16 mars 2011
It rained hard all night long and most of the day today. My pants were wet up to my knees by the time I had walked ten minutes to school. The umbrella was doing a great job keeping me dry from the waist up, however.
This morning was also the time to make the American version of a Lemon (Meringue) Pie. It was beyond my comprehension how difficult it might be to convert a US recipe to an European one – Michele has only one tall glass with measurements for various things. She does not have any measuring spoons, either, so there was lots of estimation that went into this recipe. In Europe, measurements are given by weight. We measure by volume. Also, I had to make the recipe that Mom sent me last week, a little bit bigger because of the size of the pan.
Last night I found a recipe for piecrust made with oil rather than continuing my search for lard. I had doubts about the quality of the dough, and that was confirmed this morning when I saw the oil that had puddled beneath the small ball. OK, I decided to add flour as I rolled the dough flat. It became obvious that was not going to be enough dough to cover the 10-inch-plus size pan. I made another batch, being much less generous with the oil, then joined the two balls. Ah, this seemed about right. It rolled out much more easily and held together. Whew! Task one, completed. It baked fine – I had the oven temperature calculated correctly.
Next to make the pudding. The measuring of the cornstarch (maïzena) was difficult without a tablespoon; my estimation came up short, so the pudding did not thicken as expected. I mixed up some more cornstarch and water and gradually added that until it seemed to thicken appropriately. The lemons were juiced, the eggs were separated. From here on it should be easy. Except that the pudding still was not thickening as it needed to. I added more cornstarch and water. Now I was more hopeful, but because the eggs were in it, I wasn’t sure that it should come to a boil again. Oh well… at least the mixture tasted good. I poured it into the baked pie shell and let it cool.
About 11:20 I began making the meringue. Once the egg whites were frothed, Michele assisted by spooning in the sugar. When stiff peaks formed, it was spooned onto the pie and baked until slightly brown. Overall, the meringue was probably the easiest part of the entire task.
When I got to school, my teacher Mariette told me that she had done a search for the saindoux (lard) in her neighborhood and purchased some for me. I had to tell her that I had made the pie in the morning. But she gave me the lard anyway. I’ll have to figure out what kind of treat I can make with the lard that I can take to school next week.
After school, with tea, Michele and I each had a piece of pie. It tasted pretty good, all in all. It would not win any blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, but it was an accomplishment considering the measurement and ingredient obstacles. Michele announced that she will make the next lemon treat – she has both a French lemon pie and an Italian lemon pie recipe which are very different from my version. Yummy, in any language.
I hope that you all had a good day. Mom’s surgery is tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers, Dear Reader.
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