Vegan No Bake Pumpkin Pie (Gluten & Soy Free)

So Monday morning is here (or almost here in case any of you night owls are still on your computers Sunday evening).  How was Halloween weekend?  I'd love to see pictures on your blogs so alert me if you've got pics posted or else hear stories in my comments section!  I posted some pictures here.

In case you missed my last post where I recapped the previous week's treats-n-eats in Highlight Reel format, I've got plenty of non-HFCS treats coming out of my largely raw vegan bakery kitchen.  Check it out in case you missed that post.  The format's been a crowd-pleaser so thanks for all your great comments, glad you enjoy it and feel like you're up to speed on everything from cookie dough to squash fries.

 

And I also want to sincerely thank everyone for your tips & suggestions about what you bring to parties or enjoy eating around the fall and winter holidays when let's face it, things are exactly vegetarian/vegan-friendly nor healthy.  As my (bloggy-less) amazing friend Rachel said regarding the winter holidays & Christmas Parties (for those who celebrate), "No body serves any real food just appetizers aka a small piece of dairy, wheat and sugar all cooked up to your liking."  How true that is!  So it was great to hear what you all do bring.  Check out the comments to see some great holiday party food tips!

And last but not least, thank you everyone for understanding about the blogging commenting issue.  Creating one's own blog and keeping it up to date and fresh can be a full time job if you let it be.  Then there's reading everyone else's blog, and so thank you for understanding that pulling back a bit on commenting on all the blogs I read is necessary and it sounds like so many of you are experiencing similar feelings judging from your supportive feedback.  Thank you for "getting it" and that's why I love you all! xoxox  I'm still out there reading along, just more in stealth-mode.

But enough of all this chatter, let's move on to the pie I dreamt up.  Here's how it flowed from my head without a cookbook in sight went down:

Averie's Vegan No-Bake Pumpkin Pie (Gluten & Soy Free)
First make your crust.
Crust
2 c Almond Meal
1/4 c Agave
3 Medjool Dates 
Combine all ingredients & Blend

 Good, here's your crust 45 seconds later.

(Tip: This is an extremely all purpose crust and can be used in just about any recipe, any time.  No need to buy one of those nasty store-bought wheat & soy-laced crusts in the baking aisle.   This one literally takes 45 seconds to make and is all natural, all healthy.)

Remove crust mixture and place into your pie plate.  Or in my case, about a 6-7 inch shallow bowl.

Press dough in.  Can you see all my finger marks?  Yes, this pie was most definitely handmade, no pun intended.

Filling
Two Options (Option 1 is probably easier, I did Option 2 because I had already added more nut milk that I should have and as I mentioned, I was rolling sans cookbook, just my own brain cells at work)


Filling Option 1
2/3rd's can (about 1 cup) Pumpkin Puree
1/4 c Nut Milk

1/3 c brown sugar

1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend (I used TJ's)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Optional: Omit Nut Milk and Omit Brown Sugar Entirely & Use 1/4 to 1/3 c Agave instead
Combine everything in Vita-Mix, Food Proc, or Magic Bullet.
Scoop filling into pie crust and place in fridge or freezer to set up.  You're done!

Filling Option 2
2/3rd's can (about 1 cup) Pumpkin Puree
2/3rd's can (about 1 cup) Nut Milk (I used TJ's lowfat vanilla almond milk)
Scant 1/4 c corn starch
Heaping 1/2 c brown sugar
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend (I used TJ's)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

So, for Option 2, Combine the filling ingredients in a pot & heat over medium heat while whisking.

Keep on heat source until everything is incorporated (3 minutes or so) and then pour mixture into pie crust.

Put pie in freezer to set for about 4 hours.  Keep in freezer until a half hour before you're ready to serve it (Another Tip: You can make this pie wayyyy ahead of your desired event which is a nice stress & time saver knowing that dessert has been handled).  At which point you will yield 6 slices of pie.  (Or 4 ridic huge slices).

The trick with any pie, raw, vegan, homemade, or storebought, is getting that doggone first piece out without messing up the whole thing!  But I did decently.  Not perfect, but ya know.

Here's a few close-up shots

Just the thinnest layer of icy condensation had formed on the top, but in 5 minutes at room temp, that disappeared.  And then so did the entire slice of pie. 

For the Non-Vegans, feel free to garnish with Cool Whip (or make your own Cashew Cream, aka Vegan Coolwhip by soaking 1 c of cashews for 8 hours, adding about 1/2 c of agave, dash of vanilla extracting and blending the crap out of it in your VitaCreamer or food processor.  You'll be close to having cashew butter & it's truly more decadent than Cool Whip, by far.)  But since I didn't plan ahead and didn't soak any cashews, Scott royally enjoyed my Vegan No Bake Pumpkin Pie & Cool Whip, clearly un-veganizing things.

So moving along to some really decadent oatmeal.  This is not healthy nor vegan but Scott loved it just the same.

In case anyone is wondering how to make use of your Halloween Candy, I present you with Butterfinger Oats
1/3 c dry oatmeal cooked with 2/3 c water
Then added 1 Tbsp PB2 & 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Stir to combine everything

Then garnished with 1 knife-pounded mini Butterfinger & a few Butterscotch Chips and a sliced half of a banana to make it look a little bit healthy

Between the PB2, the Butterfinger, and the Butterscotch action, Scott reported that this was the best bowl of oatmeal he's ever had.  Good enough to make a vegan think twice about indulging, but I didn't.  Dairy really does give me a tummy ache.

Yoga Today is Tittibhasana (Firefly Pose).  Core strength first, arm strength second.  Bandhas, lock them first.  Then load.  And up you go.

Tip of the Day:  All kinds of Give Aways....some of them are ending soon so get on it!

• an apple a day is giving away a sodastream fountain jet starter kit here.
• luckytastebuds is giving away kathy’s raw flax krackers here.
• zesty is giving away another blog makeover here.
• pasta queen is giving away a $100 visa gift card here and voskos greek yogurt here.

And Congrats to Miss Devan, you are such an awesome person, I am thrilled that you won the ProBars GiveAway, woo-hoo!!!

In keeping with my question at the end of yesterday's post, what's your favorite food to make, or eat, around the holidays?  Many of us are on slightly different paths than our friends-n-fam, and now that Halloween is over, my mind is moving towards Thanksgiving and how to celebrate it with my own healthy tweaks.  Thus, the vegan pumpkin pie.  I wanted to trial this recipe (keeper!) long before The Big Day.  So what do you like to make or eat around the holidays?  I love pies, squashes, veggies, cranberries, and over Christmas can anyone say Christmas cookies and sweet treats?  I love it all! Just gotta veganize and gluten-free them, and I'll be good to go.  What do you love to savor when 'tis the season strikes?

Stay Tuned For A Rockin' Cha-Cha Chia Pet kinda Give Way that I am announcing soon & A Vegan Savory Dinner Recipe...