Cashew Cream and Pumpkin Butter Pies

Everyone has traditional foods that define the holiday for their family.  Traditional pumpkin pie and whipped cream are a typical part of the Thanksgiving tradition, but food allergies to eggs and milk often remove this dish from the menu. 

An alternative is to make pumpkin butter and a cream based sauce made from cashews. 

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin pie is loaded with eggs, dairy, and wheat.  This option is vegan and wheat-free. 

Two 15 ounce cans of unsweetened pumpkin puree

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup apple cider

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees   Place all ingredients a large casserole dish and stir to blend.  Place casserole dish into the oven.  Stir every 15 minutes until the pumpkin butter has thickened over a period of 1 1/2 hours.  Allow the pumpkin butter to cool and place in an airtight container.  Refrigerate.

Cashew Cream

1 cup of raw cashews

½ cup of water

1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 tablespoons of white, granulated sugar

Place raw cashews in a bowl and cover with water for about 3 hours.  Drain water from cashews.  Place cashews in a food processor with water, salt, vanilla, and sugar.  Process until smooth, scraping the sides periodically. 

The left over pumpkin butter and cream will be a great addition to oatmeal in the morning.

Thanksgiving Countdown-Braised Greens

Modern art from my grandfather

Thanksgiving is nearly here and I have a few new recipes to try this year.  In the coming days, I will be posting about new recipes, but also some posts for inspiration and reflection for the holiday.



A simple green and vegetable side to try this year is braised greens.  I did a test recipe recently and watched in amazement as a two year old cleaned her dish and was reluctant to share.  The greens can be kale, collards, and/or mustard greens.  





Braised Greens


1 sweet or yellow onion, thinly sliced into rounds
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch of greens, cleaned and torn into bite size pieces
sea salt and black pepper to taste











Add the sliced onions and garlic to a large, shallow pan. Saute on medium high heat until slightly browned and soft. 

Add washed greens to pan, cover, and reduce heat to medium low.  Continue to steam for 5-7 minutes or until greens are soft and wilting.

Transfer to a serving dish and season with cracked sea salt and black pepper.

For a added palate treat, add pickled red onions on top.  If you chose to not eat the greens, I encourage you to try the onions. Recipe link: Pickled Red Onion.

Oatmeal Cookies "The Best"

A little love

Baking is an endeavor of love.  People who bake are usually thinking of another person and their gift of baked goods is meant to cheer, comfort, or show appreciation.  

Food allergies presents a problem if love comes in the shape of cookie.

As a child, I had a whole list of cookies to choose from when someone asked me what was my favorite cookie.  I usually defaulted to any cookie that contained chocolate, until my mom started making "The Best" oatmeal cookies. If someone asked my kids that same question, they would likely answer "Newman O's".

Today, when my kids some home from school, I can offer all of them homemade oatmeal cookies . This is a revision of the same recipe that my mom used when I was child.  Her recipe called for 3 eggs, but I substituted the eggs for flax eggs for a great result.  

Oatmeal Cookie "the best"

Oatmeal Cookies "The Best"

2 flax eggs, link:  Flax Egg
2 tablespoons rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup non-dairy butter or butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour or gluten free flour mixture
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oatmeal

Prepare flax eggs.

Tips for flax eggs:  combine the ground flax seeds with the Ener-G egg replacer with a fork to combine well.  Add 1/2 cup of boiling water and stir to mix well.

Combine raisins, flax egg, vanilla, and rice milk and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda to sugar mixture and mix well.  Blend in raisin and flax mixture followed by oatmeal.

Using a small size cookie scoop, drop cookie dough evenly onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes.

Great for your next hike