the first daffodils have popped in our yard—spring is here. there is a little spot of yellow at every turn, in fact
from these little crocuses
to the tiny buds emerging all over our climbing hydrangea; they will soon turn to green, but for right now they are part of the yellow chorus.
my yellow garden shoes have been used a few times in the last week—not exactly for garden work, but for little trips out to the yard for blog photos. this sunday though, they may see some actual garden time . . .
and then there was this yellow yumminess:
my friend debby had a birthday over the weekend and i made her favorite lemon meringue pie to celebrate in knitting class on monday.
now some of you may remember that my recent history making this pie has not always been smooth sailing. for some reason, a couple of them did not turn out well—probably because i was trying to make a new recipe work.
and when it failed, i just kept trying—DUH.
so for the last couple, i went back to my old filling recipe (click here to see one that is almost identical), which works a treat except that i’ve been experimenting with increasing the amount of lemon juice—sometimes with shaky results.
but this time, i finally hit the right balance of water, juice, and cooking time to make it set up really well AND be extra lemony.
it was setting up as i poured it into the shell—now that’s success.
but that’s not even the big news—the big news is that i decided to try to solve my next challenge—overly dry meringue that doesn’t stay up. i didn’t used to have trouble making meringues and ones that retained a high and fluffy profile, at that. but for some reason, the last few i made were just not up to snuff—so dry i could barely get them on the pie without the texture going off. and they began collapsing the minute they came out of the oven.
i have read martha stewart (and others, haha) on meringues and heard that cooked meringues were more stable and easy to work with, but i’ve always been too rushed or lazy to start on the stove.
and—to be truthful—afraid to experiment (yes, ME!).
but with the results i’d had lately, what was there to lose?
so i decided to give swiss meringue a whirl (look also at the italian meringue, which i’m going to try next time, maybe).
you really need to read the recipe, but in short, the idea here is to start at the stove by adding sugar, egg white, and salt to a double boiler (some recipes call for cream of tartar; mine did not) and heating this mixture to dissolve the sugar, while whisking constantly.
when the sugar is completely dissolved, you take it off the heat, add flavoring if desired, and beat it with the electric mixer until stiff peaks form. the result is an elastic, marshmallow-ey meringue with a creamy texture and high gloss that fairly floats onto the pie and is very easy to work into a pretty swirl. bake as usual and . . . WAH-LA!
what did i tell you?? it’s pretty, right?
and a couple hours later, what does it look like?
exactly the same, YAY—still glossy, no shrinking, no collapsing.
can i just tell you—i’m HOOKED??
i will probably never use a french meringue again (sorry france; i love you, but i don’t live in a compatible climate for good french meringue).
this meringue came out so lovely, with an excellent flavor and mouthfeel, that i’m tempted to try my hand at chocolate-covered marshmallows next. everyone loved it, but especially me, haha; i don’t care for the taste of cream of tartar but i always thought i HAD to add it to meringue. now i know that i don’t.
speaking of meringue, another nice thing about class the other day is that every single one of them brought their february club project to work on. and anne c’s sky ladder was even finished (debbby is not far behind on her baby blanket).
isn’t she cute?
she knit the petite wrap (she’s wearing it over her sprössling sweater in briar rose sea pearl)
i gotta tell you—it is so much fun to watch everyone work through their club projects. everyone in the monday class subscribed to both clubs and they’ve each knit almost everything. sometimes, they even race, haha.
but the BEST thing is on the reveal day, when i hand out their club packages—the yelling and screaming is both hilarious and heartwarming (as well as undignified, but we won’t go there); it makes all the work worth it, just for that moment.
many members have gone with the pattern only (eBook) option and are knitting from stash—it has been equally fun and exciting to see what they come up with to show off in the clubhouse each month.
i am DYING to see how everyone likes the next pattern release, coming out on saturday; i just love it and i hope they do, too.
so, i’ve dawdled enough, not talking about my own knitting—what’s up back at the ranch, hanson??
well, for most of the last week, the remaining piece of david’s sweater has been kicking my butt. not because it’s difficult or tricky, but because it’s just so damn BIG. and a lack of knitting time has made the work on it seem interminable. good thing i love the yarn—i have never tired of working with the sporty kashmir or the gorgeous enchanted forest colorway.
the front did not seem nearly as daunting, but i think i had longer knitting sessions to spend on it. with the back i’ve been doing a few rows here and a few rows there, which really doesn’t get the job done.
over the weekend, i realized i needed to put my nose to the grindstone and work on it, in order to make the progress i expected. i brought it to knitting on saturday, i worked on it while watching bike races sunday night and again all afternoon in monday knitting class. haha in fact, monday night i fell asleep with it in my hands, just three rows from the finish.
last night, a breakthrough—i finished the back, blocked my pieces, joined the shoulders, and then knit on the neckband while i talked to cookie on the phone.
i like it.
but i especially like that it’s nearly done now. next time, a finished sweater and hopefully some shots of david wearing it. til then . . . look for yellow!
26 thoughts on “yellow is the color of my true luv’s pies”
the pie is absolutely GORGEOUS! thanks for sharing so many pics of the progress. i can’t wait to see david’s finished sweater!
