My First Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie: A Lesson in Adaptability

I’ve been dreaming about lemon meringue pie for weeks. I’ve eaten it at restaurants and always thought, That looks fun—I want to make one myself!

So I found a recipe, made a shopping list, and asked my mom to drive me to the store. (I’m learning to drive with my dad, so one day soon I’ll be able to do my own grocery runs. That’s the plan!)

Here’s what I needed: 6 eggs, 6 lemons, unsalted butter, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, and a pie crust. Pretty simple, right? Not so fast.

Right away, I realized that cooking is rarely about simply following instructions—it’s about problem-solving. At home, I noticed we had a giant bag of powdered sugar. Instead of wasting it, I researched how to substitute it for granulated sugar and learned that 1¾ cups of powdered sugar equals 1 cup of granulated. A small adjustment, but one that let me adapt and avoid waste.

Later, when Shaw’s didn’t have cream of tartar, I had to make another decision: substitute with lemon juice or vinegar, or make a quick trip to a different grocery store. Each choice was a little trade-off, but that’s part of the process—finding solutions with the resources available.

The trickiest part was separating eggs. My mom taught me her method: crack the egg in half, and gently pass the yolk back and forth between the shells while the white drips into the bowl. It actually worked! I managed to separate all six eggs perfectly—something that required patience, focus, and a steady hand.

I’ve made scrambled eggs, noodles, and even Sichuan chili sauce before—but this pie felt like leveling up. Cooking turned out to be equal parts fun, messy, and creative problem-solving. In the end, baking the pie wasn’t just about dessert. It was about learning to be flexible, making thoughtful compromises, and staying resourceful in the face of unexpected challenges. For me, cooking turned into a reminder that growth often happens not when everything goes according to plan, but when it doesn’t.

And now that I’ve conquered lemon meringue pie, I’m excited to see what other “impossible” recipes I can turn into fun problem-solving projects in the kitchen.