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Tuesday 28 April 2015

Guest Post: Luscious Lemon Meringue Pie

Happy Tuesday Everyone!I am not sure if I have mentioned this on here before but when it comes to baking, I can only make one thing and it only has three ingredients. So, when Easter dinner came around at the beginning of April, it was my job to bring the dessert. Instead of going to a store and buying something in plastic packaging and cheap ingredients, I remember that my friend, KP is an amazing baker and I would rather have a pie from her rather than anywhere else, any day! I asked her to also include the recipe she used for you all to enjoy yourself. This pie was looked amazing, it was delicious and there definitely wasn't any left over. 
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Spring has definitely arrived here in Vancouver, and with summer just around the corner (sort of) I seem to have one thing, and one thing only on my mind - baking with lemons! Ahhh yes - it is that time of year when the sun comes out, the weather starts to get warmer and I start to experience intense cravings for the sweet and tangy delights of all things lemon infused! There is just something so fresh and crisp about lemon desserts that make for a perfect finish to those simple and light spring / summer meals, wouldn't you agree? 

So when Jamie asked if I could bake a dessert for her to bring to her family Easter Dinner, we both came to the immediate conclusion that Lemon Meringue Pie would be the perfect Spring dessert for her to bring! I mean how could we go wrong with a buttery, flaky pastry, that is filled to the brim with a smooth, rich, tangy lemon curd, and topped off with a mound of  sweet, fluffy toasted meringue....??? The answer to this question is simple... we couldn't go wrong - homemade Lemon Meringue Pie is just too good :D 

Now, when I make a lemon meringue pie, I am all about that perfect balance of sweet & tart. I like my lemon filling be a perfect harmony between the tart flavour from the lemons, sweetness from the sugar and richness from the eggs & butter. In other words, I don't like my filling too sweet, too sour, or too rich - I always aim for the Goldi Locks of Lemon Meringue Pies... I like them to be "just right!" :p

So if there is one thing that I can tell you about this pie, it is that my recipe below definitely achieves that harmonious balance of flavours that I am referring to. The ratio of lemon juice & zest to the sugar, butter and egg yolk content makes for a beautifully smooth, rich, luscious lemon curd that you will want to eat straight from your mixing bowl - but try not to do this because once you taste a spoonful of this lemon filling.... the next thing you know you will be staring into an empty bowl. (Am I speaking as a girl with personal experience in this matter??.... perhaps :-P )

Now for those of you who have never had a homemade lemon meringue pie, let me be the first to tell you that you have been seriously missing out on the deliciousness that is homemade meringue. How can I describe meringue.... homemade meringue is basically like eating soft marshmallowy amazingness, and when you get that golden brown toast on the top... game over. Quite simply, homemade meringue is dangerous and secretly, I usually make a little (a lot) of extra meringue, so that I can have a little (a lot) leftover for me to eat straight from the bowl... it is that addicting. In short - homemade meringue is the absolute best, but I will let you in on a little secret... it is actually super simple to make! 

This is a super decadent dessert  and all things considered, it is actually very simple to make because there really is no special skills or equipment required. Even though Julia Child would have us believe that "every woman should own a blowtorch," for toasting such things as meringues, at this point in time  my kitchen is unfortunately lacking in the blowtorch department. But never fear! We who are blowtorch-less can still toast our meringues! (One day I shall have my own blowtorch muaha! ... Although I'm not entirely sure that I should be trusted with such a  flammable kitchen tool)  So because of my lack of blow torch, I simply used my ovens broiler to toast the top of my meringue into that desired state of golden brown, toasted marshmallowy deliciousness and it worked perfectly!  

So now that I have you dreaming of this perfectly balanced, Luscious Lemon Meringue Pie, I think it's only fair that I shut up and share the recipe don't you? :) So here it is! I hope you enjoy!


Click through to see the full recipe 

Monday 30 March 2015

Roadtrip: Bellingham

Hello again internet! It's been a long time and I apologize for that. I recently lost someone very, very important to me and so I have been spending these last few months reflecting on different aspects of my life like who I am and want to be. When my birthday rolled around at the beginning of March, I decided to have a little get away by myself. I am someone who really appreciates my alone time and so a weekend trip down to my family's place in Birch Bay, Washington helped ring in my 25th birthday. I am a creature of habit and tend to do the same things over and over, like eating the same things or visiting the same places so I decided that this trip would be a chance to see some parts of Bellingham that I haven't seen before and all that I can say is that it is BEAUTIFUL!
I went to the Fairhaven Area of Bellingham which is the historic district of the city. It is beautiful, the buildings are brick and sturdy but have been reclaimed by local stores and companies. Village Books is famous for this area, is it a gorgeous book store with three levels and so much personality.
I am a huge fan of sweets and candy, my favourites being salty black licorice and I couldn't pass up going in to Papa's sweets - I left with lots of licorice and delicious salt water taffy, I posted a picture of the flavours I picked up on my instagram
Tony's Coffee is another staple in Fairhaven and the coffee is delicious - something you can not miss!
Buildings like these are all over Fairhaven and I love the look
I couldn't have asked for a nicer day to explore the city. Since Bellingham is also a port town, there was a beautiful seawall where you could pretend the yacht's belonged to you  
Fat Pie Pizza was by far the best pizza I have ever had! The taste is so fresh and the service is great - plus there is a donut and ice cream place next door so that is always an extra bonus ;-)
This building was my favourite by far - someone had shaped the vines on the side of the building to make a beautiful heart.
I finished my day back on the beach in Birch Bay to watch the sun to go down and to think about my Oma who passed away a few weeks before. I miss her everyday and sitting on the beach reflecting made me feel closer to her than I had since she was gone.

