But with the spirit of October and Canadian Thanksgiving being tomorrow, here's how I've spent my weekend
This is my homemade pumpkin pie! Mind you I have yet to taste it as my dinner isn't until tomorrow, but it looks great!
Pie Crust
(This will make 2 crusts)
2 cups of flour
2/3 cup of butter
Teaspoon of salt
5-8 Tablespoons of cold water
Cut the butter into the flour, add in your salt, and cold water until proper dough forms.
Roll your dough out onto a flat surface and flip your pie dish upside down onto the dough, cut about half inch extra dough around your dish- this should allow enough dough to insert into your pie plate perfectly. If not, cut off the excess.
Set aside your crusts.
Pumpkin Puree
1 pumpkin of your choice!
(Personally I used a large carving pumpkin so I could also carve it later for halloween, I like not to waste anything!)
I carved out the inside of my pumpkin, removed the pulp (stringy bits-which can be used to make soup I've heard!) And the seeds. Set seeds aside to roast later! I then scaped off most of the flesh from the inside of my pumpkin using a spoon.
Bake the flesh at 325°F for 1 hour.
After you bake the flesh set in a strainer with a pot under it to strain out the excess water. Allow this to sit for about an hour.
After you've let the pumpkin flesh strain, puree it in a blender until a smooth mush.
Pumpkin Pie Filling.
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 full eggs, and 1 yoke of a third
1/2 cup brown sugar (I use dark brown)
1/3 white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teapsoon lemon zest
1 12oz. Can evaporated milk.
(Its always best to use fresh spices and grind them yourself with a mortar and pestal!)
Beat the eggs, sugars, spices and lemon zest into a large bowl.
Stir in pumpkin puree and milk, be sure to beat well and mix evenly.
Pour into your uncooked pie shell that you set aside earlier.
Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes, or until you can pierce with a fork and the fork comes out clean.
Take out of oven and set aside to cool.
Then enjoy with your favorite topping! Mine would have to be Cool Whip or Ice cream, yum!
And heres how I toasted my seeds.
First I rinced them under cold water to get rid of any pumpkin pulp stuck to them.
In a large pot, add 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt for every 1/2 cup of seeds. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain well, then lay out the seeds on a baking sheet coated with oil of your choice. (I would of prefered olive but only had vegetable) Turn the seeds over on the pan to fully coat in oil.
Bake at 450°F for 5-15 minutes, or until desired toasty-ness. Make sure to watch them as they burn easily.
Let cool before eating, and add extra salt as needed. Enjoy!
(Confession: I slightly burnt mine, so no final pics for the seeds, sorry!)
Hope everyone enjoys this recipe! And has a wonderful Thanksgiving if you're here in Canada!
Love and Light
Dee [HEAVY BLACK HEART]
