Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream {Dairy-Free, Vegan}

Pumpkin Pie. Coconut milk. Ice cream. Warm "autumn" spices.

I can't even pick which of those four things is my favorite, I love them all. So, when all four were combined into an incredibly tasty, cool dessert during the heat wave we experienced earlier this month, I was a happy camper.
And it explains why I have not one photo, not even a cell phone pic, of this frozen treat. We devoured each serving in such a happy daze of ice cream bliss, that no one thought to get the camera. We even made a second batch recently - no physical evidence of that either.
Enough said?
Try this ASAP!  :)

Homemade [Dairy Free, Vegan] Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

What you need:

• 2 cups pumpkin puree - I used canned Libby brand. Trader Joe's is another good option
• One can full-fat coconut milk - approximately 2 cups
• 1/3-1/2 cup pure maple syrup (sweeten to your liking)
• 1-2 teaspoons each: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger or 1-2 TB pumpkin pie spice (season to the flavor intensity you prefer)

What you do:

Pour pumpkin puree and coconut milk into blender or large food processor, and mix for 20-30 seconds to combine well. Drizzle in maple syrup through the top while it continues to mix. Stop machine, add in spices and blend another 20 seconds to ensure all the flavors are evenly distributed.
Pour into ice cream maker and process for 25 minutes (or otherwise noted in instruction manual).
Enjoy!

Thanksgiving!

I cooked an entirely gluten-free, soy-free, processed-food free, and nearly refined-sugar- and dairy-free Thanksgiving dinner. It was a blast. We spent the day together as a family, relaxed, no chores, no errands, just watching the Macy's parade, cooking and enjoying each other.

Our Menu

GF Roasted Butterball Turkey, rubbed with poultry seasoning blend and roasted in a Reynold's roasting bag with a tablespoon of rice flour
(Next year we're going to go for a local farm raised turkey and do the brine thing, but we appreciated this because it was free!)

GF Turkey Gravy - made from GF cornstarch and the turkey drippings

GF Wild rice dressing with celery, onion, poultry seasoning, veggie broth and pepper,

GF quinoa dressing with celery, onion, poultry seasoning, veggie broth and pepper

GF Sauteed French cut green beans with walnuts sauteed in GF EVOO, S & P

GF Slow roasted garnet yams cooked in the Crock Pot all day with a splash of water, and a sprinkle of GF mini marshmallows melted before serving

GF Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and walnuts recipe from Food Network Kitchens - Hubs says this is a MUST REPEAT EVERY NIGHT dish :)

GF Cranberry Pear sauce recipe from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen - Brilliant because the pears sweeten the sauce you need almost no added sugar! I doubled it and added an organic Gala apple, and a cup of sucanat instead of coconut sugar

GF Mashed Potatoes (from GF instant potato flakes, to save time and because we had some to use up). Hubs made them with chicken stock, Silk refrigerated plain coconut milk, butter and Kosher salt. With the delicious GF turkey gravy topping them, you could hardly tell they were instant.

To drink:
Knudsen's Organic Sparkling Apple Juice and Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider

For dessert:
GF CrockPot Pumpkin Cheesecake, recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. I substituted sucanat for the white sugar in the filling, and brown sugar for the crust.
No Picture because whenever it's out of the fridge it's being eaten - no time for photos! :)

This afternoon, Hubs and I are enjoying some of the last pieces of the cheesecake, along with decaf Rice Dream Rice Nog lattes. Don't you love autumn and Christmas season flavors?

Pumpkin Pudding Bars (gluten-free, vegan)

Oooh, yes please! This Pumpkin delight from Stephanie's Hope for Healing blog looks too good to pass up! I only have canned Libby Pumpkin right now, but that may have to do. I love the use of pumpkin all year round, because it's way too nutritious and delicious to limit to a short fall cooking and baking season :)

Pumpkin Pudding Bars (gluten-free, vegan)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

Okay, I am on a cookie-baking spree! It is Christmas time, after all, and now that our kitchen remodel is complete I can't seem to resist the appeal of my beautiful new space for longer than a few days. I keep parking myself at my amazing new (LONG!) countertop, pick out a recipe to test, bust out my shiny red KitchenAid mixer and go to town!

These GF vegan pumpkin oatmeal cookies from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen are from a recipe that I found and printed out about a month ago. I had ground the three cups of oat flour they require about two weeks ago and it was staring me down on my counter - plus, Thanksgiving is clearly over, taking pumpkin fanaticism with it. So I buckled down and got these baked in three batches in between shower and getting dressed, hair done and makeup ready for a night out with a girlfriend.

