All Things Pumpkin

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Recipe:

Your favorite pie crust dough, enough for one 9-inch shell.

For the filling:

1 pie pumpkin

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups organic cream

1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

**1/2 tsp ground ginger

**1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

**1/8 tsp ground cloves

(I substituted pumpkin pie spice for the starred spices)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds, place the pumpkin halves in a pan, shell side up, and bake for 1 hour or until the pumpkin is tender, exudes liquid and the shell starts to sag.

Pour off accumulated liquid, scrape the pulp from the shell and purée it with a potato masher or in a blender. Measure 2 cups of the purée and set it aside. Reserve any additional pumpkin for another use.

Place your pie dough on a lightly floured surface and, starting from the center out, roll the dough to about 2 inches larger than the size of the pan. Loosen the pastry, fold it in half, lift it and unfold it into the pan. Press it into place, trim off the excess dough and crimp the edges.

Increase the temperature of the oven to 425°F. In a large mixing bowl lightly beat the eggs. Add the purée and the remaining ingredients and stir to blend. Pour the mixture into the dough-lined pan.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake an additional 45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Recipe adapted from www.fullcircle.com

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Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

Compliments of http://silk.com/recipes/pumpkin-spice-latte

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 cinnamon sticks or 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3 Tbsp canned pumpkin

Latte

1 shot of espresso (or coffee)

6-8 oz Silk Original or Vanilla soymilk, steamed

1-2 Tbsp pumpkin spice syrup (or to taste)

Whipped cream, optional (can whip up canned coconutmilk to make whipped cream)

Prepare syrup

1. Cook sugar and water in a small pot over medium heat until the mixture is completely clear.

2. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil. Remove from heat.

3. Allow mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes.

4. Strain syrup through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer into a large jar or bottle of your choice.

5. Keep syrup in the fridge for future use. Recipe yields ~2 1/4 cups syrup. Use 1-2 Tbsp for latte.

Prepare latte

6. Combine espresso with steamed milk and 1-2 Tbsp of pumpkin spice syrup (add to taste).

7. Top with fat-free whipped cream.

Enjoy! :)