Thank you everyone for letting me share! I will be back posting regularly and have new projects coming soon!

stay clumsy
xx jamie



Tuesday 2 December 2014

Tuesday Top Ten: Favourite Fall Lip Colours

I have to admit, I am that person wearing a dark plum in the middle of summer because a dark, bold lip is my favourite and pinks or corals just don't do it for me. So when it actually is time to wear the dark fall colors on your kisser, it's the best time of year! I am also a big advocate for the all-over lip liner since it helps with longevity and my lips seem to be thinning so I am not going overboard like Kylie Jenner, but you gota plump those lips!

Here are my Top Ten / Go To fall lip colours:
















































































Maybelline | Urban Decay | Mac | Sephora Collection | Kat Von D
L'Oreal | Covergirl | Tarte | The Body Shop | Make Up Forever

So what are your favourite fall colours? Let me know in the comments so I can try them out!

stay clumsy
xx jamie








Monday 1 December 2014

My Christmas Wishlist

Hi Guys! Now I'm not going to lie... I have been waiting for December to come around since... well December 31st last year. IT'S FINALLY HERE! So I decided to start out this Christmas month with my top Christmas Wishlist for you all (and...*cough* Mike *cough*). Now I have a big range of prices from very reasonable to well, some that compete with Gwynth Paltrow's list but no one ever said that wishlist's need to be reasonable right?....Right?!




I hope you all enjoy your Monday! 

stay clumsy
xx jamie




Friday 31 October 2014

High Five for Friday: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

I hope you are all having a very spooky Friday! I love Halloween and along with some pumpkin carving and a DIY costume, here are my highlights of the week!

1. Kelly and I bartended a fundraiser on Sunday night and I forgot how much fun it was! We had lots of laughs and snapchats throughout the night that kept us laughing the entire time!

2. Mike went to the Canucks game on Tuesday and watched them beat the Hurricanes which is already great! So glad hockey season is back!


3. Last night we went to carve pumpkins with Mr. C and Mike's brother and sister in law when we got him in this costume... Somebody wasn't a happy camper which makes it even better!

4. After seeing all the sugar skull pumpkins on Pinterest I wanted to try it for myself. It wasn't a complete fail but it isn't looking to great either! I did Hello Kitty Pumpkins for the last 3 years and next year I think I will go back to that! Hey, I tried!

5. I work in an office so I decided that we needed to have a festive halloween day so I made an office friendly costume. Microsoft Excel anyone?





Please excuse the photo quality! My iPhone4 is on it's last legs!

I hope you all have a fantastic day and eat lots of sweets!

stay clumsy
xx jamie

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Dough Girls Bakeshop!























What else is there to do on a Saturday morning than to go to a bakery with your best friend and eat lots and lots of carbs. Kelly and I went out to see the new bakery our other friend, KP started working at! Doughgirls Comfort Kitchen + Bakehouse is one of the cutest bakeries I've ever seen. The people who work there are so nice and you can really tell the owners put everything they had into making the place feel like home. All the pastries were served on mismatched china plates (adorable), there were old baking tools hanging on the wall and I'm always a sucker for unique incandescent light fixtures.




 


 

Such a cute bakery right?! I absolutely loved it and that chocolate, almond bear claw was delicious!
























Do you have a favourite bakery? Comment below :-)

stay clumsy
xx jamie

Friday 24 October 2014

High Five for Friday

Hi All! Doesn't it always seem that the first normal week back from a short week feels like time crawls by? Well the good news is, is that it is Friday once again! I didn't have the most exciting week since the weather can't decide what is it doing in Vancouver but, as usual, here are my highlights of the week:

1. I work for an electricity company and so last Friday afternoon we got to tour one of our facilities and it was so interesting! It's amazing how technology has changed so much and is so advanced.

2. As you saw in my previous post, Mike, his family and I went to the pumpkin patch and it was a new place than I've been in years past and it was so much fun. I'm still pulling straw out of my toque and scarf but I loved it. Plus cheap gourds are always my favourite.

3. We went out for sushi on Sunday for Mike's mom's birthday and it was great - you have Colton, the 3 year old dissecting pieces of sushi and then you have Mike who has never tried sushi and succumbed to the family pressure and actually liked it... surprise, surprise ;-)

4. This is anything I did this week, but my friend KP started her new (dream) job in a bakery and she is absolutely loving it, my other friend Kelly and I are going to check it out this weekend. It's just such a great feeling when your friends are happy!

5. Kelly and I went for coffee Wednesday night and it was one of those catch up sessions where we have these stories that start with "I can't believe I haven't told you this yet!". We were a bit loud for the other in Starbucks but hey, that's what friends are for 

I have some fun plans this weekend as well as DIY-ing my office Halloween costume so it should be another busy weekend! Hope you all enjoy yours!

stay clumsy
xx jamie