Anyway, I'm saving the juice to make Key Lime Pie and just a few minutes ago whizzed up the rinds in my food processor. These are now marinating in salt (Fleur de Sel, specifically) and tomorrow while become some lime chutney. My plan is to cook up the salted, minced rinds with some vinegar, golden raisons and cherries (stolen from my son's snack bin) and dark brown sugar. This sounds to me like it will be pretty delicious and easy to do. Since I am rapidly approaching exam week, and my quantitative methods exam is promising to be a killer, easy is what I'm looking for.
Did you ever have Key Lime Pie on a Stick? It's quite amazing - a wedge of pie on a stick and covered in chocolate. The play of flavors and textures is really neat and one of those things that, while you might think it initially strange, you wind up thinking about all the time. I haven't been to the Keys in four years, but I'd go back in a heartbeat if I was promised some Key Lime Pie on a Stick. While I was there, I'd be sure to visit Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden which is always in danger of being razed for a parking lot, condos or some such developmental monstrosity. Nancy and her friends have collected an astonishing array of amazing plants and they have cool birds, too, just lounging about.
The Key limes I bought were grown in Mexico. I don't think Key limes are actually grown in the Keys any more. I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure I want to find out. Usually when I hear the story behind why some item is no longer produced in the area to which it is/was native, I end up very sad. It's usually a story of greed, overdevelopment, staggeringly bad weather or some combination of all three. Still, the limes I bought looked healthy and smelled incredible so perhaps it's not a horrible story, after all. A girl can hope.
In addition to chutney and pie, one can also make Caipirinhas with limes. Caipirinhas are a wonderful, refreshing cocktail made with limes, sugar, and, in Pennsylvania (home of draconian liquor control policies that outlaw the purchase of any item not on an official "o.k." list), vodka. I was introduced to Caipirinhas by Luciana, a young Brazilian woman living with us as an exchange student and au pair. In addition to her sense of humor, intelligence, good nature and love of children, she has brought to our household the Caipirinhas and we will forever be grateful. There are variations which, instead of limes, use mangos, pineapples or other fruits. On a hot summer night, I can't imagine anything better than a Caipirinha in one hand, a pitcher full on the table and a house full of friends with whom to share.
Must run. The banana bread is just about to come out of the oven. We had a bunch of really, really ripe bananas that I refused to waste. The answer, of course, is banana bread. The house smells incredible and I'm looking forward to that first slice to have with a cup of tea. It's a quiet day here today and that seems like just the thing.