The Great Upside-Down Lemon Pie Caper

A couple of weeks ago I accompanied my daughter to a physical therapy appointment (good mommy).  When we got there, a cluster of therapists ignored us in favor of the raging discussion in progress.  About pie.  One member of the group is a renowned pie maker.  Chocolate cream gave way to coconut cream to berry to pineapple to...

I mentioned that my mother had been very proud of her upside-down lemon pie.

The pie maker honed in on me like a laser.  NEW PIE!  WOW!  GOTTA GET THE RECIPE!  Well, of course I’d share it (good mommy).  You’d think I’d offered the Hope diamond.  At least the offer ended the discussion so my daughter got her therapy session.

Later that night, I sent the recipe and got back a thank-you email.

End of story?

No.

Last week we returned for another appointment.  And Ms. Pie-maker was there...with a scrumptious upside-down lemon pie (good Ms. Pie-maker).

Yummy!  My only regret is that I didn’t photograph the gloriousness so I could post the picture here.  Sorry.  You’ll just have to make your own.  So here’s the recipe.

 

Mama’s Inverted Lemon Pie

4 eggs, separated

Pinch of salt

¼ t cream of tartar

1 ½ c sugar, divided

¼ c lemon juice

Grated rind of 1 lemon

2 c whipping cream, whipped with sugar & vanilla

1)  Make meringue shell:

Beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff. 

Add 1 c sugar very gradually.  Continue to beat until stiff and glossy. 

            (Very Gradually is the key to meringue that doesn’t weep.)

Spread on greased pie pan, carrying to edge of rim.  (I use a 9” pan.)

Bake 25 minutes at 275°.  Increase to 300° for 25 minutes, or until faint brown tinge has appeared.  Cool

2) Make the filling:

Beat egg yolks until thick.  Add remaining sugar, lemon juice, and grated rind.

Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until thick.

Remove from heat and cool. 

Fold half of the whipped cream into the cooled filling and turn into the crust. 

3)  Top with remaining whipped cream.  Garnish with curls of lemon peel, grated zest, or chocolate curls, if desired.  Serve to effusive compliments.  (Note:  This is a very rich pie.  It will serve more than 6.  I usually cut it in eighths.)

Till next month,

Jenny

P.S.  Next time I’m going to tempt her with my recipe for Black Bottom Pie (chocolate custard plus rum custard plus that wonderful invention, whipped cream).  No dummies here.

January 24, 2019

Happy New Year!

I know, I’m a voice from the past.  It has been a while.  I apologize for the long, dry spell.  The crisis and chaos are not over, but I’m learning to cope (I hope) and am back in the saddle and back at work on the next book.  And very hopeful for the new year.

The plan for 2019 is:

1)      finish Western Heroes: Grey 

Mining geologist Grey Harrison thinks of gold as a job.  He’s a tough ex-military man, comfortable in his rough job and small town.

Jewelry designer Zandra Linville sees gold as a tool of her art.  She’s an elegant sophisticate who thinks the civilized world ends at the city limits.

When they jointly inherit a gold mine, a house, and an unidentified hidden treasure, they learn they’ve also inherited a killer.

2)      send you a newsletter quarterly.  It’s gone on my calendar for January, April, August, and December.  With extras in the event that something newsworthy actually happens.  I have scheduled no conferences, appearances, booksignings, etc. for the year, so there’s not likely to be much happening.

3)      move on to a new project.

If you are interested in my writing process, check out my guest appearance on Elizabeth Meyette’s blog (it may be my only appearance anywhere in 2019 ☺ ).

https://www.elizabethmeyette.com/blog

So have a good year—see you in April!

Jenny

An Event! Booksigning!

Pick one--or both.  I'll be at the December 9 signing and hope to see you .

A Boxed Set Surprise!

Imagine my surprise when I got an email from the publisher saying that Loving Luke is now available as part of a boxed set.  Imagine...six cowboy novels for $2.99!  It will be available through December on Amazon and at The Wild Rose Press.

Well, finally, there’s some news!  Mostly I’m spending my life hunched over the keyboard.  Writing new books, of course.

In the last month, all that hunching has been devoted to reissuing three older books.  (And you cannot believe the amount of time and effort that takes, even when the book itself is not changed.)  However...

The new version of Calendar Girl is Western Heroes:  Burn

The new version of Stalking Bel is Western Heroes:  Quincey

The new version of Reckless Promise is Western Heroes:  Mac

The new covers, which I think are just gorgeous, are

If you haven’t tried any of them yet, they’re available at most on-line vendors, and most offer a free peek inside.

In other writer's lives, check out Jennifer Skully's  hotness, and Shelley Adina's newest (and alas, the final one in the series (maybe), but don't worry, there's a spinoff series coming).

After that overly complex sentence, it's time to get back to work on Western Heroes: Grey.  It was coming along nicely until the heroine got lost in a gold mine.  I’d better go get her out.

Have a happy month.

      Jenny

How Do You Read?

A more common question is ‘Why do you Read?’. It never occurred to me to question that, but when I Googled the question...wow.  Lots of answers.  

 When readers answer, they say things like entertainment, escape, knowledge, experiencing something new.  When the arbitrators of our lives answer, they have much more esoteric reasons—improving memory, improving verbal ability, reducing stress, etc.  I’m going with the readers on this one.

 But how do you read?  Do you approach a book as a reader or as a writer?  Yes, there’s a difference.  When I began to write novels, my experience as a reader changed dramatically.

What happens when you pick up a book?

Do you dive into that first page, ready to experience a different life?  Do you float along on the story—as long as the writer has done his/her job well—and cruise through the twists and turns with enjoyment?

Or do you approach it hopefully but with a Show Me attitude?  Does that Show Me attitude get in the way?  Why did the writer do that?  What is the reader supposed to think now?  Is that a red herring?  Is that character going to die at the end?  Etc. etc.

The truth is, you sometimes do it one way, sometimes the other.

Neither way is right, neither way is wrong.  Do you get more out of a book if you dissect it as you go?  Well, that depends on what you want, doesn’t it?  If you’re a writer, you’re always, on some level, looking for hints about how to do it better.  And believe me, it’s annoying to want nothing more than an hour of escape and then end up thinking how to do it better.

Maybe you’re a critical reader.  I think of this as a hybrid, a literate reader who notes—and sometimes even marks typos and grammatical errors on the page...or highlights them on the ereader.

The downside of critical reading?  It can get in the way of the story.  The upside of critical reading?  You may see  more levels of meaning in the writing.  Example?  Sure.  My poetry-reading sister-in-law once read me a poem and explained the subtext of the wording.  Who knew that ‘daisy’ comes from ‘day’s eye’ and, knowing that, she understood much more of the poet’s intent.  (Okay, you knew about the whole daisy-day’s eye thing.  I didn’t.)

And does it matter?  No.  Just enjoy.  As my license plate frame says:  Read Books!

Five Ways Writers Are Not Like Real People

Are writers real people?  Yes.  No.  Maybe.  Sometimes.

1.  Writers like to be alone.  No.  Writers have to be alone sometimes.  The muse is often shy, and she doesn’t come out to play when there are too many distractions.  Other people may turn off the phone and ignore the doorbell, but I’ll bet writers do it more often and with less guilt.

2.  Writers often forget where they are and what they’re doing and with whom they are doing it because the story has commandeered their brains.  Does the term ‘space cadet’ describe their behaviour?  Yes.

3.  Writers have long conversations with people who aren’t real.  And oh, man, this is truly one of the perks of writing.  (And of insanity, but of course we writers are not insane.)  The first time one of my characters spoke back, I ran screaming to my dh--“He talked to me, he talked to me.” (DH was underwhelmed.)  What the character said was, “Get real, babe.  I wouldn’t do that.”  Then he walked off the page and there was much work involved in getting him back.  And in changing the story to one in which he agreed to participate.

4.  Writers are totally portable.  All it takes is paper and pen.  Or computer and the ability to recharge. As long as they can record those random thoughts that might lead to a best-seller.  This is a real plus if the writer’s significant other likes to take spur-of-the-moment trips.  Or go camping.  Just grab the writing implements and go.  The downside is that the writer is apt to dive into the story and not emerge until bears are pillaging the campsite or white water has tossed the boat over a waterfall.

5.  Writers may not get dressed for days and days and days.  Or weeks.  Stumbling from the breakfast dishes (piled in the sink, of course) to the computer and starting work while still wearing pjs is one of the big perks of the profession.

And, bonus point here:  Writers are sure getting the book done on time is worth any number and size of dust bunnies.