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Low Carb Sour Cream Lemon Pie

7/21/2019

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know the BF lusts for all things lemon. [Ed. note: LEMONS] Turns out this is genetic, as his Mom was a huge fan of the sour cream lemon pie from Marie Callender's. [Ed. note: Can confirm.] And my Mom loved lemon meringue pie, dare I say almost to the point of being on equal footing with chocolate.

Well this pie isn't just lemony, tart and creamy, it's low carb, as well as sugar, gluten, nut and grain FREE. A perennial favorite, and #GuiltFree.

Broke this out for a client's Fourth-of-July BBQ, along with several other desserts like s'mores bars, ice cream sandwiches, blueberry hand pies, a flag cake and raspberry-nectarine plum cobbler. The pie was swiftly, voraciously decimated down to the last crumb, and most guests were unaware of the ingredients. Tasted like the real deal.

Try it out! Fool your friends! And hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer.

NOTES:

Each serving has 3.92g NET CARBS. Including the pie crust.
When made for just the BF and me, I cut the recipe in half and make a 6-inch pie with about 4-6 servings. Perfect.
Please see alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ if you have questions on sugar substitutes and the hows and whys of using sugar substitutes in baking. Wonderful blog. The author is diabetic, with a sweet tooth. She knows her stuff!

In other news, a Marlowe update: our beautiful chocolate lab mix is recuperating from a recent surgery to remove a malignant mast cell tumor. So it's a bit like a slumber party in our living room, as we don't want her popping a stitch trying to hop on our rather tall bed. She's doing well and we're counting the days until those stitches are removed, then she can resume chasing squirrels, barking at the UPS guy, jumping on her favorite people, and going on her favorite long walks.

[Ed. note: We thank our family and friends for the kind words and well wishes. Please feel free to click an ad link so we can pay this vet bill! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ]

Adapted from: All Day I Dream About Food
Number of servings: 10

Ingredients
Low Carb Almond Flour Crust

1 ½ cups almond flour (Bob's Red Mill SUPER-Fine Almond Flour was used here)
¼ cup Swerve Sweetener, either granular or powdered is fine
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter, melted

Filling

1 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
¼ cup butter chilled and cut into pieces
1 tsp lemon extract
¼ tsp xanthan gum (do not use more than this)
½ to ¾ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener (I like my lemon pie tart-used a little less than ½ cup)
1 cup full fat sour cream

Directions
Low Carb Almond Flour Crust

Preheat oven to 325 °F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Stir in melted butter until dough comes together and resembles coarse crumbs.
Turn out into a glass or ceramic pie plate. Press firmly with fingers into bottom and up sides. Use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to even out the bottom. Prick all over with a fork before baking.
Bake until edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Filling

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Cook, whisking frequently, until mixture thickens, about 5-8 minutes (watch carefully, you do not want it to curdle).
Remove from heat and add butter and lemon extract. Sprinkle with xanthan gum and whisk quickly to combine. Stir in sweetener to taste (I like mine rather tart).
Whisk in sour cream until no lumps remain. Pour into pie shell and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set (the longer, the better, so overnight is best if you can wait that long). It's also awesome if you pop it in the freezer for an hour after being refrigerated.
Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

6 Comments

Green Avocado Sauce

7/10/2019

2 Comments

All apologies. It's been a while. There's a great excuse, though.

I traveled with my sister Julie to Bangkok, Thailand for two weeks to help my teacher/acting-coach big brother John move back to the States. Arduously busy, yes (this was not your typical move), and somewhat bittersweet for him, as he had lived and worked there for twenty years.

While there, my sister and I lived off the street food along the daily one-mile walk from our hotel to my brother's apartment. Breakfast consisted of a single, perfectly delectable marinated pork-strip skewer. A late lunch or dinner was a shared salad-in-a-bag, or fresh steamed corn, stripped off the cob to eat easily while walking. Such a beautiful country, I will certainly return someday with the BF. [Ed. note: I shall hold you to this.]

Back home, I have been craving any food that reminds me of the Thai street food: fresh, bright, flavorful and healthy. This herby green avocado sauce is super easy to prepare and literally works with anything. To wit, use it as:

a vegetable dip
sandwich spread
spread with grilled fish or shrimp
condiment for fried, soft boiled or poached eggs
drizzle for a wrap or burrito bowl
dressing for roasted vegetables or meat
of course, something heavenly to slather on toast

Adapted from: Alexandra's Kitchen
Number of servings: ¾ cup

Ingredients

1 bunch (about 3 cups, 3 ounces) fresh parsley, cilantro, arugula or a mix, roughly chopped (I used mostly cilantro and a small amount of arugula)
1 small bunch chives (about 1 ounce), roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lemon or lime (about 2 tablespoons), plus more to taste
1 clove garlic, peeled
¼ cup olive oil, plus more to taste
¼ cup avocado
¾ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

Add the greens (stems and all), chives, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, avocado, salt, and pepper into a blender or food processor.
Pulse until broken down — add water by the tablespoon as needed to thin and get the blade whirring. Scrape down and pulse again until the sauce is broken down and easy to dollop with a spoon. Taste.
Adjust taste as needed with more lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Adjust consistency with more water or olive oil by the tablespoon.