Lunch in french!

It’s now 8pm on Friday evening and we’ve just said goodbye to our lunch guests who arrived at noon.  It’s been absolutely fabulous as you can imagine despite meaning we obviously haven’t done anything remotely worthwhile on the renovations today but we have spent many hours practicing our french which is a bonus.

We’re slowly gathering enough information so that we’ll have the family trees in our little hamlet sorted - it’s a little confusing as there is one man who’s on his second marriage with a lady also on hers and of course the history of the first spouse of each is vital if we’re to slot the man next door (the president of the hunting lodge) into the diagram!  There’s also the lovely couple down the road, but we’re told the man is not living with his “femme” (wife) but living with his “copine” (girlfriend) - the ‘femme’ by all accounts need not appear on the diagram at all but the ‘copine’ can!

It’s just brilliant having friends who have been here basically since time began and we’ll always be grateful for the warm welcome we have received and enjoy the friendships that we’re forming.

The main reason for writing about our meal in french is to share the most wonderful and very simple recipe for key lime pie (given to us by our “mushroom” chums who we should perhaps touch base with as we’ve not spoken to them since before we each ate our mushrooms!) - and I can confirm that given real key limes aren’t available in these parts - regular limes work just as well!

KEY LIME PIE

FOR THE CRUST

200g Ginger Nuts/Snaps

50g Butter, melted

Put the biscuits in a food processor until the biscuits are reduced to breadcrumb consistency - add the butter and press the crust into a metal pan with a releasable base.

FOR THE FILLING

1 x 14oz can condensed milk

4 egg yolks

Zest and juice of limes to equal 1/4 to 1/2 cup (max) lime juice - I used zest of 5 small limes but only juice of 3 as they were super juicy and I got just over 1/4 cup - it worked a treat.

Put the condensed milk and egg yolks in a mixer - whisk together then add the lime juice and zest - whisk until incorporated.  Pour on top of the base.

Pop into a preheated oven (190 degrees C / 350 degrees F) for 10-15 minutes until just set.

Serve with either kiwi slices or strawberries

BON APETIT!