Wow. It feels like I haven't blogged in forever. Here's hoping I can make it up to you all with this post.
Last month I was in Montreal visiting my darling friend Mayssam (photos to be published very soon), and it turned into a gastronomic holiday - an absolute food feast fest involving all sorts of food tastings, food market visits, restaurant visits and taste tests. I guess that's what happens when any two (or more) food bloggers get together.
But I digress. Mayssam made us a gorgeous Key Lime Pie and it's been something on my list of things to do for this blog for the longest time. So naturally I was inspired and when I arrived back home - I went straight into the kitchen to experiment, and it's been Key Lime pie, day in and day out since.
Experimenting with this recipe brought back so many memories from my childhood, I can't even begin to tell you how comforting the whole experience was. We had a whole bunch of massive citrus trees growing in our back garden: bittersweet pink grapefruit, super-sweet oranges, gorgeous fresh lemons and of course, limes.
The lime tree was my favourite, mostly when it was in bloom in early spring. The heady scent of the flowers wafted all around for months, and as it was right next to my bedroom, I'd open my windows first thing in the mornings and allow that gorgeous smell to glide in and fill the room - it was the most natural air freshener anyone could ever hope for. I could never understand how something so sweet like the smell of those tiny lime blossoms could turn into something as sour as the lime fruit. And we used lime in almost everything: drizzled over chicken, fish, with potatoes and mustard seeds, and of course in all sorts of desserts.
For this recipe, I substituted the normal biscuit base for an oreo base and the combination works beautifully. It's such a simple, easy and quick dessert to make, and I really think it's very versatile: you could use oranges, berries, different base mixtures - the combinations are endless. Topped with a good dollop of whipped cream - it's pure bliss on a plate!
Now, I don't know if you read Delicious magazine or not, but I'm a massive fan, and in this month's issue, they launched their 'We Love Knobbly Veg' campaign, and I love it - it's all about celebrating the unloved fruit and veg in the world with all their bumps, discolourations and bruises. They taste just as good as 'perfect' fruit & veg, and in buying and using them, you help the farmers that grow them, reduce waste and save money in the process.
I love this campaign and fully support it. For this post, I looked for the knobbliest and most discoloured limes I could find, but obviously, there wasn't that much around. I'll keep trying from now on, not just for all the above reasons, but I think they will make for more interesting photos too.
In other news, I've had a redesign of the blog: a new banner, new fonts and font colours (bye-bye pink!), a navigation bar at the top of the page and some fabric on the sides. Do you like it? Would love to know what you think.
Also, a great weekend workshop has just been announced: From Plate to Page, formed and run by the fabulous Jeanne, Jamie, Meeta and Ilva. It looks really exciting and covers a whole range of workshops from food styling to photography to writing. It will be held in Weimar, Germany on the 20th-23rd May 2011. See the Plate to Page site for all the details.
And before I forget, next year's Food Blogger Connect dates have just been announced: 12th-14th of August 2011. See the FBC website for more info. Exciting!
And here it is: another Kitchenaid giveaway. I'm sure you might remember when I first gave a Kitchenaid away back in July, when I'd said I'd won 1 Kitchenaid. Well, I have a confession to make: the truth of the matter is, I won 3. All from the same competition. That's how I gave away another one in August, and this is the final one. I heard that they've stopped making these candy apple red ones now, so this might be your last chance to get your hands on one.
This giveaway is open to all email subscribers to this blog: if you're subscribed - that's great - you don't have to do anything, you'll automatically be entered. If you're not subscribed yet, it's easy: all you have to do is enter your email address in the box on the top left corner of this blog under 'Subscribe by email'. And that's it!
The giveaway is open to anyone worldwide, and ends at midnight, Sunday the 7th of November 2010. The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. Good luck!
Oh, and just one more thing: Happy Halloween!
Oreo Key Lime Pie Recipe
Makes 6 small pies
16 (160g) Oreo biscuits, finely crushed
100g unsalted butter, melted
5 egg yolks
450ml condensed milk
6 limes, juiced
300ml double cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
Preheat oven to 175˚C. Grease 6 small pie dishes (measuring roughly 4" or 10cm in diameter).
Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter. Line the bottoms of the dishes with the mixture, slightly less than half full (or about two tablespoons per dish). Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
In the meantime, start whisking the egg yolks, and slowly incorporate the condensed milk. Slowly whisk in the lime juice.
Pour egg yolk mixture into the pie dishes over the biscuit bases until it just touches the rim of the dish. Return to oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight to solidify.
Whip the double cream with the sugar and spoon onto the pies.
