Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Butternut Pie

Tonight I figured it was time to revisit the butternut squash. I was thinking about the blog I wrote in the Fall, entitled 'The Butternut' and realized that after raving about this yummy vegetable, I haven't cooked one since!! I don't have quite as much time on my hands these days so prepping, chopping and roasting the squash wasn't in the cards tonight. Instead, I opted for the pure organic canned squash which worked out perfectly for what I was baking.... drumroll, please.... Dad, stop reading now because this is HEALTHY and may gross you out....
.....a butternut squash pie!

Basically it is a pumpkin pie but with squash and a couple interesting substitutions that make it vegan (which I am definitely not, but vegan treats are often tasty). Anyway, how I got to making this pie is a story in itself...

The day started at 6am.... Feeling great again when I woke up, I ate breakfast (YES, food is definitely back), and immediately started to think about what I would cook for dinner that night. I will be the first to admit that this is not a normal thought for someone just rolling out of bed, and only Adam is lucky enough to witness these sporadic cases of extreme randomness. Anyway, as I sat sipping my coffee, I planned to make slow cooked pork tacos and wrote the grocery list. I went off to swimming, swam the usual 5km, returned home and started to catch up on emails. Before I knew it, it was time to head out for the ride. 3.5 hours was on the program today with some higher cadence work in the second half. I joined Simon for the first 2.5 hours which had a mix of everything: flats, hills (including "Triangle Mountain" which Simon promised would be "easy"...no comment...), good conversation, as well as two flat tires and a bee sting to the face for Simon (what's with all the bees this year?!). I rode my last hour along the waterfront, meeting up with Adam in Broadmead after his appointment. I realize this story is dragging on so I will sum it up.... I wasn't exactly in the mood to grocery shop for my pulled pork tacos at this point, so I broke my promise and we picked up some sushi take-out. Somehow after devouring the sushi in the car (still in my bike gear), I decided I wanted to bake this pie. So, we stopped by the market to pick up the ingredients. I clipped-clopped my way through the aisles in my bike shoes and stinky gear trying to remember the ingredients (if we're counting 'chamois time,' this turned into a pretty long ride!)

After a quick stop for icing in the ocean, it was time to bake! The crust is simply gluten-free ginger snap cookies spread across the bottom of the pan. The filling is super easy to prepare, with all ingredients pureed in a blender: cooked squash, tofu, pumpkin pie spice, pure vanilla, molasses and coconut sugar. If anyone would like the recipe, please let me know :)

5 comments:

Noa said...

Lauren! I would LOVE the recipe if you could email it to me :)

Thanks...

Noa

MarkyV said...

That sounds _really_ good. I gotta get up vic way at some point.

mdg said...

always looking for healthy sweet snacks... please pass it along Lauren

Thanks

Kellye Mills said...

I'm new to your blog, but would LOVE the recipe. I think it sounds great! Thanks! :)

kellye.mills@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

The butternut pie sounds so different and tasty! Could you forward the recipe to me at natalie.lefort@asu.edu? Can't wait to give it a try! Thanks!