When the husband wants lime pie, you gotta make lime pie.....

My husband loves Key Lime Pie. I know we shouldn't eat sweets, but he is very "long in the sweet tooth" and at his age I pretty much just go ahead and have the sweets he likes on hand.

As for Key Lime Pie, and most other sweets these days, the "store bought kind" is what lands in our house. The days of cooking almost daily desserts are long gone though I do occasionally stir the pot a bit and bake a bit.

Right out of the oven! Want to dig right in but have to let it cool!

So I decided to make a lime pie for him going back to the old reliable product of "sweetened condensed milk" for the base.

A few years back we moved from our home of 40 plus years and I haven't seen my shredder/zester since. Maybe it was gone long before the move but probably not. Just one of those things. I tell you that simply to let you know I could use REAL LIMES which is certainly key to lime pie being really good and authentic.

As for "Key Limes," well, that ship sailed long ago. Or rather I wouldn't know a Key Lime from a grocery store lime. If you get my thinking.

First slice. Mile high meringue. Rich filling with signature sweet/tangy flavor.

So alas, the pie was made with bottled lime juice. Now the label said it was real lime juice, so I simply had to take its word as truth. I keep a bottle of real lemon juice on hand for various purposes like marinating, etc. Again, we have to assume the bottle is telling us the truth.

Now about that lime pie.....

All my recipes were in a jumble from that famous once in a lifetime move, so being the modern woman I am, I Googled it. Have you ever Googled for a recipe? Well, you get a zillion or so versions and you simply have to pick and choose the one that fits what you have in your pantry and fridge and go with it.

Day 2: Look at those delicious juices that form on top of the meringue.

Well, I didn't exactly do that. I sort of did and I sort of didn't. But I did make the pie and you've been seeing pictures throughout this rambling treatise of lime pie. And my improvised recipe follows.

Oh, you ask, "Did he like the pie?" Well, it is all gone and I can only say that although it had a lot of sugar in it, it was also loaded with eggs and milk and we all know eggs and milk are health foods!

Vera's Improvised Lime Pie

Filling:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (store brand)
4 eggs separated (use YOLKS in pie filling)
1/3 cup light cream
1/2 cup lime juice

Meringue:
4 egg whites
About 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 or 7 tablespoons white granulated sugar
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Pie crust:
I used the purchased Keebler shortbread (cookie) pie crust

Mix sweetened condensed milk with egg yolks using wire whisk until well blended and then whisk until a bit fluffy (not whipped). Stir cream into empty milk can to get all the good out of it and then pour cream into milk/egg mixture and blend. Stir lime juice into empty milk can to get all the good out of it and then pour cream into milk/egg/cream mixture. Bake at 350℉ for 20 or 30 minutes.

Just before pie is finished cooking, using electric mixer beat the egg whites until frothy and then while continuing to beat the egg whites gradually add the sugar/tartar/salt mixture. Beat until nice peaks form when you lift the beaters. Blend in vanilla. Spoon mixture over top of hot pie and bake until a bit golden - 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy. And if I had a zester I would prefer to use real limes and 1 or 2 teaspoons of zest in the filling. Yummy!