Summer. Saturday. Mornings.

Perhaps the most nourishing thing I do during the summer is start my Saturday mornings at the Cherry Street Farmer's Market.  This is where I feed my soul for the week while buying food to feed our bodies.  So, if you are so inclined, would you join me on a Tulsa Saturday Morning in August?  Even though we're in late September and you are heaven only knows where?

Usually I start at the coffee house on cherry street but it was so hot by nine o'clock this morning that I thought it wiser to hit the market before the mercury hit 100.

The melon truck was still in business and I picked up a cantaloupe that smelled like heat and honey and left me breathless.

I'm flying to Colorado monday morning... driving to OKC after lunch at a friend's house tomorrow so I'm not shopping for much today.  I'm hungry for a good BLT though so I'm looking for tomatoes, bacon, bread.  The lettuce is long gone here.



Pork & Greens is my favorite place for anything from a pig.  sadly, they were out of bacon by the time I got there.  The woman in front of me got the last pound.  Fortunately, they're not the only supplier.  

Greenwood Farms still had bacon.  I didn't need eggs (their's are wonderful) and there's still some chorizo and smoked andouille in the freezer from a couple of weeks ago.  The sweet italian sausage has been eaten up but I'll come back next saturday and stock up on that. 

The only produce I need is tomatoes but I can't help but stop and look, talk and imagine - tucking ideas away in my head for future weeks.  Not too future ... the market closes in October and that will be here before I know it.

My favorite produce vendor is Three Springs Farm.  Some of the local restaurants buy their produce from them.  It makes my day when I'm standing next to someone buying up half the truck and talking about the appetizer they're going to put on the menu that night to take advantage of whatever treasure they've found. 

three springs farm

And yes, I believe we have found the tomatoes for dinner sandwiches.  I feel obligated to note that I didn't edit the tomato picture at all except to crop it.  And yes, the flavor is as intense as the color. I'm happy to just bite into one like an apple and let the juice run all down my face.  There is nothing like a vine ripened tomato.

About this time I was feeling really grateful for the existence of thin, 100% cotton clothing.  I wonder how the farmers are making it this year.  It's been so mercilessly hot and dry for weeks. 

I have my bacon, my tomatoes and I'm hot and hungry.  Thinking it's about time I found my ritual almond pastry and headed to CHOCS to hide from the heat and recharge my body and soul.

mmm ... and there they are ...

So back down cherry street, pick up loaf of sourdough from Farrell Family Bread. The bambino eggplant almost made me cave and buy something I wouldn't be able to do anything with before leaving town tomorrow.  So I settled for admiring them, chatting with their grower, and taking a picture.

Ah ... CHOCS is in sight ... and despite the brutal heat and the fact that my shirt is now sticking to me, i want a hot cup of coffee so i believe inside it will be today.

I duck inside and immediately my soul lifts, my shoulders straighten.  I love this place.  The noise of happy conversation, espresso machines, the staff teasing, a baby laughing, extra fans running in every corner.  I splurge and order a medium cappuccino. For here. This is not the to-go part of my week.

Oh. My coffee is up and it's beautiful.

Excellent.  There's plenty of room left in the cozy reading nook and I score the corner table, cushy chair and footstool.  Fistbump. 

And now - breakfast. 

The man across from me is absorbed in his cup of tea and magazine.  I sit and go through the pictures I just took, hook into the free wifi, hang out on fb. 

I think about my family and friends and what I could have done with those bambino eggplant.  I drift away on my coffee and the torch singer music drifitng through the rooms. Think about my life.  It's good. 

And then.  My coffee is gone.

really completely indisputably gone



So I go.  There's laundry, bills, a dirty kitchen and unpaid rent waiting to be dealt with. 

But it's all good. 

All of it.

Hello, blog.

I haven't forgotten about you.

Really.

Key Lime Bliss

Sometimes a recipe calls for a whole lot of tweaking, tinkering and personalizing to really make it sing.  And sometimes you should just keep your stickly little paws off a tried and true tradition.

Key Lime Pie falls squarely into the latter category.

I follow a Cook's Illustrated recipe, but the bottom line is always going to be: eggs, sweetened condensed milk, limes.  That's all.   Yes, we could go at it for days over whole eggs vs. egg yolks and key limes vs. (gasp!) regular limes ...

...but at the end of the day it's really just three key ingredients to sublime lime.

The Stuff

Lime Filling

4 teaspoons grated lime zest

1/2 cup lime juice from 3 to 4 limes

4 large egg yolks

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Graham Cracker Crust

11 graham crackers , processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups)

3tablespoons granulated sugar

5tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

Whipped Cream Topping

3/4cup heavy cream

1/4cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 lime , sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)

The Way

For the Filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken.

For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.)

For the Whipped Cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve.

Tips and Tricks
Did I say this didn't require any tweaking, tinkering or personalizing?  Did you actually believe me?  Did you think I could actually keep my sticky paws off of a recipe?

Here are my opinions on the matter:

Limes work just as well, if not better than key limes.  There.  I said it.  Get in line.  For everyone who says I'm off my rocker, I've got someone willing to declare mine is the best "key" lime pie they've ever eaten.  And no, I don't pay them.

Get some super crunchy, super gingery ginger snaps and replace half to a third of the graham crackers with that.  Awesome crust.

Whipped cream?  I don't bother.  I actually think it detracts from the tart simplicity that is the pie.

Did I say pie?  I meant tart.  I make mine in a tart pan and it comes out superb and gorgeous each and every time.

Want a perfectly pressed tart crust with clean edges? I have just the perfect tool of you.  Introducing... the measuring cup.  My seven year old can create a masterpiece with this - I know you can.