pumpkin pie

Not another Pumpkin Pie recipe??!!

offwhiteliving1 Comment

mmm....smells ready to eat!

Are you sick of seeing Pumpkin Pie recipes as we get closer and closer to T-day? If so, I apologize truly, but it’s got to be done. One thing I can promise you is that I be you haven’t seen too many that include coconut milk and are dairy free (as in cow/sheep/goat-based products. They still have eggs, but that is a different class of animals entirely).

I’ve made the pumpkin pie so many times for so many people and they all love it. The proof is in the picture here: I am whipping it up for a cooking class ad the Davis Food Coop (Did you get your Diestel turkey for this year yet??) One thing to watch out for: it takes a bit longer to ‘set’ than a regular pumpkin pie, so plan to bake it a couple of hour early.

Whatever your plans and whomever you feed remember that the operative word in Thanksgiving is “THANKS”. Be grateful and accept compliments and expressions of gratitude that come your way. I think people have a harder time taking in gratitude (for them from others) than giving it out at times. Both are a part of the balance of life 🙂

Pumpkin Pie (PS: you can also just use any regular crust. PPS: if you live in Davis, Nugget market has organic whole wheat pie crusts on sale for $1.99 each. Yowza!)

This variation is slightly more mousse-like than its original counterpart. You can vary the amount of agave nectar, depending upon how sweet you like it. You can The pie filling is milk-free, for those who are lactose intolerant.
Ingredients;

1 large can of pumpkin (make sure it is pumpkin and not pumpkin pie mix)
¾ can of coconut milk
2 organic eggs
2 tsp: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves (add more if you like things rather spicy)
1 tsp lemon zest or lemon extract
½ – 3/4 cup agave nectar, brown rice syrup or other unrefined sugar
1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses + molasses for drizzling
1 pre-made spelt crust (Whole foods, Lifesource or Wild oats) OR banana/walnut crust (see below)

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Pour into a 9” pie crust. Drizzle 1 spoonful of blackstrap molasses on top of the pie (you can even write something if you’d like).
Bake at 425 for 40-50 minutes, until a knife comes out clean from the center and edges are browned. Serve warm.

Banana Walnut crust:
2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
½ cup finely chopped walnuts
Cinnamon, to taste
Mix the three ingredients in a bowl and then press into the bottom of the greased pie baking dish.

even better than the real thing

offwhiteliving1 Comment

Sometimes Matt and I really strike gold in the kitchen.  We’ve been toying with some new ideas for holiday treats, and have wanted to experiment with a new pumpkin pie recipe.   Not that last year’s recipe with coconut milk was a problem, but I’ve made it so many times I’m kind of over it…. plus, I don’t think it had enough density for Matt.

Last Saturday night we really hit the jackpot.  I must give credit where credit is due…it was pretty much Matt’s concoction, which impressed me because he normally doesn’t like sweet potatoes, so his eagerness to use them instead of pumpkin puree was pretty cool. ……ahh, it’s the little things in a relationship, isn’t it?!

Here is the recipe:

Sweet Potato Almond butter pie

Low Sugar, high fiber, wheat free, milk optional:

Crust (adopted from Bob’s Redmill baking book):

1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
3 tbsp fine sugar (we used an evaporated cane juice)
1/4 tsp: salt, baking soda
4 tbsp butter, chilled and chopped into pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup almond or rice milk

Place all dry ingredients in food processor and pulse to blend.  Sprinkle butter over mixture.  Pulse until just mix. Stir and pulse until it looks like crumbs.  Pour into a bowl and add almond milk and mix until it just begins to clump together.  Roll the dough into a ball, flatten the ball, and cover with plastic.  Refrigerate for 30 min or so.

Meanwhile, the filling:

1 large sweet potato, baked and peeled
1 cup almond/rice/cow milk
1 egg + 2 yolks
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup unrefined sugar or molasses
1 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger
1/8 tsp salt

Blend the pumpkin and milk in a blender or food processor.  Whisk eggs and add to pumpkin/milk combo.   Add almond butter and whisk.  Add sugar and spices and salt.  Whisk until smooth (it’s a lot of whisking, really).  Set aside

Once chilled, pull out dough and roll so that it makes a square or circle (we used a square dish) large enough to be a pie crust.  It ends up being kind of thick and dense once cooked, just so you know.  Grease a pie tin, and add the rolled dough.

Pour filling and pinch edges of dough.

Bake uncovered for 40-50 min at 350.   SOOO good!