Parve Pumpkin Pie! (and bonus coconut whipped cream!)

So Em Bakes. Em bakes cookies, cakes, pies, bread, muffins, scones, biscuits, and you get the idea. I consider myself to be a pretty good improvisor when it comes to using alternative ingredients and such. But, I'll admit, I sometimes have trouble with making things vegan. It's a growing edge.

I don't usually go home for Thanksgiving these days. It's too expensive and too logistically complicated to fly cross-country for a few days. But I'm really fortunate to have friends and classmates hosting here in Philly, so I always end up with somewhere to go. This year, I offered to bring pies to my host. What I wasn't considering, when I made the offer, was Thanksgiving would be a meat meal (as opposed to a dairy meal), and while I could use eggs, I could not use milk or butter or any other dairy products. Oops.

I decided to make two pies-- one apple and one pumpkin (it is Thanksgiving, after all). For the apple, I more or less just subbed earth balance for butter in my normal recipe.  I think it'll be yummy. I think apple pie made with butter is probably yummier.  ;)  For the pumpkin pie, I suppose I could have just tried subbing earth balance for butter and soy milk for cow's, but instead I thought it'd be fun to have a baking adventure, so I bought coconut oil.


Coconut oil is a thing. It's a thing I've never bought, because I've never quite known what to do with it. To be totally honest, I'm still not positive I know what to do with it, but I figured I'd grab a jar and play. I also decided to use almond milk, figuring that almond and coconut and pumpkin were likely to be a good combo.

For the crust, I found this recipe on Whole Foods and more-or-less followed it. For the filling, I looked at probably a dozen different vegan and non-vegan pumpkin pie recipes and improvised.


Ingredients- crust

• 3 oz solid (not liquid!) coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sugar
• 8 TBS ice water

Procedure- crust

• Stir the flour, salt, cinnamon, and sugar together
• Use two knives to cut the coconut oil into the flour and salt mix. This is tricky. The coconut oil did not want to be cut into the dry mix. Butter is usually cooperative, but the oil wasn't. I got it eventually, but it was still lumpier than a usual crust.
• Stir the ice water into the mix a couple tablespoons at a time until the dough just barely comes together. (My grandma always said to add it until you thought you needed a little more and then stop.)
• 
• Pour the dough out of the counter, gather it up, and press into a flattish disc. Wrap in plastic and stick in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight. 

Ingredients- filling

• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 TBS flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Procedure- filling/baking

• Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
• Whisk all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Taste for spice and sweetness and add more if you like. 
• Remove the crust from the fridge, roll out, and place into a pie tin. If the crust doesn't fully cooperate, just do your best! Use scraps to fill in any bits of the edge that aren't covered. Make a nice border if you like (and have enough extra crust).
• Pour the filling into the crust.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down to 350°F and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the center of the pie is firm when lightly giggled. If you're lucky, your pie won't crack. Or maybe you'll be like me and it will. Either way, it should be yummy.

Ingredients- whipped cream

• 1 can coconut cream
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1-3 TBS sugar (used as a stabilizer and to sweeten to taste) 
• 1 TBS ginger syrup (optional)

Procedure- whipped cream

• chill the coconut milk overnight in the fridge
• 
• pour the solid part of the can into a large chilled bowl, reserving any liquid for something else yummy
• 
• use a hand mixer or a bunch of elbow grease to whip til fluffy. Add maple syrup and ginger syrup and whip some more. 
• 
• put whipped cream on pumpkin pie.  Induce food coma. 

Happy Thanksgiving! (Stuffing recipe to follow!) 

Leek and Kale Coconut Curry with Rice Noodles

I spent last weekend at a conference for rabbinical students from all over the country. It was a fantastic experience and I learned so much from the students and "full-grown" rabbis there. I also increased my understanding of strict kosher eating practices, like not being allowed to bring my water bottle into the cafeteria (the staff took it away but I got it back!) and using tea essence rather than tea bags on shabbat. I don't really keep kosher at home. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't mix meat and milk because I'm not ever consuming meat, but I buy products that aren't marked kosher, and since my roommates aren't vegetarian, my pots and pans and dishes aren't kosher. I feel like my practices make sense for me, and when I have my own kitchen I might just keep it vegetarian. In any case, some of the practices at the conference were new to me, and it was awesome to learn from my more traditionally-observant colleagues.

When I got back yesterday afternoon, all I really wanted to do was curl up and chill, but instead I ran out to the co-op for groceries and then hopped in the car to get to choir practice on time. (I'm a good little chorister.) So I didn't really have a lot of time to cook yesterday, but when I got home from work today I decided it was time to use yesterday's hastily-purchased groceries to make something awesome. And then I did. These proportions worked out well for me, but the veggie amounts are really up to you. Also, feel free to sub other greens for the kale if you like. This recipe is quite forgiving and can hang out without constant attention for most of the cooking process.

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced or diced large
• about 2 inches ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 large leek, greens and whites washed well and sliced thinly
• a handful of mushrooms, washed and sliced
• half a package of tofu (you could use more-- that's what I had), pressed and cubed
• about half a head of kale, stemmed (if you like) washed and torn into bite-sized chunks
• 2 TBS canola oil or other cooking oil
• 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
• 1 TBS red curry paste (I use thai kitchen)
• about half a package rice noodles
• 1 tsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
• sesame chili oil to taste

Procedure

• Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. If they're done before your veggies are, rinse in cool water and set aside. 
• Heat the canola oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes. 
• Add the leeks and let cook slowly for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften up.
• Add the tofu and mushrooms. Continue to cook over medium-low for perhaps another 5 minutes, stirring about from time to time. Add more oil if the veggies start to stick or get super dry. 
• 
• When the veggies are softish and starting to look cohesive, add in the kale. It may well take over your pan. Be patient. Stir it gently. Eventually the kale will start to break down and fit properly in the pan. 



Before



• After the kale has been cooking for about 5 minutes, stir in the coconut milk and curry paste. Cook for about 5 minutes more or until veggies are as tender as you like. 
• Stir in rice noodles, soy sauce, and chili oil (if using).
• Eat up.  
• 

Ginger Syrup aka Magical Elixir

It's that time again. The "soup sounds awesome for every meal because it's so warm and soothing and outside is chilly" time. The "flannels on the bed" time. The "bye bye tank tops, I'll see you in April" time. And yes, the "I want gingery things all the time in every way possible" time. Not that's ever not the time I'm in.

seltzer+ginger syrup= yum yum yum

Anyway, this syrup is simple (yes, that was a pun. You can laugh or groan as you like) and it's marvelous. Mix it with seltzer and a squeeze of lime for a lovely homemade ginger ale. Stir a spoonful into tea for some extra spice. Combine with bourbon, lemon, and boiling water for a delectable hot toddy. You get the idea. And the best part? All you have to do is chop some ginger and keep an eye on the stove for a little while.

Ingredients

• 4 oz fresh ginger (peel it if you want. You don't have to)
• 2 cups water
• cup sugar (I used sugar in the raw, but feel free to use white sugar if that's your thing)

Procedure

• Chop the ginger nice and small and combine it in a small pot with the water and sugar.
• Bring to a boil and then bring down to a simmer. Let cook for 45 minutes-1 hour
• Carefully strain into a jar or other container that won't, y'know, explode. Let cool and store in your fridge for yumminess!