Good morning, friends, and happy pi day!

Pi day? Yes, today is 3/14. Pi is an irrational number usually approximated as 3.14. Pi day.

You’ve probably already made the leap from “pi” to “pie” and are humming the word “pie” to yourself, kind of like a mantra. That’s okay – it’s not that much of a leap. Check this out:

Mind blown yet? It turns out that pies have a lot of connections with math and fractions – those of you who have wandered over here from my friend Kasha’s blog have seen how she’s using cooking – and pies! – as a venue to teach her son about mathematics! Turns out all those measurements are a great way to teach equivalent fractions. And they sound like they’re resulting in a great little future chef as well. For my regular readers, Kasha is a phenomenal food blogger I met in my photography class and a math geek herself! She blogs over at The FarmGirl Cooks, where she’ll teach you how to make delicious dishes from the wonderful produce that still grows on her family’s vegetable farm, and when she suggested a pi day blogswap, both my inner math geek and food geek started dancing a jig!

Head over to Kasha’s blog and check out her fabulous recipes – and today, in honor of pi day, she’s sharing how to make an absolutely beautiful coconut cream pie!

I’m also sharing with you a pie recipe today, and one that also has some family ties. It starts with my great-grandmother Alice, who was a chef in Miami {back when women, well, just weren’t chefs!}. My grandfather, her son, was in the Air Force, and in the midst of moving around, they didn’t get to see her much {not always a bad thing – we do have some high-strung creative personalities in the family!}. Once my grandfather got out of the service, they still moved around a lot, but one of these jaunts led them to Miami. At this time, my dad, being a growing boy with a growing boy’s appetite and a love for all things food, got to spend some time with my great-grandmother, and she decided he needed to learn how to cook.

This was one of the first times my father experienced Key Lime Pie, and it made quite an impression on him! It’s continued to make quite an impression on the rest of us as well. If you’re not afraid of whipping some meringue into shape, try it on for size {and if meringue just won’t behave for you, visit my dad’s page and try his corn starch trick}.

Key Lime Pie

What you’ll need:

• thin pie crust {you can make an easy one by crushing graham crackers and mixing with melted butter, then pressing into the bottom of the pie tin}
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar + 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 2 tsp finely ground key lime zest
• 2 tbsp arrowroot
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5 egg yolks + 5 egg whites
• 4 tbsp butter

How to make it:

1. If you don’t have a pre-prepared pie crust, very lightly butter a pie tin and either press in your crust {or you can try the graham cracker trick above}.
2. Preheat your oven to 350F.
3. Whisk 1 cup sugar, the salt, and 1 tbsp arrowroot together in a small saucepan. Whisk in the lime juice and egg yolks and make sure they’re mixed in thoroughly.
4. Whisk over medium flame until the mixture begins to solidify and take on a custard-like texture. Then take it off the flame and add the butter, vanilla, and lime zest. Pour the mixture into the pie pan, cover with aluminum foil, and let it cool and solidify {I always cheat this step so I almost always get a pie that’s a little runny}.
5. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until they’re frothy and starting to peak. Then, add a dash of vanilla {or 1/4 tsp for you precise measurers}, 1/4 tsp arrowroot, and 1/2 cup sugar. Continue to beat with the mixer until the meringue is opaque white and you can make peaks with it {see pictures}.
6. Pour the meringue over the lime filling and spread gently.
7. Bake the pie at 350F for 20-25 minutes, checking often. The meringue should be very slightly browned when it’s done.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Do you have a favorite family recipe or a pi/pie day recipe to share? Link up in the comments and we’ll go check it out! Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoyed the recipes

Happy pi day!

KCS