First Again! :-)
OK... Sorry for not having lots of pictures today, but my camera's batteries were charging during the baking time. :-)Tonight I made Crustless Pumpkin Pie a.k.a. Pumpkin Custard, and it was...
oh...
my...
goodness.
Let me explain. I LOVE pumpkin pie. I love love love love love it. It reminds me of... Thanksgiving or Christmas at my Grandma Johnson's house, with the fireplace burning, the residual smell of everything holiday... warm wheat rolls from the oven, fragrant stuffing herbs like rosemary and thyme... green bean casserole, yummm everything. But the best part of the holiday was the pumpkin pie. The only type of pie I would ever eat, because it was the best.
Then I went vegan and never had a decent pumpkin pie again.
I tried, my dad tried, we all tried, but a good-tasting vegan pumpkin pie was as mythical to us as a honest politician. I was deeply saddened.
One day at my in-laws house, years since I'd given up the fight, a woman brought over pumpkin custard. "It's pumpkin pie without the crust," she said. She was an awesome looking woman. Tiny, super young face, with incredibly long salt-and-pepper braids. It was worth a shot. "Is it... vegan?" I hoped against hope. Nope. Eggs. Sigh. Pumpkin custard seemed like an amazing substance. I vowed that if I was to find a vegan pumpkin pie recipe that worked, I would make it into a crustless pie and live off of it. Who needs the crust when the most important part is the rich custardy middle?
Well guess what. Today I am the maker of the most deliciousness that is vegan pumpkin custard/crustless vegan pumpkin pie. :0) Just 45 minutes ago, I scooped the glorious orange manna onto my plate, forked the littlest bite into my mouth, and then just closed my eyes to fully absorbed the richwonderfulness. My husband looked at me and said, "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" He had no idea.
A couple little notes. I used soft silken tofu, I swear I went to three stores today and that's ALL I could find. I added a bit of cornstarch, but the center never quite thickened up. I also added a bit of oil and a bit of maple syrup. I made half a recipe (I had low (tofu-tasting) expectations). I mixed everything in the blender. I greased my pie pan well and the slopped it in. I baked it for 1 hour... perhaps if I had baked it longer it would have thickened.
Tomorrow some of the remaining custard is going to be added to my oatmeal. If I don't eat it all just plain first. I think it'd be super good with carmelized pecans, vanilla non dairy ice cream, or soy whipped cream (I tried the whipped cream recipe from Vegan Planet but it sucked.) Or all three.
Happy Thanksgiving Canadians! And thanks for the recipe.
posted by Ruthie @ 1:32 AM
10 Comments:
Congrats on your pumpkin success. I have a great pumpkin pie recipe that I pulled from a tofu box about 20 years ago. [God? Am I THAT old already?!] I can dig it out for you--just let me know.
And thanks for your kind words about my blog.
Alright! I'd love to try another one. I hope more people will make pumpkin pie this week? I was thinking we should have an open recipe for next week, like "Pilaf" or "Risotto" or "Pizza" and everyone can make their fave recipe or a new one they want to try and share. Would that totally be going against vc-a-l rules? I thought that way people will special diets could make their own version. *shrugs* Maybe I'm too new to be forcing my own idea!
It's a success! And you baked it in a heart shaped dish!
I'm definitely going to make it, I was away all weekend til tonight but will tackle it in the next day or 2. Other of us Canadians may have been away for the weekend, hence the quietness over here.
You're absolutely right, there are some people who have special diets other than the vegan bit, so some flexibility would be nice and inclusive.
I like the idea of the "sandwich." It could include wraps, etc. (basically, anything that is contained within something bread-like), and would allow for a wide variety of things to be made.
Yeah! That's the idea. Have you seen the book "Vegetarian Sandwiches"? The library in my old city had it, it's a beautiful cookbook.
I haven't seen the book, but I'd love to. I love sandwiches.
Here are some sandwiches:
http://www.vegan-food.net/category/sandwiches/
http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/sandwich_fillings.html
http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/sandwiches/
http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/sandwiches.html
Here's my idea: in week one, we each do our own sandwich recipe, and in week two, we try the recipe that somebody else posted/came up with. We could pick a "protein," a type of bread, a sauce/spread, and vegetables. It would be a decadent affair.
ooh! this sounds like a lot of fun!
It does, and people can use gluten free wraps/bread if they can't tolerate wheat. :-) Or they could use large leaf lettuce or other greens or grilled eggplant or whatever for the bread. I'm not sure if anyone on the cookalong is celiac, but I do think some are on the ETL program.
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