Friday, December 04, 2009

Thanksgiving?

Since moving to Australia, one of the things I have definitely not missed is Thanksgiving. To be honest, I was never a huge fan of the holiday, even before going vegetarian. I know that the meanings behind the holiday are nice, and giving thanks for people we appreciate is something that we all need to do more often. But the idea of celebrating overeating, when so many people in the world--and even in America--go hungry, just never really felt right. I blame the sociologist in me: I can't do anything without critiquing it. (Ask Andy. When we were just starting to get together I couldn't even watch Shrek 2 without a racial analysis of the characters.)

My lack of love for the holiday, coupled with being home alone, meant that not celebrating was a no-brainer.

But... in my lazy week which involved not much time at uni, I watched a few episodes of the show Pushing Daisies, which I kind of love. If you haven't seen it, you should. I won't rehash the plot here, but the main character is a pie-maker and a lot of the story takes place in his pie shop. All of the pies in the show gave me a serious craving for pie. And, reading all the blog posts and facebook updates about Thanksgiving from my US friends confirmed that the pie I was craving was pumpkin.

Townsville is currently too hot for successful pastry-making. The ingredients can't stay cold for long enough to make a good crust. So instead, I made a half-batch of oatmeal-raisin cookie dough, and pressed that into the bottom of a springform pan. On top, I poured my pumpkin pie mixture, then popped it all in the oven for an hour.

The result was delicious (especially with a bit of chocolate ice cream), and something I will definitely be doing again in future.

16 comments:

Amy said...

Nom nom! Which pumpkin pie recipe did you use?

Theresa said...

Bryanna Clark Grogan's tofu-less version, towards the bottom of this page: http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/1435893.htm

But with less sugar, and more spices.

Cindy said...

Nice work! Cookie-dough crust is a cool idea. Did you bake the pumpkin yourself or track down the canned stuff?

This year I actually experienced Thanksgiving for the first time, thanks to an American family from work. Although there was turkey (A LOT of turkey), they did a lovely job of providing vego options as well.

Unknown said...

It is good that you have watched few episode of pushing daisies. But you should watch Pushing Daisies episodes. Because its very good show. and its storyline is very good. I have watched its 3 season. And these are very good.

Amy said...

Mmm that is one sensational looking pumpkin pie!! Yum!

x said...

It does seem like a lot of food gets consumed but the same can be said of Christmas too. And I tend to question things, even if it's a movie and it's not very serious!

Looks like a yummo pie, I love that it doesn't need a rolled-out crust, cookie dough would be so much simpler

Theresa said...

Cindy - I steamed some pumpkin that we had peeled and frozen a few weeks ago :)

Mandee - you're right, Christmas is definitely the same, but growing up my family never had christmas dinner so it was a bit more diffused. My mum reckoned it was her one day off a year and she didn't cook anything, so we just snacked on cookies and fruit and nuts all day. You're maybe a bit of a sociologist too...

Susan said...

What a great idea to use a cookie dough for the crust! I must remember this for days when it is too hot for dough.

BrisVegan said...

I love the idea of a cookie dough crust. The pie looks great.

Congratulations on finishing the first draft of your thesis. That's a mammoth undertaking!

Vaala ◪ said...

Ooo that looks SO delicious. I love the idea of a cookie dough crust...must try that. Have to say that I've been having a hankering for pie too lately after seeing everyone elses but I think I'll hang out till Christmas and make something then.

Lovlie said...

This sounds seriously delicious! I haven't got any pumpkin otherwise I would have gone and make a pumpkin pie right now!

Mike K said...

I love the idea of pupmkin pie with a cookie dough crust - great combination. I'm in agreement on thanksgiving - I appreciate the sentiment, but I find myself dreading the family dinner a little more every year, I guess falling into the vegan stereotype, but that's the way it is :)

BrisVegan said...

I made cookies the other day and used your suggestion to make a pie crust as well. I am going to fill it with some chocolate pudding from the Cruelty Free shop. I am really looking forward to it.

Raw Foodini said...

You have some lovely ideas and recipes! There will be awesome raw food events coming to Sydney in February with a master chef from California. Check it out: http://www.rawfoodini.com/why-raw-foodini/tour-dates-and-times/

Anonymous said...

I am a big fan of tv shows and Pushing Daisies TV Show is my favorite show. I regular watch this show online. Its really good show with great concept.

Anonymous said...

Review of your post is really superb. I have seen Full Episodes of Pushing Daisies TV Show online.