weekends are for baking

The days are short here. At 1800 (6:00 pm) it is dark here in Zambia; almost as if God has decides every night at that time to turn off the light with the flick of a switch. To me, the early nights make it seem later than it actually is. Even though we are in the cold season (or the cold susan as one of the grade ones calls it), in my head it is summer. June is the start of summer back home, and for pretty much my entire life, my body is programmed to expect summer in June. The weather gets warmer and the days start to get longer.

I can hear puddle jumpers (small propeller planes) flying overhead which is a sound I associate with summer as I grew up so close to a small regional airport and our house was directly under the flight path. The hum of the piston engine becomes more frequent during warmer weather.

It is these cues, the warm (actually hot) days, lots of sunshine and blue sky, no rain, flowers blooming, birds singing, and single engine planes flying overhead that combine to feel like summer.

Anyway, here my body is confused. In the day it gets hot, but at night and in the morning it is cold (cold enough to see your breath), so in the day I think it is summer, but at night, especially because it gets dark so early, I think it is fall and am ready to hibernate and go to bed early.

Besides the fact that almost everything closes by 1800 at the latest, and there have been a number of break-ins in my neighbourhood lately so I refuse to leave the house past dark, evenings are not conducive to getting much done. This means that weekends are always super busy as you rush around trying to accomplish everything that needs to get done for the week. However I generally take time to bake Saturday or Sunday.

I love baking and find it very relaxing. The goal is to bake treats for the coming week. . .however they don’t usually last that long.

If you are in the neighbourhood, feel free to come by for a visit and if it is on the weekend, there will probably be a freshly baked treat for you.

For the Lime Filling
4 t grated lime zest
4 egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c fresh lime juice

For the Crust
1 cup cookie crumbs (about 9 crumbled biscuits, either Graham crackers or Tennis biscuits)
4 T butter, melted and still warm
(If you prefer a sweeter crust, you can add 2 T sugar, but I think that the pie is sweet enough without it.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk the lime zest and egg yolks together for two minutes. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, then the lime juice. Set aside while you prepare the crust.

In a medium bowl, add the crumbs and slowly pour the melted butter over top of the crumbs while stirring continuously. Stir until crumbs are moistened.

Transfer crumbs to a 9x9 pan or pie plate and bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, or just until the crumbs start to turn golden. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

After the crust has cooled, pour in the lime filling. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the centre is set, but still moves when wiggled.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled (at least three hours, or overnight).

If desired, garnish with whipped cream and serve.

Side note:  They do not have key limes here, and lemons and limes are all called lemons.  I used the local lemon (although to me it looks like a lime) and it works perfectly.

Original recipe found here.