Key Lime Pie and Late July Gardening

As previously mentioned, I intended to make a key lime pie (with just regular limes). I looked around on the world wide web and found good ol' Ree Drummond's version of key lime pie. I liked it because she doesn't use key limes either and she had great pictures. I printed out the printable version of the recipe and got started.

The only issue I had was the graham cracker crust. What I thought was going to produce enough crumbs for one pie ended up making enough for about two and a half! (with additional melted butter required). Maybe the packaging of graham crackers is different in Canada than in the States, but maybe the recipe was wrong.

Regardless of the crust issue (I just made another crust and froze it for future use), the rest of the pie was fantastic. There was a lot of zesting and squeezing to be done, but ohhhhh the fragrance of lime while I was doing all of this was wonderful. Man, I love lime! So kudos to The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, who I remember when she was just a regular blogger like the rest of us (well, maybe she was never just a regular blogger, but she did start out small and now she takes up part of an aisle in Walmart with her kitchen items).

Here is the pie after it was baked, but before I whipped up some cream and adorned the top.

The little flecks that you see are bits of lime zest.  We had friends over for dinner last night and all proclaimed the pie to be very good. I forgot to take a picture of the completed pie with whipped cream on top, so this is all I can offer:

This is the final piece (broken in half) which had been stuck in the fridge after everyone went home last night. No, I did not eat it for breakfast. I was tempted, however.

Would I make it again? Most definitely. I don't think the kind of lime I used mattered. I don't think I even pay attention to the "species" of lime when I am at the grocery store. Here in Ontario, we get what we get.

Now, onward to gardens. July began hot, hot, hot and dry, dry, dry. This past week, we have had some good rains and this morning it was positively chilly!! (fifteen degrees Celsius - I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit). The rain and the heat got everything growing even more. Here is what is blooming on July 28.

Crocosmia, which has been popping up in a few other blogs (Lynn, Birdie...). I love this stuff. So tropical and exotic.

Daylilies showing off their gorgeous colour combo.

Exquisite veining in this pink hollyhock (with crocosmia being all cheeky and peeking in from behind).

Purple cone flower sporting another fabulous colour combination. Well done, nature, well done.

Window boxes and urns in front of the shed are full and luscious filled predominantly with sweet potato vine, geraniums and impatiens (and some lacy looking white filler that I forget the name of). You just can't go wrong with that sweet potato vine.

Now let's mosey over to the little vegetable garden which has responded so well to recent rains. I've harvested one zucchini, a few cucumbers and keep going out to see if another "baby tomato" has ripened.

Green beans in flower and with very small beans. Tender Green is the specific kind. Shouldn't be too long now. I've also planted another couple of small rows to keep us going through until early fall.

Another potential zucchini. I planted three plants in total. I may regret that, but stuffed zucchini is a good thing.

Some lovely leaf lettuce. I love the purple colour! It is called Prize head.

Peas are just starting to develop. I never grow enough to freeze (and had a horrible harvest last year), most peas get eaten while standing out in the garden! I planted Laxton Progress this year.

There will not be a shortage of cucumbers. Ever. And all I planted was two plants. This kind is Salad Crop. (Note the purslane growing rampantly through my garden - they say you can eat purslane- I think I'll stick with the cucumbers).

I've not planted this kind of pepper before. It's a Hungarian Sweet yellow pepper and coming along so much better than my other New Ace red peppers.

Holy basil, Batman! This has been a fantastic year for basil. I wish my tomatoes were ripe so I could be enjoying caprese salad (tomato, basil, soft mozzarella cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

My "baby tomatoes". These are called Candyland and they are much smaller than a cherry tomato. They are about the size of marbles and are, quite frankly, adorable. I've only had a few ripe ones so far, but the plant is laden, so there will be plenty.

There are some "normal" sized tomatoes developing as well. This one is Bonny Best. I also planted Beefsteak. It makes me so happy because for the past two years I have had a horrible time with blight and barely had any tomatoes, while in years gone by I've canned and frozen and given away tomatoes. I'm very much looking forward to canning my own tomatoes again this year.

I'm going to go eat something healthy now so I can justify eating that last piece of key lime pie later!