Pumpkin Pie Can Be Humbling

Today is the 50th Anniversary of "The Flintstones."  A national Caveman holiday!  So let's make something special.  Early on in this diet I attempted a recipe for coconut bread, and it came out pretty dry.  In an attempt to moisten it, I added coconut oil, what I got was sort of like a yummy pie crust.  I put that in the back of my head, and thought it would be a good base if I ever attempted a pie.

Well, summer came and went and all my opportunity to make blueberry or cherry pie passed me by.  But if you've been shopping lately you see that pumpkins are everywhere!  So I bought me an organic sugar pumpkin at the farmers market last weekend and today is the day for the great pie experiment!  Let's attempt a pumpkin pie with a coconut flour crust!

First step is to cut the pumpkin in half and de-seed it.  You can certainly buy pureed organic pumpkin in the can at Whole Foods, but unfortunately for my career right now, I've got nothing but time on my hands, so I'll try making it from scratch.  Besides, this way I get the seeds too, one of my favorites!  Scoop out all the seeds and orange junk, and then wash away the orange from the seeds.  At this point I got sidetracked and threw the seeds into a frying pan on low heat and roasted them until they were slightly crispy.  Yummy!  Rich nutty flavor and full of great things for you like magnesium, iron, and zinc.

Then I roasted the pumpkin in the oven at 350 for one hour.  I let it cool slightly and scooped out the soft flesh into a blender.  It came out to about three cups worth of pumpkin.  I added 1 cup of honey (all ingredients, all organic, all the time), 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of cloves, and about a teaspoon of fresh ginger to spice it up a little!  Added 3 jumbo eggs, and pureed it all together.  Normally the recipe calls for evaporated milk, but we don't eat any dairy products on the caveman diet, so I added a cup of water water, plus left the water that started separating from the pumpkin, which the recipe suggested I strain.  I know this won't be "pumpkin pie" pumpkin pie, but all I'm really trying to do is trick my mind into feeling like it is, by getting the texture, smell, and taste close to the real thing.

Next, I made my dough.  First, I mixed three eggs and 4 tablespoons of coconut oil.  We've talked about coconut before and all the health benefits it has, so don't be afraid of all the "fat."  Remember, the right kind of fat is not only good for you, it's essential for good health!  All that low fat stuff you hear about was created by some Don Draper wannabe so big corporations can sell more products to a scared overweight society.  But eating fat has nothing to do with losing weight!  The more you learn, the better you will eat!

Add a tablespoon of honey (yes more honey, and I know what you're saying, at this point, too much honey equals tons of sugar, but how often do I eat pie?  Once in a while will not kill you, or put on the pounds).  Beat the mixture together while adding coconut flour, which is just ground pure coconut.  Keep mixing until you've got the consistency of a pie dough.  You won't need too much, because coconut flour is a super thickener, and full of fiber!

I bought a little disposable pie tin (I wanted to make two little ones instead of one big one, in case I screwed one up, which I did, so I'm dumb, but I'm smart), and greased it with more coconut oil.  Then I just formed a crust with my hands on the tin.  Hopefully my lack of a rolling pin won't haunt me.  Once the crust was formed, I poured in the pie mixture, leaving about a 1/4 inch for it to rise.  Into a 350 degree oven it went for about an hour and a half.  Important though, after about 15 minutes, I covered the crust with foil to prevent it from burning!  After an hour, I started sticking a knife into it, and when the knife came back out dry, it was done.  Let's take a look:

Looks pretty good if you ask me!  Let's slice it:

Damn, it looks just like a pie.  Although I must admit, I screwed up the seasoning.  Way too much cloves, and nutmeg for my taste, and not sweet enough either.  Plus, you can't taste the ginger at all.  Next time, I cut back on some of the spices and increase the honey and ginger!  However, now that I'm on my third piece it's growing on me, so I'll have to figure it all out next time.

But the crust is perfect!  It's not even overwhelmingly coconut flavored either, it just tastes like pie crust!  I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to make a healthy pie crust without wheat, dairy, or sugar!  Okay, so the pie filling wasn't perfect, but I'll still probably eat the whole thing, and except for the honey, it's kind of healthy!  It's pure food that's for sure, not a processed ingredient in the entire thing, with zero toxins.  Plus, it's pie!!!!  Stuff that in your pie hole, Fred Flintstone!  Ugga-Bugga Dooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Before you go shopping for pie ingredients, in honor of Flintstones Day, I want all you Cavemen out there to check out this great link to my cousin Jon Friedman's Rejection Show.  A hilarious piece about The Flintstone's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luWjPLYGRbY

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