Vegan pumpkin pie recipe and pumpkintini recipe

While I'm talking about oppression ("Um, eeka, aren't you usually bitching about oppression?"), I thought I'd mention that Thanksgiving is one of the days in the United States on which the most animal products are purchased and consumed. Even if you're already vegetarian, vegan, or carnivore who consciously reduces some animal product use, you probably will still attend a celebration with people who aren't taking any steps to decrease abuse of animals and the resulting environmental destruction. I've not yet met a person who likes pumpkin pie and who didn't love my pumpkin pie recipe, so take it to your celebrations and spread the love. If you have friends and family members who aren't ready to abandon animal products entirely, one of the easier places they can eliminate animal products is in recipes where it makes no discernible difference in the result. The recipe is then cholesterol free, lower in fat, and usually cheaper.



(I don't seem to have a photo of the year I actually served the tinis in rimmed martini glasses, so here they are in boring glasses. Also here's the pie. And a Thanksgiving volcano, because, dude, volcano.)

Vegan pumpkin pie:

Graham cracker pie crust, purchased or made
One container (15-16 ounces) silken or regular tofu
One can (15-16 ounces) pumpkin puree, or equivalent cooked pumpkin
3/4 vegan sugar (can also use maple syrup or other favorite sweetener, plus a little flour)
Pumpkin pie seasoning to taste
A few teaspoons of flour

Blend tofu in blender until smooth. Silken will usually blend right into a liquid; regular might need some soymilk added to avoid burning out the blender motor. Add pumpkin and blend until uniform. Add sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Add a little flour, using more if the mixture is still too much like a thin liquid rather than a batter. Pour into pie shells. With the pie shells I buy, there's usually leftover batter, which I save for pumpkintinis. I usually bake at 400° for about 20 minutes, then turn down to about 325° for another 20 or so. Cook until firm and knife comes out clean.

Pumpkintinis:

Leftover pie filling
Silk™ soy creamer
Vanilla vodka
(Use seltzer, lime, extra creamer instead of vodka for nondrinkers in the crowd)

Shake about two parts pie filling, one part creamer, one part vodka. Serve chilled. One time I rimmed the glasses with graham cracker crumbs, which looked cool and gave a pretty snazzy effect, but the crumbs eventually wound up in the drink and made gross playdoh-tasting glop, so I don't recommend doing this. Use cinnamon sugar instead. If you aren't also making pies, you can just blend up pumpkin puree, sugar, spices, and use more soy creamer. You don't need the blended tofu or the flour if you don't need your mixture to be able to bake up into a solid. For nonalcoholic tinis, use seltzer, lime, extra creamer. I recommend serving these on the small side since they're really rich.



Also, since people have asked about this lately, I'm reposting (er, linking to) my guide for including vegetarians in Thanksgiving celebrations.