With the full moon on its way I thought I would share my recipe for lemon meringue pie. You can use this in place of moon cakes in lunar rituals. This delicious pie gives a nice change of pace if you find your lunar celebrations getting a little monotonous.
Lemons are lunar (even though they seem like they should be solar with their bright yellow colour) and are ruled by water. Lemons bring love, happiness and purification. These are all great energies to bring into your lunar rituals.
Some folks are intimidated by the prospect of making pastry. If this is you, you can always purchase pre-made pie shells. I have pastry issues during certain weather and when I’m at higher altitudes. Your pastry doesn’t have to be perfect!! When I first started cooking I struggled with pastry. It took a lot of practice to learn how to make nice flaky pastry. My mom’s advice was to “mix it until it feels right.” Great, thanks mom! After awhile I got the idea of when it “feels right.” If you want to challenge yourself just practice. You can do it!
Onto the recipe. You will need one baked 9” pie crust. Use your own pastry recipe or a pre-made crust and bake according to the instructions. You will want pie weights to keep the crust from rising in the baking process. If you are new to cooking, you can find pie weights in any store that sells cooking equipment. There are different types, individual weights as well as the “chains” of weights. Both work well. You can also use dried beans in place of weights if you can’t find them.
Read the whole recipe over before starting and have all your ingredients ready. Juice the lemons and get your zest ready. Separate your eggs. Be sure to keep the whites for your meringue. Meringue will not turn out if there is even a spot of yolk in the whites so do this step very carefully.
Leave the oven on after baking the pie shell so you can put the pie back in the oven to cook the meringue.
In a 2-3 quart saucepan you combine:
1 ½ cups of granulated sugar
6 tbsp. Cornstarch
¼ tsp. Salt
On medium heat, gradually blend until smooth:
½ cup water
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Then you will add, blending thoroughly:
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tbsp. Unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Stirring constantly, gradually add:
1 ½ cups boiling water
Bring to a full boil, stirring gently. Once it begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in:
1 tsp. Grated lemon zest
Pour into your baked pie shell.
To make the meringue put your 3 egg whites into a mixer and beat on medium speed. When the egg whites start to get frothy gradually add 6 tbsp. Sugar. (2 Tbsp. Per egg white is the generally accepted ratio for meringue). Continue beating until soft peaks form. Put into the oven for about 20 minutes. Depending on how hot your oven is, I would check on the meringue after 10 minutes. Burnt meringue is terrible. (To be sure all pathogens in the eggs are killed, it is suggested that the meringue should be heated to 150°F)
Let the pie cool completely so it sets.
While you are making the pie, it is important to visualize the lunar energies coming together in the dish. Use whatever visualization works for you. Cooking with intent is key to magickal dishes. Your intent should focus on the lunar celebration and the happiness, love and purity that the lemons bring in. The round shape of the pie is a great symbol of the full moon, the cycle of life, death and rebirth as well as the wheel of the year (depending on your beliefs).
After your ritual is complete you can leave a piece of the pie on the altar as an offering to Spirit.
Many blessings,
Lady Black