Thursday Thoughts # 51

from a Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich:

"Grandma Mazur: it was so much easier when I was young. You got a boyfriend and you married him. You had some kids, you got older, one of you died and that was it.

Stephanie: Jeez, no true love?

Grandma Mazur: There's always been true love, but in my day you either talked yourself into thinking you had it, or talked yourself into thinking you didn't need it."


also from a Stephanie Plum novel:

 "I'm only getting one doughnut," Lula said getting out of the Firebird. "I'm on a new diet where I can only have one of anything. Like I can have one pea. And I can have one piece of asparagus. And I can have one loaf of bread."

I looked at the two bags Lula was holding. "I thought you were getting just one doughnut"
"And that's what I did. I got one of everything. I'm telling you, this is a beauty of a diet."

"I don't understand the whole salad obsession anyway. Lettuce don't look like a food to me. And if you're gonna eat a tomato, I say put it on a burger."

again from Stephanie Plum:

"...the two-story faux colonial buildings were originally designed as apartment units. The buildings had been converted to condos when mortgage money was easy to get....."

Today's Thoughts:

A question for my American/Canadian readers: 
What's the difference between apartments and condos? Can you post a comparison floor plan of each so I can see the difference? 
And can anyone post a picture of a red Firebird car?  I'd like to see what Lula is driving.

Joeh recently wrote about his experience getting new glasses and the trying on of many different styles of frames.
I have my own problem with trying on frames. You find a pair that look good on your face and fit comfortably, but once the prescribed lenses are fitted, they look different simply because the lenses are a different thickness, not the flat glass which is in the frames for display purposes. 
Sometimes the difference is negligible and you go home happy with your new glasses, sometimes the difference is so much that you're no longer entirely happy with them, but you've paid for them already, so you go home telling yourself at least you can see more clearly now and that's all that matters, right?

thinking outside the box;

mmmm, pie

hands up, who saw this and thought "mmm lemon meringue pie"?

you are wrong. all of you. (*~*)

it's pineapple meringue pie.

One **440g can of crushed pineapple,(and the liquid, don't strain it) two egg yolks, a small amount of cornflour mixed to a paste with water. Sugar if you prefer it more sweet, less tangy.
 **this is enough for two small pastry cases.

Cook in saucepan until thickened, allow to cool a bit, (not too much, it will set.)
Pour into pre-baked store-bought sweet pastry flan.

I use this one>

not overly large, quite small actually, and not too cheap either...$5.79

but so deliciously crisp, buttery and sweet, they're worth paying for..
and there are two recipes on the back of the box

chocolate tart

and lemon tart.

But let's get back to the pineapple pie. 
You've got your cooked filling in the pastry case and your oven heating to 200C

Beat the egg whites until thick, add a couple of spoons of caster sugar, beat until stiff. Spoon meringue onto filling taking it right to the edges, sealing the gap between filling and pastry. 
Bake until browned. 

I won't specify a time here, since all ovens are different, but it doesn't take long and 
once it begins to brown, don't leave it too long as it will blacken and burn quickly.