Nothing says summer like an ice-cold piece of Key Lime
Pie. It’s perfect for picnics, get-togethers or a treat on a lazy Sunday
afternoon. So here’s the recipe I pinched from Epicurious. Enjoy!
For crust:
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For filling:
1 300 ml can sweetened condensed milk
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh key lime juice
Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter
in a bowl with a fork until well combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom and
up sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
Bake crust in the middle of the oven for ten minutes
and cool in pie plate on a rack. Leave oven on.
Make filling and bake pie:
Whisk together condensed milk and egg yolks in a bowl
until well combined and frothy. Add juice and whisk. The mixture will thicken.
Pour filling into baked pie crust and bake in middle
rack of oven for 15 minutes. Cool pie on rack (filling will set as it cools).
Chill in refrigerator at least eight hours but I recommend 24 hours.
Top with whipped cream and serve.
Title: Planting the Seeds of
Love: A Novella
Author: N. N.
Light
Genre: Contemporary
Romance, New Adult, New Adult Romance
City or Country… only Sally’s heart knows what’s right and true.
The day her
grandfather died, Sally’s life changed forever.
Twenty-Two-year-old
Sally Rayton returns to the family farm she deserted four years ago to bury her
grandfather. Her plan: to settle her grandfather’s estate and return to her
life in the city with her boyfriend, Trevor Mattson.
Her childhood
friend, Jack Smith, has other ideas.
Jack
convinces Sally to transform the farm into a brewery and fulfill her
grandfather’s dream while keeping the Rayton Farm in the family. Sally works
side-by-side with Jack while Trevor is hundreds of miles away in the city. The
more time she spends with Jack, the stronger her feelings are for him. Sally’s
torn between her new feelings for her best friend, Jack and her boyfriend,
Trevor.
When Trevor
shows up to propose to Sally right before Christmas and finds her in Jack’s
embrace, she’s unsure which man she loves. Will it be her best friend and
farmer, Jack, or will it be rich, successful Trevor? City or Country… only
Sally’s heart knows what’s right and true.
Excerpt :
Sally's arms were full
of packages and bags as she walked up the stairs to unlock the door. She and
Linda spent the rest of the day shopping. Sally smiled. She had a great time
and was happy for the distraction from the farm. She dropped the bags at the
front door and reached for her keys. Leaning against the door was a large
package. She bent down to read the label.
"To Sally Rayton
from Trevor Mattson." She smiled to herself. "I wonder what Trevor sent
me," she wondered aloud.
She opened the door and
brought everything inside. The box from Trevor was heavy and before she did
anything else, she hauled it onto the kitchen table. She opened the box to find
an envelope saying, "Open me first", in Trevor's handwriting. She
pulled out the card and read aloud.
"You've
always been an angel,
I've known
it from the start.
You've
always been my princess,
You hold my
soul and heart.
Our love
shines as bright as the stars.
Love,
Trevor"
Her heart swelled with love
as her eyes blurred with tears. She ran her hands across the hand-written poem.
"I love you,
Trevor."
She wiped the tears
away while discarding the bubble wrap. She gasped. Inside were over twenty of
her books from their apartment. She picked up the burgundy leather-bound
edition of Alice in Wonderland and
hugged it. Trevor gave it to her for her last birthday.
Books were her most
prized possessions and Trevor knew that she probably needed her books right
now.
"How does he know
what I need?" She mused.
She took each book out,
stacking them on the table. Twenty of her favorites in all. She looked around,
trying to find the best spot in the living room to display them. The
bookshelves were crammed with old books so the only available space was on the
coffee table. Happily she stacked them in four neat piles. She sat down on the
sofa to admire them.
"Perfect."
A lightness filled her
chest. A blinking light caught her eye. Missed calls. She went over to see the
number two blinking on the answering machine. She pressed the playback button
on the way back to the sofa.
"Sally, it's Jack.
I'm going out of town for a couple of days. My brother invited me for his
annual poker game. You'll... uh... be fine and if an emergency comes up, you
know how to contact me."
Sally paled. Jack gone? What if something happened?
She shook her head. Nothing's going to
happen. Everything is running smoothly. She wrung her hands together; her
body tightened like a coil.
"Hello sweetheart,
it's Trevor..."
She exhaled, leaned
back and smiled. Her body relaxed, releasing the tension.
"... I was hoping
to catch you before you left for your afternoon with Linda. I've been thinking
about you all day. Call me as soon as you get home. I love you."
She put her feet up and
reached for the phone. She dialed.
"Hello?"
"Is this the
sweetest, most considerate man on the planet?"
Trevor laughed.
"Well, I guess you
got my surprise." He paused then whispered, "Did you like my
poem?"
She curled her index
finger through the phone cord. She grinned and kicked off her shoes.
"I did." She
curled up on the sofa, tucking her feet underneath the sofa cushion. "I
never knew you wrote poetry."
"What can I say?
You bring out those feelings in me."
"Oh Trevor,
I'm..." she trailed off. Her heart raced and she gripped the phone with
both hands.
"No, don't say it.
Please." He pleaded.
"I'm the luckiest
woman alive. You seem connected to me, somehow." She spoke quickly before
she lost her nerve. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"I..." he
started. "Nothing. Forget what I just said." His voice dropped to a
whisper. "Tell me again."
Sally stared up at the
ceiling. Did he think she was going to break up with him?
"I love you,
Trevor Mattson," she replied. "I don't know what I would do without
you."
"This
long-distance thing is hard on us but I hope you know I love you."
"I never knew how
hard it would be, to be apart from you." She closed her eyes. "I'd
give anything to have you here with me right now."
"You say the word
and I'll drop out of school, come live with you on the farm."
She shook her head.
"No. You only have
one more semester to go. It would be selfish to ask you to give up your life
for me."
"I feel so
helpless, here. I want to help you, Sally. But I don't know how."
Sally's eyes fluttered
open. Someone was knocking on the door.
"Hold on Trevor,
someone's at the door."
"Okay."
She set the phone down
and went to go answer the door.
"Hold on."
Her mouth dropped open.
Standing there was Trevor, holding his cell phone to his ear, with a twinkle in
his eyes.
"Hello
beautiful."
Sally jumped into his
arms with a squeal. She hugged him as tight as she could. Trevor inhaled
deeply. He kissed her with such passion, her toes curled.
Author Bio: N. N.
Light is the award-winning husband-wife writing team,
They’re blissfully happy and love all things chocolate, books, music,
movies, art, sports, trains, history, cooking and baking. Their mantra is to
spread the Light.
Most of the time you can find them on Twitter or getting new ideas on
how to spread the Light on Pinterest. They’re a proud member of ASMSG and
Independent Author Network.
In addition to being authors, they’re also book promoters/reviewers,
social media marketers/influencers and the owners of N. N. Light Author
Promotions. They both love books, have ever since they were young. Matching up
books and readers is something that gives them great pleasure.
They’d love to connect with you either via email or via these various
social media sites:
