This weather has me thinking about summertime and sunshine and cool light meals. I want to get out to the garden and do some meaningful planting, not spending time peering into blazing hot, boiling kettles of corned beef and cabbage. I am going to celebrate spring while the going is good, and before summer turns on the furnace.
A very merry place to spend St. Patrick’s Day is in Key West, which always claims that it has a temperate and mild climate: never too hot, never too cold and has never had a frost. (Personally, the last time I was there it felt rather toasty, but was festive nonetheless.) They celebrate with a St. Patrick’s Day Bar Stroll; how energetic!
Thinking about Key West brought to mind their ubiquitous Key Lime Pie. It is hawked in the many ice cream shops, bakeries and corner markets. What could be a better easy peasy St. Patrick’s Day treat than a slice of Key Lime Pie? It’s pale green, nothing like the Chicago River or green beer. It is cool, tasty and universally adored. And since we can’t be enjoying the Bar Stroll down Duvall Street, lets whip up a little home-style revelry.
First – you must buy Nellie and Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice and follow the recipe on the back of the bottle. https://www.keylimejuice.com/
9-inch graham cracker pie shell
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks (no whites!)
½ cup Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice
Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Pour into the pie shell at bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Let it stand for 10 minutes before cooling in the fridge. Top with whipped cream and a lime slice. Well, this is where we part ways, Nellie and Joe. We ladle the whole pie with a thick swath of whipped cream, because like St. Patrick’s Day beer, you can never have enough whipped cream. And this is a link to the best whipped cream recipe ever, Nancy Silverton’s genius recipe: https://food52.com/blog/2553_nancy_silvertons_whipped_cream It is a life changer!
And we’ll get out some construction paper to make a four-leaved shamrock, too!
You have prepared a homemade dessert and now you have impatiens to plant. Enjoy your day in the garden!
“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time — a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.”
– Adrienne Cook
https://www.stpatricksdaybarstroll.com/
https://greenchicagoriver.com/
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