RECIPE: Key Lime Pie

One of my family's favorite in Florida is the Key Lime Pie.

I watched this recipe on TV the other day and loved the way it looked, so I made it and it turned out as good as I expected. The only thing missing on this picture is the lime wedges to decorate. It looks very pretty with it.

Here it is your recipe:

Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes)

For the decoration:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Thin lime wedges

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pyrex pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with lime. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

Note: If you have concerns about raw eggs, combine the yolks with 1/2 cup of the lime juice used in the recipe in a double boiler. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture reaches 140 degrees. Use in place of the raw egg yolks, remembering to add the remaining 1/4 cup of lime juice to the filling mixture along with the condensed milk and zest. Enjoy it!!!

The Refiner

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

When God made Mothers

First ... Happy Mother's Day!!

I would like to share what I read yesterday on my devotional:

"A Woman who fears the Lord, she will be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."
Proverbs 31:30-31

He made them as something special!

Their hands are delicately formed; they can create an exquisite piece of art while binding the imaginary wound of a child's broken heart. A mother's soothing touch to a feverish brow is like a "magic cure" to the inner soul.

Kings have been transfused by the plasma of her dreams. Nations are still being conquered through the inspiration of her ideals. Weak leaders are often supported by her feminine mystique. Her offspring have walked on the moon, tilled the soil, explored planets and plumbed the ocean depths.

She is a paradox! Unpredictable. Not easily understood by the male species. They have studied her, used her body, written pages of scientific data about her. Yet, no one has discovered the mystery of a woman herself.

Not will they ever!

God and God alone is able to contemplate her worth. For it was she He chose to bear His son, tutor Him in childhood, and to minister to Him at the cross.

She was the very last of all God's creative acts. When He has finished with His original "MASTERPIECE" called woman, it was as if God said:

"Now that I have made mothers, I can rest."

By Ruthe White
Book: A Gentle Spirit
Devotional Selections for Today's Christian Woman