my camera, during the summer I have collected like a zillion recipes and bought a few (read half a dozen) new cookbooks.  I find I always do a lot of baking in the fall and winter which is great except for the fact that when I do my baking after work it tends to be dark out already, so I’m limited in how much natural light I can shoot in.   

 Well enough about me.  I hope you all had a great summer.  I personally love the heat and with a proper AC unit I could probably live in warm climate all year-long.  If you’re still around I thank you and I will get back to blogging soon.   

 In the meantime let me share with you some pics from my summer!  

   

 

Sun setting in Varadero

   

I’m back, with Pie!

Happy New Year fellow bloggers and readers!!

Wow, it feels like forever since I have updated my blog.  Well in the blogging world I guess it has been forever.  As you can tell from my last post I have been pretty busy lately with Charlie.  It’s almost been three weeks that we got her and she’s growing at an incredible rate, so much so I’m a little concerned that she’ll most probably outgrow me..lol. She’s been adapting very well to our home and sleeping throughout the entire night, God bless her.

The house training in getting better as well, of course being a puppy she’s had a few accidents but she is definitely getting better at letting us know when she has to go.  This morning for example I went to take out the trash and when I came back inside there she was waiting for me at the front door not moving, her sign that she has to go.  I would think that in about two weeks or so she should be house trained, or at least I’m hoping she will be.  Am I going on a little too long about Charlie, this is a baking blog after all?  Ok, just one more quick update.  She’s already learned to sit, give her paw, high five, sit pretty and crawl, all for a treat of course. Oh, and I’m slipping in a picture for you all to see.

I found that it has been pretty difficult to spend much time in the kitchen the last couple of weeks.  That’s not to say that I haven’t been baking, I have.  I just haven’t been baking and taking pictures is all. I did make a point of taking out my camera a few days back when I made a Lemon Meringue Pie. I know what you’re thinking, “A lemon meringue pie in the winter, really?”.  Yes, really.  Aside from it being a request from my husband I was craving something tangy yet sweet, I wanted to bring a little summer to our pallets. 

I felt the need to make something that had nothing to do with the holidays or old man winter, and what could be more perfect than lemon meringue pie?  And I don’t mean lemon meringue pie from a box with a graham cracker crust.  I’m talking the real thing; a flakey butter crust filled with a tangy lemon filling and topped off with a luscious cloud of sweet meringue.

The pie crust is my tried and true recipe that can be found in my Apple Pie post, just half the recipe ingredients for a 1 9-inch pie crust.  Or you can make the double batch and freeze 1 crust for later use which is always handy. The lemon filling and meringue is a recipe that from a wonderful book called Baking by James Peterson.

This is one of the first filling recipes that I have used that didn’t call for any corn starch or flour to act as a thickening agent.  The thickening agent here my dear friends is patience, you’ll need lots of it as you stand over your stove as you’re trying to convince yourself with every passing minute that the custard is getting thicker. You many even want to chant (in your head of course), “you’re getting thicker, you’re getting thicker” and before your arm has a chance to completely go numb the custard finally thickens!

I know the boxed lemon meringue and using a premade crust is way quicker than making a pie from scratch, but I tell you all the difference is in the taste.  I would not lie to you and make you spend indefinitely amount of time in the kitchen if I really didn’t believe it.  Make it; it’s worth the extra effort.  And make it in the winter; your taste buds will thank you.

Ok, so I’ve been M.I.A…

 

Random picture of parsley and garlic....

 

The last post I well posted was about the arrival of spring, and that was pretty much it.  I posted a pretty picture of my Cherry Tree in bloom, which by the way produced very little cherries and whatever it did produce got stolen from unsuspecting older couple across the street…….what I really mean to say is that I didn’t get to bake my cherry pie this year.

When I first started this blog I had every intention of updating it weekly with the delicious goodies I baked.  Well I did bake I just never updated.  At first I justified it as not having the time, but let’s get serious I have all the time in the world.  Then I told myself that I need to invest in a new camera, because quite frankly the one that I have isn’t the greatest and the pictures don’t do justice to my creations. Again, that was just another excuse and then I just kind of forgot about it.  I still continued to follow my favourite blogs, have I ever told you how much I love Joy,  she’s all the Blog I will ever need.  But seriously, I am back and I promise, PROMISE to post…at least once a week

Spring is Finally Here…

  Cherry Blossom from my Cherry Tree

I admit, I have not been updating my blog. What I have been doing is staying outdoors and getting ready for the summer. I love gardening, almost as much as being in the kitchen.
So my husband and I have been working like busy bees, planting, mowing, seeding, cleaning the deck, deweeding (is that even a word?).
And we have been doing all these work after we get home from work! Needless to say, I am very exhausted this morning and I can not wait to finally start enjoying the yard.
Well I’m making this very short and sweet, I promise to be back with pictures of our labour of love. xoxo