Keepin it raw. Raw food recipes and lifestyle blog :): [Scotty H]Michael Pollan in Arcata, Fresh Pumpkin Pie recipe

Scotty H has posted a new item, 'Michael Pollan in Arcata, Fresh Pumpkin Pie recipe'

We were very fortunate to see Michael Pollan speak in Arcata on December 1st. The best part was Alison (Damon’s 14 year old daughter) also attended. You have heard me say that Ali “tests” us regularly about our “diet”, so when she showed interest in coming to see Michael with us I was ecstatic! The evening was as wonderful as we imagined! Michael is an excellent speaker and portrays the mind set that we all need.

We vote for our food choices with our food purchases. That makes sense right? If we continue to purchase processed foods, the processed food companies will continue to produce them. If we purchase fresh organic fruits and vegetables, markets will make them more available.

Shop on the outside isles of the market, that’s where the fresh products are. Michael calls them “silent” foods. They don’t scream at you with their labels that promise better nutritional choices like: “LOW CALORIE” “TRANS FAT FREE” “LOW SODIUM” “SUGAR FREE” . Fresh fruits and vegetables are silent. They don’t have millions of dollars backing the marketing for their sale. If farmers had the resources these foods would scream of their nutritional content, or would they? Currently, packaging is small to nothing (honestly even the little labels bug me) if they are packaged in plastic I tend not to purchase them. I like the silence of the food. I notice the amount of trash I throw out on a weekly basis. My compost bucket is almost as big as my waste basket. That’s a good indication that our food intake is mostly fresh food.

Today was the best day yet. One of my general agent insurance companies Claremont Insurance Agency sent a gift to their agents/associates that do business with them. It was a box of fresh fruit that they purchased from a local family run business in the bay area. They didn’t know that I would be the most appreciative of all the agents that work with them for this awesome gift. Not only was it fresh, they made sure that they purchased local, seasonal fruit. What a wonderful message to convey for the need to include more fresh/local produce into our daily diet. Thank you!

I would also like to thank all who attended our FoodTraining U class on December 8th. We were so happy to see some new faces and hope to see you and others next month. We attempt to make our classes informative and exciting, fun and tasty. We put countless hours into research and recipes that we present at each class. We appreciate the support.

The recipe attached is from last year, I want to remind you how easy it is to include fresh food into your life during the holiday season. Once you taste a recipe like this you’ll never go back to the old recipe!

Happy Healthy Holidays to all!

Raw Vegan Pumpkin pie recipe by Damon Siska inspired by Susan Powers of Rawmzing.com
Note: double the crust or 1/2 the filling……

Crust:

2 cup almond pulp (dried in dehydrator approx ½ hr)

5 dates (soaked until soft)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons agave (or more, to reach sticky consistency)

Pinch salt

Put almond pulp in food processor with date. Process until well ground. Press into 8" pie plate, cover and refrigerate.

Filling:

1 medium sugar pumpkin

½ lbs dried mangos (or other dried fruit)

2 cups water

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon agave

½ cup coconut butter

½ cp cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours)

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp fresh ground ginger

½ teaspoon mesquite powder

Pinch salt

1" vanilla bean

Start preparing the pumpkin the day before. Peel the pumpkin and slice in half. Slice into 1 inch slices, then into 1/8 thick slices. The slices should be 1 " x 1/8" thick. Place on dehydrator screens and dehydrate at t 116 for about 3-4 hours. Make sure you remove them before they are hard!

Place dehydrated pumpkin in a bowl. Cover with 2 cups of water and pinch of salt. Let sit for about 3 hours. You can do this the night before or just put it in the refrigerator and leave it. Soak the cashew and dates at the same time.

To make the filling:

In the food processor, place all ingredients expect the remaining 1 cup water and cashews. Process until it becomes a mash. Add the cashews and process until well mixed. Transfer ½ the mixture to the vitamix. Add 1.2 cup water ½" vanilla bean and blend until smooth. Place mixture in large mixing bowl. Mix other ½ of the mixture ½ cup of water ½ " vanilla bean. Mix the two batches together and pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours (or overnight). For best results dehydrate for 3 hours, then proof in freezer for approx 30 minutes. If more time is needed before serving refrigerate. The finished product looks like its been baked and tastes wonder! We topped with Cashew cream cheese frosting.

Soak the raw pumpkin and dehydrate.