That wrap is gorgeous. I’m on the last repeat rows 1-43 then border and I’m done!! Also working on scarf at same time as a gift for someone. Loved the yarn so much I ordered more. Going to hate not knitting with it when I’m done, but I have the March kit to look forward to now.
Oh, yay on David’s sweater! It looks fantastico, of course! Good for you for pushing ahead on that big project.
I *love* the meringue – so lofty and fluffy! What a delicious pie that must have been. I’ve tried the Italian meringue for a buttercream base (from the Cake Bible). It was pretty good.
Anne C. looks so adorable in her double Knitspot knits! And so pretty against the floral wallpaper!
So jealous of your little hints of yellow in the yard. Here in SD, things are still brown and just starting to peek out of the dirt.
Your Meringue recipe sounds just like a frosting I made this weekend for cupcakes. I loved how “marshamllow-y” it tasted and how prettily it piped out of the pastry bag.
That pie is incredibly droolworthy!
I wanted so much to be able to participate in this club as I want to foray more into the natural coloured fibres; alas it was not in the budget. It has been so wonderful following along and seeing the finished projects though! The stole is lovely!
The only yellow I have in my life right now is some lovely yellow sock yarn I picked up at my LYS…which also happens to be painted yellow…Spring is most definately NOT here. It snowed this morning, then hailed a little bit and now it’s pouring rain. Enjoy spring if you have it! 🙂 PS I have serious garden envy.
the sweater is gorgeous, have enjoyed watching it progress- would love to make it when the pattern is up!
We have daffodils out here too, and there are buds on the flowering currant. Can’t wait to see David’s sweater being modelled. And please save me a piece of that pie! Mmmmmmm! How fun for you to be able to share in the BNK clubbies’ excitement over their projects and yarn!
Your lemon meringue is beautiful and one of my favorite pies(i really need to learn how to make one). I love the cables on the sweater.
The pie looks divine!
The more I see a finished Sky Ladder, the more I love it.I just cannot decide which variation to knit, too many choices!
I use Swiss merigue and have had great success with it. I have live in the South (New Orleans, Virginia, Texas) and it is not as susceptable to weather… Your pie looks perfect.
Nice job on the pie! The CIA chefs would be impressed.
John picked out his Sporty Kashmir color — he loves the sweater and can’t wait for his very own.
Aha! 3.14! Very clever.
I’m not sure I could survive without the internet. Who knew that I would get a now “famous” (meaning passed around a gazillion times) sweet potato (pie) Thanksgiving recipe from an ancient knitlist from Prodigy (remember that?) … and now…. I think your lemon meringue pie will also go down in history 🙂 Wow. Thanks for doing all the hard work, and I can’t wait to try it … WHEN IT IS NOT RAINING (not good for making stiff egg whites LOL). I’m in central CA and we’ve hardly had any rain this past winter, so we aren’t really complaining.
We do also love the “David” sweater posts — makes us all feel more “human” that one just can’t knit a sweater in a day ROFL.
Happy Spring though!
Thank you for the hits of bright yellow!
Oh, that pie! Thanks for the tips. I always asked my mother for an apple pie on my (autumn) birthday in lieu of cake, but lemon merinque is also a top favorite.
Crazy weather–even here in Massachusetts we’re seeing blooms. It’s an early spring here–I saw crocuses, daffodils, and one lone little (trendy) orange tulip on my walk today–and yesterday saw cherry blossoms!
Happy Pi(e) day. That looks mighty good. Made a batch of Meyer lemon curd last week which I eat by the spoonful or in yogurt. Daffodils blooming, buds on flowering trees…it’s spring in NYC.
Your baking looks so good. I am always amaze with your talents!
Are you planning to publish the “recipe” for David’s new sweater – or does it already exist? It looks just great and I am sure he will wear it well.
Lovely pie! Oh Anne…I’m taking a class with Ann Budd right now and we got to see all of the samples from her upcoming book. I kept eyeing one on the pile and when she pulled it out and said ‘this one was done by Anne Hanson’, I actually laughed! No wonder I thought it was gorgeous! That’s probably the third time I’ve seen something you’ve done and admired it and then discovered it was your design. This one is really beautiful!
I LOVE lemon meringue pie! And just a couple weeks ago, I made meringue cookies that started with a cooked meringue just like you described — it was SO easy! I may use it on my next lemon meringue pie.
So much to love in this post between the yellows, the meringue, the finished projects and the beautiful sweater for David. But my favorite thing of all was seeing the finished sprosling sweater under the lovely shawl. I am coveting that sweater—-bigtime!
Your pie raised by blood sugar just looking at it. Yummy. It’s perfection, Anne.
Love the progress you’ve made on David’s sweater.
Garden pictures are great, too. We have a few blooms around here also.
Looking forward to pattern release day : )
Now THAT is a Meringue Pie!!! YUM!!
Even your pie’s crust looks yummy!! and perfect! Loved seeing the Sprossling & the wrap! And your garden…thanks for sharing.
Oh that pie!!! I can just about taste the lemony goodness, please save me a bite!!!
Hi, Anne- Check out this issue of Fine Cooking.com for a lemon meringue pie recipe which involves similar technique on the meringue. Looks interesting, though I noticed a typo in the filling ingredient list–water noted in the directions, is missing.
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