This time of year

This time of year it has been so very hot for so very long and there is still so very much longer to go until it cools off. I find myself trying to stay cool in our house cave with the drapes shut to keep out the heat and light, but there is still so much to do. Like preserving summer's bounty.
In the before photo above, you can see a lot of key limes from our tree (and it is absolutely loaded with more), some pickling cucumbers and some jars that I picked up at a garage sale several years ago. Time frame: early Saturday morning.
Now we go to later that same day:

and

 Lots of chopping, grating, squeezing, measuring, mixing, cooking, stirring, and baking.
From the key limes I made key lime curd (recipe from Barefoot-Contessa-Cookbook by Ina-Garten), key lime yogurt cake (my adaptation of Ina Garten's lemon yogurt cake in Barefoot-Contessa at Home) and Key lime shortbread squares (my adaptation of Debby Maugans Nakos lemon shortbread squares from Small-Batch-Baking, the absolutely best baking book ever written about baking in small amounts for small families or even just yourself).  The bread and butter pickles in the 2nd photo are from a recipe given to me by a friend. Dan can hardly wait for them to cure - I told him that he has to wait at least one full week!

At this time of year, living along the south Florida coast (and having spent so much time living on a boat and in the Islands), we avidly watch the weather in the Atlantic. I am praying that Irene stays out to sea and doesn't do much harm. We have been through two dead-on hurricane hits (one a 2 and one a 3) and multiple tropical storms - and believe me, you do not want to experience that!

Hope your summer has gone well and you are staying cool. It's amazing to think that school has already started for the year and that it is almost Labor Day. thanks for reading.
Chris