Our Award Winning Lemon Marble Cream Pie!

We did it again! After our success with last year’s Pie Bake-off Competition at the Nolensville, TN 4th of July Celebration, we decided to enter again. And this year with two pies! While we were baking, we thought, “wouldn’t it be funny if both of them placed?” Well, they did: 1st and 2nd. And I saw a few of the other pies, and I must say I wasn’t confident afterwards! But, apparently the pies that we entered ranked high on taste (50%), appearance (25%), and creativity (25%).

This year, we decided to enter a Lemon Marble Cream pie, which tasted much like a zesty cheesecake. It featured lemon curd swirled onto the top, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. The crust was a delicious vanilla wafer crust with a lemon zest kick. The other pie was a variation of our Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Pie that placed 2nd last year.

I think my favorite part is the decorative lemon slice in the middle. Delicious food that's also pretty? Bonus!

At the request of many, I’m posting our recipe for this year’s 1st Place winner.  Enjoy!

Lemon Marble Cream Pie Recipe

Lemon Curd
-1 t finely grated lemon zest
-1/2 c fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
-1/2 c sugar
-3 eggs, beaten
-1/4 c butter, cubed

Note: We ended up having leftover lemon curd, so you can enjoy the remaining portion over some vanilla ice cream or on your favorite scone!

Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust
-1 1/2 c vanilla wafer crumbs
-3/4 c almonds, toasted and finely crushed
-2 t lemon zest
-pinch of salt
-7 T melted butter

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
-2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
-2/3 c sugar
-2 eggs
-1/2 c sour cream
-1/2 t vanilla
-1/2 t lemon extract
-Reserved Lemon Curd

The EASIEST homemade laundry detergent recipe!

Want to save a ton of money on laundry detergent? My husband and I were buying Dreft at $22/container regularly to wash our baby daughter’s clothes (and our own), and got tired of the high cost. I had been thinking of making my own detergent for years, and I finally just did it! It was so easy, I wish I hadn’t waited so long! Here’s how to start saving money (and the environment, your health, your sanity):

Ingredients:

1 cup Borax (Find it in grocery stores and retailers like Wal-Mart and Target) – $4.09
1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (In the south, Kroger and Harris Teeter sell it. Wal-Mart and Target do not) – $2.79
1 bar of Soap – I used Ivory because I couldn’t easily find Fels Naptha, which appears to be a popular choice.  Other people like Dr.Bronners as well. – 3 bars for $.99

Directions:

1. Grate the soap. This is just like grating cheese. Let’s not make this seem harder than it is, people. It took about 30 seconds.

2. Pour all ingredients into an airtight container and add 3 drops of essential oil if you’d like (lavender, lemon, or tea tree oil are favorites) and shake to mix. Easy cheesy! This makes about 3.5 cups of detergent, but you don’t need to use as much as you would if you were using conventional detergent.

How to use:

Small loads – use 1 tablespoon
Normal loads – use 2 tablespoons
Heavy loads – use 3 tablespoons

This soap powder does not get very sudsy because there are no sulfates in it. (That’s a good thing!) Don’t worry, your clothes are getting clean. I have been using our new, cheap detergent for two weeks and our clothes look and smell great! I even use this on my daughter’s cloth diapers and I love knowing I’m not subjecting her to unknown chemicals all day.

Lemon Soufflé Pancakes

So… this blog is about creating, right? There’s more to me than fine art and graphic design, and this was a recipe I couldn’t pass up sharing.

Saturday night, Nate and I decided to try a coveted recipe that he had begged and pleaded to obtain: Lemon Soufflé Pancakes. They were the signature breakfast dish at a lovely bed and breakfast on the East Coast, and the chef was kind enough to share. Now, I don’t use “delightful” to describe many things, but these really deserve the compliment.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think, and be on the lookout for a brand new blog devoted to recipes we love and our other creative experiences as Nate and I journey through married life.

(Not our photo - we were too hungry!) Thanks to a Flikr user named "aprevite" for this one.

Pancake Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup melted butter
4 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of two lemons
1 T. fresh lemon juice

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. In another bowl, stir together the egg yolks, flour, ricotta, butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest until well mixed. With a large spatula, fold the egg whites into the mixture. Gently stir. There should still be small amounts of egg white showing.

Heat skillet over medium heat. Grease lightly and spoon out about 2 big spoonfuls of batter for each pancake. Cook slowly for about 1 1/2 minutes (or until they can be flipped without making a big mess), then turn and cook for another 30 seconds or so. These will be lighter and fluffier than your typical pancake. Keep the pancakes warm in 250º oven until ready to serve. Top with berry syrup (recipe below) and whipped cream! Makes about 12  4 inch pancakes (we had no trouble eating them all between the two of us).