Bowl of cookie dough after the first batch went in the oven

I used parchment paper to line the cookie sheet- my new favorite thing in GF baking

They baked up in 13 minutes on 350F. They don't feel quite the same as a traditional gluten-containing or GF cookie when you test for doneness, but they do get a little brown on the bottom for a visual cue and stay together well - no crumbling.

Almost done...

Cooling... The recipe made over 4 dozen little cookies!

True to the recipe, these are better when cool. I left them on the cooling racks while I went out, and when I got home several hours later they were ready to eat. I had tasted part of a cookie right after they came out of the oven, and honestly felt like I wasted my time and baking ingredients. But when I tried a cookie after I got home, I was pleasantly surprised. They are delicious! They won over my non-gluten free friend too! Always a good sign.

These cookies are on a teacup saucer  (a cute little plate for cute little cookies)

I was worried about them getting too soft, but I have found that they are staying a nice chewy texture without being mushy. If you like pumpkin and want something not-too-sweet and with a high volume of cookies per recipe, try these little golden nuggets. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

*One note: I am running low on coconut oil - sad day! (Some of you will understand why the two pack 54 oz Nutiva Extra Virgin Coconut Oil on Amazon.com is number one on my Wish List!) So, I used Smart Balance Light: Original with Flax "buttery spread." I do have a soy allergy, but because this is a mix of other oils like palm and flax, and it is readily available and cheap for the bulk of Christmas cookies I'm putting out, I bought some. They turned out great considering the thin consistency of the Smart Balance, but I bet the cookies would be even better with coconut oil!

Thanksgiving... at HOME?

We are completely iced-in right now. The alley behind our home, which is the only access to our driveway and parking area, is on a fairly steep hill to begin with. It's full of potholes and wide, shallow trenches. These have filled with snow, freezing rain, and the output of all the French drains above, and all that moisture froze to a surface slicker than a skating rink when the temperatures dropped below 15 last night. (This is NOT average Thanksgiving weather for the Northwest!)

We plan to visit Hubs' parents' home for brunch tomorrow, and my parents' home for dinner. But today I'm stuck at home and beginning to wonder what we'll eat if we are still stuck at home and can't join the ranks for morning ham and evening turkey. At least we can have the dishes we'd be bringing to the brunch and dinner - our new favorite treat, Pumpkin Glory Loaf from the Flying Apron Bakery cookbook, and something like this Quinoa Pilaf or Herbed Brown Rice with Mushrooms - all GFCF egg-free and soy-free, of course! I planned to get to the store for butternut squash and apples to make more of my new favorite casserole, but I don't think that's gonna happen!

This year I wrote off just about all the "classic" Thanksgiving sides including the side dish everyone loves to count as a "vegetable": Green Bean Casserole. I've passed cans of Cream of Mushroom soup and French Friend Onions in the grocery store for several weeks now, rolling my eyes, knowing I was above such processed and sodium-filled semi-edible substances. My mom makes traditional Green Bean Casserole almost every year, and I've never missed it when it didn't make it on the menu. But I think in a manifestation of Murphy's law (as all of us food-allergy-plagued know too well), when I truly realize I cannot have something... I WANT IT NOW! I Googled "GFCF green bean casserole," and found THIS tasty-lookin' thing at Gluten Free Mommy...

I'm sitting here drooling over this recipe, knowing I need it to be GFCF egg-free and soy-free (Campbell's, I'm looking at you - join the 21st century and make some allergy-friendly soups! OK, rant over.).  If I rally the courage and can find the ingredients and appropriate substitutions tomorrow in my cupboards, I will post a recap!
Make it a Happy Thanksgiving, full of true gratitude of recognition of real blessings, no matter where you are and what you're doing!

Healthy(er than most) Midnight Snack

Tonight's dinner was later than usual (hence this late, late post). We were watching one of our favorite getting-in-the-Christmas-mood movies, "Home Alone," and while my husband was going back for seconds and thirds of the entree (it was the first time I made Spanish rice-stuffed green peppers - MAJOR hit!), I was craving something just a little sweet and a lot comforting before bedtime. I had some leftover canned pumpkin in a small Corningware dish in the fridge, and I decided to make a little "pumpkin pie" (sans crust) - it hit the spot just right.

About 1 cup of canned organic pumpkin
1/2 to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to your taste)
Approx 1 TB Grade B maple syrup (more robust than Grade A - tastes like molasses!)
2 splashes hazelnut milk

Mix everything together with a spoon and microwave until warm, stirring halfway through - I had to do 2 minutes total because of the chilled pumpkin and milk. Top with plain coconut ice cream if you have it; that's what takes it over the top! Please recreate and enjoy as your taste buds require :)