Perfect Pumpkin Pie : Veganized

1 fat, 1 fruit, 1 grain, 1/2 protein

Ok, I know it’s spring and traditionally pumpkin pie is served in the fall. But, fall was 6 months ago and I can’t possibly wait another 6 before eating this again! So I made up this excuse for the family as to why I have to make pumpkin pie instead of apple, peach, berry, etc: 

Pumpkin pie will help us watch the spring flowers bloom, while cleansing our bodies from the winter weather.

I use this excuse because pumpkin is high in vitamin A, cancer fighting beta-carotene, and fiber! Not to mention it has been said to help keep the skin wrinkle free, so bring on the sun!

If your family likes pumpkin year round (like me, but unlike my family) just make it because it tastes good.

REALLY good.

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Crust

½ cup unbleached flour

7 Tbs. whole-wheat pastry flour

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. sugar or granulated sugar cane syrup

½ tsp. baking powder

2 Tbs. canola oil

3 Tbs. soy milk plus ½ tsp. lemon juice

2 to 3 Tbs. water

Filling

1 15 oz canned pumpkin

1 cup soy milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 Tbs. dark molasses

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. grated nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground allspice

>> The Crust: Combine flours, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Separately mix the oil, soy milk and lemon juice. Add the wet and dry ingredients. If it is too dry, add some water. Refrigerate the dough for an hour if you can, otherwise roll it out and line a 9 inch pie pan. Crimp the edges and preheat the oven to 425F while you prepare the filling.

The Filling: Mix all the filling ingredients together until smooth. Pour over the unbaked crust and smooth the top. Bake for 10 mins and then reduce the oven to 350F. Bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, until the filling has set. Let the pie cool, and then refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hrs.

Exchange counts are for 1/8th of the pie. If you’re wondering where the fruit comes from, it’s the sugar in the pie. Ignore this if you need actual fruit in your diet, and not just the sugar.

 

The BEST Russian ‘Sukhariki’ // Walnut Raisin Biscotti

1 fat, 1 grain

Suhariki, in Russian, means croutons but sukhariki, means biscotti. Tricky right? Well, this weekend we had some guests visiting. Obviously we had to treat them with some delicious biscotti!

The traditional recipe my grandmother uses has butter in it. This causes the biscotti to be a little softer and spread more while baking. My mother likes the traditional recipe more. I like the fact that these are so crunchy because I like to dip them in my coffee or tea. Our guests loved these and begged for the recipe!

Adapted from California Walnuts

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp orange juice

2 tsp grated orange rind

1.5 tsp vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1 egg white

>>Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat sugar and eggs in a seperate bowl for 2-3 mins until thick. Mix in the oil, juice, rind, and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture and then fold in the walnuts and raisins. On a floured table top, knead the dough and shape into 2 flat logs (about 8×2). Brush an egg white and water mixture on top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 25-30 mins. Reduce oven to 300F, and let the logs cool slightly while you wait for the oven. Cut the logs into slices, and turn them onto their sides. Bake 15 mins, or until golden brown.

Makes about 30 biscotti, which yields 1 fat & 1 grain exchange per biscotti

 

Secret Ingredient Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

1/2 fat, 1 grain

Apparently yesterday was national peanut butter and jelly day. How could I miss such a holiday?! Well, since I eat peanut butter and jelly every day (in one way or another) I wasn’t too surprised when I found myself making these PB&J bars anyways.

What I actually did was use up ALL the ‘leftover’ ingredients I could find. This includes: half a frozen pear from this recipe, the rest of the blueberry muesli from this recipe, and some blueberry jam that’s been sitting in our pantry untouched.

Here’s the whole bar fresh from the oven:

Be sure to read the substitution notes. As I said, I was trying to use up old ingredients but you can use more generic pantry staples.

And now cut into bite size pieces:

1 1/2 cups Trader Joes Blueberry Muesli*

1/4 cup pear sauce**

1/3 cup jam

1 egg

2.5 tbsp peanut butter

>> Preheat oven to 350F. Add peanut butter, pear sauce, and beaten egg to the muesli. Line a 8×4 loaf pan with tin foil for easy removal. Press about 3/4 of mixture into the pan firmly. Spread jam on top. Firmly press remaining mixture bits on top. Bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool before cutting into 8 bars.

*Alt. use 1 1/2 cups oats + 1/4 cup dried blueberries or raisins

**I made this by placing 1/2 chopped frozen pear in a pan with some water, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and letting simmer until soft. Then I blended into a puree. Alt. use 1/4 cup applesauce or other fruit butter.