Vegan Pumpkin Pie

After my battle with the cheese pumpkin I swore off making my own purée. Then I became intrigued by the use of sugar pumpkins in baking. Now that I've come up with an easier way to make purée, I'm swearing off the canned stuff.. at least when pumpkins are in season. The sugar pumpkins make delicious, flavorful purée, that tasted excellent in pumpkin pie.

Sugar Pumpkins 

We have an impostor!

I made the purée by cutting the pumpkins in half and scraping out the seeds. They were placed cut side down on a greased baking sheet and baked for about 30 minutes at 400º. Once cool enough to handle, I scooped out the flesh and puréed in a food processor. This was much easier than peeling and cubing the pumpkin before it was cooked, like I did with the cheese pumpkin.

Scoop out the seeds

Bake cut-side down

They're done when easily pierced with a fork.

For the past couple weeks I have been experimenting with different vegan pumpkin pie recipes to make the perfect pie for thanksgiving. I've finally developed a winner! I couldn't find any appealing vegan recipes online, so I did what I always do and just made my own! Traditional pumpkin pie calls for sweetened condensed milk (or whatever that stuff is called), but I replaced it with a mix of coconut milk and coconut oil. I used a homemade egg replacer, also.

I was worried that this wasn't going to work, since it didn't seem to be cooking through in the oven. I took it out, thinking I had another failure, and left it on the counter overnight. The next day, I decided to have a bite, and it was great! I guess the coconut oil just needed time to solidify. So if you're making this for Thanksgiving I would make it a day or two in advance (like tomorrow.. these holidays keep sneaking up!) and leave it in the fridge. (Update*- I made this again, this time with only 1/4 cup of coconut milk instead of a 1/2 cup. It came out much more solid, and had the perfect consistency of a regular pumpkin pie.)

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

• 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• Dash of cinnamon and ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg substitute (see below)
• 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

I rimmed the edges with fall themed sprinkles.

1. Preheat the oven to 450º.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the puree and sugar.
3. Add in the flour, salt and spices.
4. In a small bowl, whisk up the egg substitute (3 Tbsp of water, 2 Tbsp of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, and 1/2 tsp of baking soda) until frothy.
5. Add the egg substitute to the pumpkin mix and stir until combined.
6. Gently stir in the coconut milk and oil.
7. Add the mix to a pie crust that has been fitted into a dish. I used my recipe for a galette as the pie crust, but you could use a pre-made crust, too.
8. Bake for 10 minutes. 
9. After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 350º and bake for an additional 35 minutes.

You're just going to have to trust that it's done, since a knife won't come out clean. Just leave it on the counter to cool, move (covered) to the fridge to chill for a day or two before serving. 

Is there anything I can't do?? Ok, I'm done bragging now.

Pumpkin Season!!

Although I claim to be all about the summer, October is probably my favorite month. The autumn foliage is at its peak, there are pumpkins and vibrant mums everywhere, and it's home to one of my favorite holidays. I've always loved Halloween. It's even more fun now that I have Logan to join in the festivities. I still love watching the old Halloween classics with Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel on YouTube, and I'll never tire of movies like Hocus Pocus and Nightmare Before Christmas. Logan and I watched that last one this morning actually. He loved the scenes with Christmas trees, and I had to rewind the song "What's This" a few times.

Another great thing about the month is the return of pumpkin as an ingredient. It's a tradition for me to grab a pumpkin latte and take a stroll around the Mill Pond in Setauket. Andrew and Logan joined me last year for the first time, and we plan on going again soon.

Last year at the Mill Pond

I tried something new this year, I made my own pumpkin puree from a locally grown cheese pumpkin. What. A. Pain. I try to avoid cans whenever I can (I'll pass on the BPA, thanks), but peeling and chopping the pumpkin was such a big production that I'll stick to the canned pumpkin for the rest of the season.

Cheese pumpkin.

I peeled and cubed the pumpkin, then
steamed the pieces until easily pierced with a fork..

and blended them into a puree.

That one pumpkin made a lot of puree!

Logan looking festive while eating oatmeal
with pumpkin and apple puree.

It never occurred to me to make my own lattes and frappes, until I saw recipes on Pinterest. I used coconut milk to take them vegan, adjusted the ingredients to suit my tastes, and wow. They're delicious!

