Awash in a sea o'green

Throughout the years while my children were growing up, we'd would experiment with various holiday goodies in the hopes of establishing a new tradition. For St. Patrick's Day, I never could entice them with corned beef and cabbage, standard traditional fare. But, being a pie-lover, one year I auditioned a lime meringue pie, and that is the recipe that became the annual tradition.
This year is my first time to celebrate without the kids, who have set out on their own paths; however, with an abundance of limes, I decided to bake the pie anyway, only in an 8" version. The only glitch this time was that the filling didn't set properly, a hazard of sorts with these kind of pies.

Maybe I used too much lime juice. But it still looks lovely and tastes divine, and since it's just for me, it doesn't really matter. I thought I'd share anyway, since these pies are delicious in any citrus flavor.


Lime Meringue Pie

1 8" pie crust, baked

Filling:

1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1/4 cup lime juice
2 drops of green food color, if desired
2 drops of lime oil, if desired

Stir sugar and cornstarch together in a medium saucepan. Blend the egg yolks and water and gradually stir the mixture into the sugar-cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in the butter, lime peel, lime juice, and food color/lime oil. Immediately pour into baked pie shell.

Meringue:

Beat 2 egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. Continue beating on medium-high speed, adding 1/4 cup sugar, one tablespoon at a time; continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. In the last minute, add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.

Spoon the meringue onto the hot filling, carefully sealing the meringue to the edge of the crust. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the meringue is a delicate brown. Cool away from drafts.