Thursday, July 1, 2010

mellow yellow





















Yellow plus red equals orange.

This irrevocable law of color, extends into the kitchen.

We had rented a cabin on the lake with friends. A frozen pastry shell and a lemon pie mix were unpacked with a flourish. Like Pavlov's dogs, our mouths watered in anticipation. Oh no! We hadn't packed enough sugar to make the pie, and still have some left for coffee and tea for the weekend. I cast my eyes over the contents of the fridge and cranberry juice seemed our only hope. The amount of sugar listed on the label is shocking. Two and a half cups of cranberry juice replaced the two and a half cups of water called for in the recipe. The mellow yellow pie filling turned a rich orange hue, like butterscotch pudding. Into the baked pastry shell it went. Now for the meringue. Egg whites! Oh no! The cabin came with a generous assortment of kitchen gadgets, but no mixer, not even a hand held one. I remembered reading that egg whites had been whipped into submission by hand with a fork by Laura Ingles mother for her wedding cake and I meekly suggested this to my astonished companions. They gamely lent an arm, (and elbow) and a passable meringue was soon swirled onto the pie and browning in the oven. The pie was delicious and tart, everything a lemon meringue pie should be in fact, except yellow.

No comments:

Post a Comment