Iced Pumpkin Frappes

Makes 2 large servings

Freezing the coffee in ice cube trays
was my stroke of genius.

• 16 coffee ice cubes
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1. Brew 2 cups of coffee ahead of time, and freeze in ice cube trays.
2. Once frozen, add the cubes along with the rest of the ingredients to a blender, and blend until the ice is blended enough to drink.
3. Pour into glasses, sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon, and enjoy along with the warm fall weather we've been blessed with so far :-)

I cheated and added traditional whipped cream to these,
but if you're feeling ambitious you can top them with coconut
whipped cream, like I made here. These were delicious with
pumpkin muffins, fresh from the oven!

The latte recipe I found was made in a crockpot and took 2 hours. Who wants to wait 2 hours in the morning for their latte? Not me, so I made it in a pan on the stove and it still came out wonderful.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Makes 4

Cooling on the windowsill

• 2 cups fresh brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie extract
• 2 tsp. sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over the stove.
2. Heat over a low flame until warm, but don't let it boil.
3. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Vegan Mac n Cheese

Inactivation of psbA genes in Paulinella plastids.

Yeah, it's over my head, too. This is why I'm an MA student, not an MS. I'm sure it's fascinating, but I'll spend this lecture I'm sitting through writing about what I made for dinner last night. Professional, I know. What I really want to do is get up and watch the electrical storm that's over Stony Brook right now. It sounds intense from this dark, windowless room, and I love storms!

I wish I could say that I grew that sweet potato, but I didn't.
Next year!

Another awesome gift from Mama Jo..
the Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus Processor chopped onions and garlic fabulously!

I came across a recipe similar to this months ago. There's really nothing like a warm bowl of cheesy mac n cheese. I make a vegan version made with butternut squash that's a crowd favorite, but it's a lot of work! This recipe, while a heck of a lot easier and less time consuming, was good, but not as close to traditional mac n cheese as the butternut version. Still, it was delicious and unique, so it's worth blogging about. It has a bit of a spicy kick. Not like you just bit into a jalapeño, but a very mild spice. Don't let that scare you from this recipe if you don't like spicy, even my 22 month old was able to handle it!

Sweet Potato Vegan Mac n Cheese

Serves 6 to 8

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp. dried sage
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 2 tsp. ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1. Boil the potatoes and sage in the 2 cups of water until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
2. Drain the potatoes, reserving the water, and add them to a blender.
3. Sauté the onions and garlic in the oil just until the onions begin to brown.
4. Add the onions and garlic to the potatoes in the blender.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined.
6. Add the reserved potato water to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.
7. Serve over pasta.

So Long Sweet Summer Peach Cobbler

Peach season never seems long enough to me!

Naked peaches, look away.

We've experienced the first of the fall weather on Long Island. Chilly breezes, crisp air, and the arrival of local fall produce hit Long Island this weekend. After the most humid summer I can ever remember, I'm embracing the change of seasons. Don't get me wrong, I'm a summer girl at heart, but this summer was way too.. sticky. As much as I'm looking forward to the fall, I'll miss the delicious produce that summer has to offer, particularly peaches. There really is nothing like a Long Island peach.

The cool air was welcome this weekend as we ran
the Survival Race 5K.!

A leap off the rock at Big Rock Beach was refreshing after the mud,
but it was freezing on the beach! You can see the clouds that brought
fall with them rolling in.

Sensing the end of the peach season, Logan and I spent a cool morning in a peach orchard, stocking up on the sweet summer fruit. We picked A LOT.

I think the last time I made peach cobbler I was 10. No joke. In 5th grade we were doing a unit on the American Revolution. As an assignment I had to make a recipe from that time period, and Mrs. Jones thought there was nothing more American than peach cobbler. I've been meaning to make it again ever since, but I always end up eating the peaches before they make it into this dish. I didn't have my moms awesome cast iron skillet to make this more authentic, but the stoneware baking dish I had worked well enough.

