Thanksgiving - Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without pumpkin pie. I am not a fan of pumpkin pie. Yet I was determined to make a reasonably decent pumpkin pie. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I found a pretty good recipe. Everyone else seemed to like it, and I found it tolerable which is as much as I expect from pumpkin pie. At this writing, Aaron is enjoying a piece with some leftover chocolate frosting. *grin*

Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
From Weight Watchers - 3 points per serving
Serves 8

Ingredients:
3 oz reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers, about 5 1/2 sheets
1 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 large egg white(s)
1 large egg(s)
1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp table salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, or less to taste
1 cup(s) canned pumpkin
1/2 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk
1/4 cup(s) lite whipped topping

Ingredients:
Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Place graham crackers and light brown sugar in a food processor; process into crumbs (or smash into crumbs in a sealed plastic food bag with a rolling pin). Spoon crumbs into a small bowl; add melted butter and combine with fingers into a coarse meal. Distribute crumbs evenly on bottom and up sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Chill for 30 minutes before baking. Bake until crust starts to turn golden, about 8 to 10 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip egg whites until frothy; fold in egg, dark brown sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin and evaporated milk. Beat pumpkin custard until smooth and pour into pie shell. Bake until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 to 55 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces, top each piece with 1/2 tablespoon of whipped topping and serve warm or at room temperature. Yields 1 slice per serving.

Notes/Changes:
For pumpkin pie spice, I used cinnamon. For canned pumpkin, I used actual pumpkin puree from a pumpkin. For the graham crackers, I bought full fat natural honey graham sticks. The fat content was not THAT different, and the reduced fat grahams all had HFCS. I'd rather choose a more real food over a less real food.

Tuscan Pumpkin-White Bean Soup

I seem to have hit a streak of good cooking this week (tonight's dinner excluded, but that is for a later post maybe). Anyway, this recipe is from last night's dinner, and I am SO very glad I made more than a single recipe of it. I note my changes in parentheses as seems to be my habit here.

Tuscan Pumpkin-White Bean Soup
From Weight Watchers - 2 points per serving
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 spray olive oil cooking spray, enough to coat pot (it was a long spray)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (I used 2 green onions and 1/2 a large yellow)
15 oz. canned pumpkin (I roasted a pumpkin and pureed the pulp)
3 1/2 c. fat-free chicken broth (I used veggie bouillon)
15 1/2 oz. canned white beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp. ground oregano
1/8 tsp. table salt, to taste (not sure I salted)
1/8 tsp. black pepper, to taste (didn't measure)
6 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese (skipped it)

Instructions:

• Coat a large soup pot with cooking spray and set over medium-low heat. Add onion, cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
  
  
• Stir in pumpkin, broth, beans and oregano; simmer 8 minutes.
  
  
• In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. (Note: Make sure not to overfill blender in order to avoid splattering.) Return soup to pot and reheat; season with salt and pepper. Instead of following these instructions, I used my immersion blender as it is far easier than transferring a soup back and forth
  
  
• To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top each with 1 tablespoon of grated cheese. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

We had to cut Caleb off after 3-4 bowls of soup. That translated to 2 cups of soup, at least. Ellie even ate this soup, despite being much more interested in the herb bread I baked (have I mentioned my love of the so-called "5-minute artisan bread?"). Aaron thought it was one of the best meals ever, and I agree. The beans make for a thicker soup, as though you have added cream. The pumpkin has a different flavor from butternut squash (also a tasty soup), maybe more complex or richer? All I know is that I had leftovers at lunch, and I'm looking forward to another serving tomorrow. :) I think I may send some with Caleb to school tomorrow too... though that does require sharing on my part.

Garden Pictures

As promised, here are pictures from our garden. I took these this evening.

A view of the main raised bed. You can't really see the bed behind it, but I think you can spy the 2 sunflower plants next to the left bean tipi. The sunflowers are not in the raised bed. For the curious, the white house is not our house.

There are small yellow flowers on our cucumber plants. Hopefully you can see at least one in the center of the picture.

One of several tomatoes! I think it's a pretty good size and am looking forward to its ripening.

Bean flowers. I don't see loads of flowers at first glance, but I see more when I move some of the leaves.

The less successful section of the garden. The leaves with some brownish parts are supposed to be swiss chard. The leaves which look munched on (and probably are by some kind of microscopic pest) are supposed to be broccoli. Grf.
One of my rogue squash plants has produced this. This plant was NOT supposed to be in the raised bed with my carrots and pole beans. Yet it is determined to bring me fruit of the earth. I believe it will be a pumpkin. Pie... bread...

My beloved sunflower plants. I do wonder when I will see signs of an actual flower.

Yet more squash/pumpkin. There are some flowers just barely visible in this picture. Some will be zucchini; others will be summer squash. And a few will make more pumpkins. By the way, the plant which looks like some tall misplaced grass is one of the corn plants.

A better look at one of the corn plants.

I remain hopeful about the blueberries. They seem reluctant to get any bigger or turn blue.

The fruit trees are not terribly interesting from a picture perspective. They continue to produce more and bigger leaves. The strawberries seem to have run their course this year. We are planning a different protective structure for them next year to allow them more room to grow.

Next up... grilled Moroccan chicken kabobs!

Pumpkin Bread is hmm hmm good

Campbell's, I claim your slogan fits the pumpkin bread I made much better than your soups.

I have more pumpkin puree than I know what to do with, much like the apple situation around here. I made 2 loaves of pumpkin bread, thinking that I wasn't a huge fan but I needed to make something with the goo besides the cookies Caleb and I made.

O.M.G.

This bread is amazing. I added a 12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the recipe. I used 2 cups of sugar instead of 3. I used 2 9x5 pans instead of 3 7x3 pans. Words cannot express my full enjoyment of this bread. Just make this bread. You will NOT regret it.