Pumpkin Pie

adapted 10/27/2021

I just made pumpkin pie for the first time and it came out great! I put it in front of the tiny fan so it would cool off fast so we could eat it. I am so excited. I think pie is my new friend.

This is a delicious whole wheat crust and the pie is light like Indian Pudding and not too sweet. This is an adaption of the Libby's Pumpkin pie label recipe and the One Pie brand label recipe. I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin ice-cream pumpkin
everything!!
Ingredients and instructions for 1 pie (9-10 inch) or 3 mini pies (6 inch)

Pie crust:

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup corn oil
6 Tbs white or brown sugar (the sugar is the glue holding the crust together)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (less if using regular salt or white flour)

Mix ingredients with fingers so it is pebbly. Press into pie pan with fingers. Prick dough on the pan bottom with a fork. It can be sticky and hard to handle but hang in there, it will be delicious.

Bake at 350° F for 5-10 minutes. Then let it cool.

Tip from Once Upon a Chef Jenn Segal: Press the crust into the bottom of the pan with the back of a measuring cup.  This will make sure the crust is in the pan nice and firm, so that it won't fall apart when you cut this for serving.

Pie filling:

1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/8 cup of dark molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (half if using regular salt)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used freshly finely grated frozen ginger root)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 small can of pumpkin puree (15 oz.)
1 can of evaporated milk (12 fl. oz.)

Mix sugar, dark molasses, cinnamon, salt, ginger, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl. Whisk in pumpkin puree and evaporated milk. 

Pour into the pre-baked, cooled pie shells.

Bake pie in preheated 425° F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 more minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Some bakers use sweetened condensed milk so I tried it but I discovered that it is cloyingly sweet and drowns out the pumpkin taste compared to a pie made with evaporated milk and 1/4 cup sugar. The evaporated milk pumpkin pie is much more like Indian Pudding and tastes like a food!

Buttermilk Chicken

On my dog walk I found a big 20 year old stainless steel Kenmore propane grill being thrown away. I know the owners from years of walking by their house and they were very kind and delivered it to us in their big white truck. 

Over the weeks following my husband took it apart and sent for a bunch of new parts and basically rebuilt it and then bought a tank of propane and hooked it up. It's amazing.

We made and keep on making marinated chicken breasts, buttermilk chicken. Here's what you do:

Buy boneless chicken breasts and marinate them in low-fat buttermilk with sprinkles of Adobo seasoning and squirts of sriracha hot sauce overnight in the fridge. The buttermilk breaks down moisturizes and tenderizes the chicken and seasonings do their magic!

With tongs lift the chicken out of the marinade and bake it in the oven (single layer) in a Pyrex baking dish at 450 for 30 minutes or until done. 

To grill using propane preheat to 450 and cook it 9-12 minutes a side depending on the size of the pieces.

If using hardwood charcoal it will cook in a shorter amount of time.

You won't  be sorry! It's  moist and delicious and the chicken is equally good COLD or at room temps or hot. Don't reheat it in the microwave because it will change the texture and make it taste like a boiled chicken.

(I liked this web site for buttermilk chicken too)