Vegan Peach Cobbler

Serves 10

• 6 Tbsp. butter substitute, like smart balance
• 
  
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 3/4 cups of sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• I cup coconut milk (from the carton, not canned)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 
  
• 8 peaches, peeled and sliced
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. sugar in the raw
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Put drops of the butter substitute in a baking dish. The dish I used is about 8 x 12.
3. Put the dish in the oven until the butter substitute is melted.
4. Combine the flour, sugar, powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
5. Add the coconut milk and vanilla, and stir until just combined.
6. Pour this mixture over the butter in the dish.
7. In another bowl, mix the peaches, lemon juice and vanilla together.
8. Spoon the peaches over the mixture in the baking dish.
9. Top with cinnamon and sugar.
10. Bake uncovered for about 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Step 2, butter sub in the baking dish.

Step 6, batter over the butter sub

Step 8, peaches on top of the batter

Step 9, cinnamon and sugar topping

Done!

Creamy Coconut Basil Sauce

I. Have. So. Much. Basil.

Andrew is a big pesto fan, so besides winter squash, his only garden request was lots of basil. I planted it everywhere, in containers, pallet rows, and right in the ground. I lost track of how many seeds I actually planted, and now it's cropping up everywhere. It's not going to waste though! I've been making vegan pesto, dehydrating it, and freezing it.

Basil in the dehydrator.

Once the basil has dried (after a long run in the dehydrator),
I chop it up in the baby bullet so that I have dried basil through the year.

Taking a suggestion from my parents friend on a recent camping trip,
I froze basil in zip locks full of water. The leaves stay bright green and fresh
looking this way. Freeze two cups in each bag, so when you're ready to use them,
just defrost the bag, drain, and use the leaves in your recipe.

I found an on-line recipe for a creamy basil sauce. I've talked before about the value of coconut milk in vegan cooking, and it worked great for this recipe, too. Served over whole wheat pasta and roasted squash, this sauce was delicious.!

Creamy Coconut Basil Sauce

Serves 6-8

• 2 packed cups of basil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast   
• 2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
• 2 cans of coconut milk

1. Blend basil and garlic together in a blender or food processor.
2. Add olive oil, and blend for a minute or so until everything is fully combined. 
3. Add nutritional yeast and arrowroot powder, and blend again.
4. Add the mixture to a sauce pan and pour in the coconut milk.
5. Simmer over a low flame for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened. You could skip this last step to keep it raw, but it won't be very "creamy".

Squash from the garden, tossed in oil and roasted at 400º for 20 minutes.

Squash: 20 minutes 400

Vegan Penne A La Vodka

He's obsessed with wearing glasses.

Penne a la vodka is one of my absolute favorite meals, and is one of my go to comfort foods. It was also one of the first meals I learned to make. It was the beginning of my kitchen adventures, transitioning me from someone who hated cooking, to someone who realized how fun and satisfying it could be.

I've often shelved my craving for the pasta dish because I didn't want to make a separate meal for my son with the dairy allergy. While strolling down the beach recently, thinking about food (shocking), I had a stroke of culinary genius. I've used coconut milk in place of heavy cream before, like in chocolate mousse and whipped cream, so why not use it in penne a la vodka? The dish came out wonderful. I served it to Logan, Andrew, and my brother who was here for dinner. They said they could barely tell the heavy cream was missing, and they all loved it. I also added nutritional yeast and arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce and make a creamy texture.

I never realized how essential coconut milk is in vegan cooking. Using it has allowed me to make things that I thought would have to be given up in a dairy free diet. My favorite brand is the Thai Kitchen, but it's not available at my local supermarket, so Goya is the next best. But seriously, go stock up on cans of this stuff. They'll come in handy. I promise.

Vegan Penne A La Vodka

Serves 6

• One 24oz. jar of marinara sauce or canned tomatoes.
• One 13.5oz. can of full fat coconut milk.
• 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast.
• 3 Tbsp. arrowroot powder.
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced.
• 1 garlic clove, minced.
• 1 Tbsp. each of dried or fresh basil, oregano and parsley.

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.
2. Simmer over a low flame for about 30 minutes, or until onions are soft and the sauce is warmed.
3. Serve immediately over whole wheat pasta.

I also roasted squash from my garden to serve with the penne. It made for a quick and delicious side dish. Just cut in half, rub with oil, salt and pepper, and roast in 400º oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.