Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has meant a lot to me over the last 10 years or so, pretty much since I became vegan.  After an argument with my parents concerning their consumption of turkey, they agreed to not eat turkey and I agreed to visit them and my sister on the holiday and we all enjoyed a delicious meal together that I cooked.  Luckily my sister being vegan as well helped my side quite a bit.  I started out with a veganized version of a traditional meal and eventually decided on food themes to further my culinary curiosity and skill.  Just recently I started to spend more time with friends rather than family on Thanksgiving, but I appreciate and recognize the uniqueness of my family forgoing turkey out of respect for me.  Obviously I wish they would forgo the turkey out of respect for the animal, but we haven't gotten there quite yet.

Recently I received a request for a traditional vegan pumpkin pie recipe and realized I could not find mine which was probably written down on some abscure piece of paper from years ago that somehow disspearred in the mean time.  I remember most of what I did, so I decided to go back in the kitchen and share the recipe before I forgot.  

I was never much of a fan of pumpkin pie myself, but I like this recipe since it is not overwhelmingly pumpkin.  It uses moderate spices so feel free to up the amounts if you like alot.  

Pumpkin Pie

1 - 15 oz can of Pumpkin Puree

1 - 12.3 oz package of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Firm)

3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

1 prepared Pie Shell

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.  Spread into a pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Allow to sit a couple hours before serving.  

If you are looking for other Thanksgiving recipe ideas, I have many more to share.  

Thanksgiving Gluten Roast

Flaky Pie Crust

"Buttermilk" Biscuits

Traditional Stuffing

Buckwheat Stuffing (Gluten Free)

Basic Bundt Cake

I am so sorry for neglecting all my recipe developing, and enjoying, for the last month.  I have been so busy with school my culinary time has been cut down considerably.  But I have so much more flavor to create!  I will try harder.  And have fun doing so.

The last thing I baked up was some Orange Spice Budnt Cake.  This is such a great recipe to base a zillion variations on.  I have also made blueberry, strawberry and chocolate chip bundt cakes and have many more ideas to implement.  Here is the basic recipe and some variations you can try.

Basic Bundt Cake

3 Tb Flaxseed Meal

1/2 cup Water

1 cup Alternative Milk (Soy, Almond, Coconut, Rice)

1 1/2 cups Organic Cane Sugar

1/2 cup Oil

2 tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour

1 Tb Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Combine the flaxseed meal and water, let stand a few minutes.  In a large bowl, combine the milk, sugar, oil and vanilla and mix to combine.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients together.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine, careful not to over mix.  When the batter is mostly mixed, add any extras and finish mixing.  Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 55 minutes.

Variations:

Orange Spice- Add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground clove, zest of one orange, replace 1/2 cup orange juice for milk alternative.

Berries- Add 1 cup berries of choice (blueberry, strawberry, cranberries).

Lemon Poppy seed- Add 2 Tb Poppy seeds and replace 1/4 cup lemon juice for milk alternative.

Double Chocolate- Add 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Raspberry White Chocolate- Add 1/2 cup vegan White Chocolate Chips (if available) and replace 1/2 cup fresh raspberry juice for milk substitute.

Apple Walnut- Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1 cup finely chopped apple.

Coconut Almond- Add 1/2 cup shredded coconut and 1/2 cup sliced almonds.

You can also be creative, or basic, with a topping for the bundt cake.  You can simply combine powdered sugar with milk alternative until you reach the consistency you desire.  Or you can use orange/lemon/raspberry juice instead of a milk alternative with powdered sugar.  The cake can also go bare since it can stand alone.

What other flavors can you think of?