Have I Mentioned the Citrus?

I believe I have mentioned (scroll to the bottom) the fresh citrus available here in Tucson. We've had church members bring us oranges, grapefruit (LOTS of grapefruit -- it's amazing how many of our members can't eat them because of medications), something called a limequat (think small, kumquat-sized lemons -- they're great for marmalade), and last week, a small bag of fresh-picked key limes:

Key Limes

Yep, they even have key limes here in Tucson. In fact, key lime trees fit in quite nicely here in the desert because unlike other citrus (and very much like most of our native plants), they have spikes. Go figure.

Anyway, this morning I juiced some limes and made a key lime pie. Now, lest you think this was as easy to do as it was to type, let me show you something:

Key Limes Are Small

This is a key lime with quarters added for perspective (Arizona and Maine, chosen deliberately). Below, a key lime with the only reamer we own:

Key Lime Juicing

So, you get the juicing wasn't quite like juicing a regular lime or a lemon, right? Zesting wasn't a picnic, either, since key limes have a very thin skin much like a kumquat.

So I made a key lime pie, and it's now chilling in the fridge:

Key Lime Pie

And with the leftover egg whites and some of the leftover key limes? I made key lime macaroons:

Key Lime Macaroons

And yes, they're big, because macaroons can be big and still not ruin the diet too badly. The macaroons were simple:
  • beat four egg whites with two tablespoons of key lime juice until they form soft peaks
  • meanwhile, combine two teaspoons of key lime zest with 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • when the eggs form soft peaks, beat the sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the eggs until they form stiff peaks
  • fold in 2 2/3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
  • drop onto parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 20 minutes
Yum!!!! These I've already tried, and they are delightfully tropical.

Knitting, You Want Knitting?

Okay, knitting.

Red Ribs

Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel #5030
Needles: Kollage Yarns Square Double Pointed #2
Pattern: Basic toe-up sock with slip-stitch heel a la Wendy; 4x1 rib on top of foot and leg and 1x1 rib cuff; sewn bind-off

In her last payment package, Susan at Kollage Yarns included a treat:

Square Needles

These are their new square knitting needles, a 24" #7 circular and a set of #2 5" DPs. I used the circular to knit the dishcloths I showed on off my birthday, and I used the DPs to make these socks.

What do I think of the needles? I love them, actually. They are incredibly comfortable to knit with, and the cable on the circular is soooooo soft (softer by far even than KnitPicks), and really has no memory. Bend it, twist it, fold it, crease it -- it's like magic. I am not really a fan of DPs since I discovered magic loop, but I thoroughly enjoyed knitting these socks on the square DPs. I'm thinking about ordering myself a 40" #2 to use for magic loop -- I'm anxious to see that super-soft cable in action.

In other knitting news, I have most of side #2 of the shadow-knit kimono done:

Shadow Knit Kimono

But that's on hold while I power through two secret sample knits. One is a lot of really boring black stockinette, the other is a little more interesting:

Detail of a Mystery

But that's all you can see for now. I don't even have any socks on the needle right now because the endless black stockinette project is portable and knittable anywhere.

And now, if they've made it this far, I just want to say howdy to all the gals in the cataloging/metadata services/get the stuff ready to go on the shelves department at O'Neill Library. Take good care of my buddy.

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