Vegan Rhubarb Custard Pie

School has started!  Do you know what that means!?

STRESS BAKING!
the most wonderful way to stop worrying about things... well, except worrying about eating too many sweets.

We're only three weeks in and i already had to go into the kitchen to prevent my head from exploding.

So i was surprised to see that the farmers market still had rhubarb, and being awesome i got some mainly to eat raw (with a little sugar) -- cause i'm just cool like that.  But then i started thinking about crisps... and pies... and mmmmm.  So i decided to veganize my mom's yummy rhubarb custard pie recipe.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

Rhubarb Pie after it had been attacked by 5 different people

Preheat your oven to 375 F. 

Crust:

1 cup shortening (butter flavored is best, vegan)

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

6 tbs ice water

Mix the shortening and dry ingredients with a pastry mixer (if you dont have one used two knives) until the mixture is pebbly looking with pea sized chunks of shortening.  Add the ice water and mix with hands until just mixed - no longer!  Split the dough in half -- roll out one half with waxed paper and rolling pin and place in pie dish.  Using a fork, gently poke the fork all over the bottom crust.

Filling:

4 cups rhubarb

1 cup strawberries (optional)

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup soy milk

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsb nutmeg

Cut rhubarb thinly (and cut strawberries if you decide to use them) and put them in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together what water and cornstarch until smooth.  Ready for this part... it's really hard... throw the cornstarch mixture and everything else in the bowl with the rhubarb and mix! Phew! Very technical i know

Place the filling into the pie crust.  Roll out the other half of crust and cut it into strips.  Lattice to your hearts content.  Sprinkle top with some cinnamon.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown

Vegan Lemon Scones

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup soymilk

Preheat oven to 425 F

Mix dry ingredients and then cut in margarine so it is crumbly. Mix in the milk, lemon zest and juice, almond extract and vanilla, stiring as little as possible but still mixing everything.

Put spoonfuls onto a non-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.

I also tried putting a hand full of raspberries in half. They turned out a little more cakey because i had to stir them more, and you need to watch out that the bottoms dont burn! especially where the berries peek out.

Vegan Banana Muffins

I made these muffins when i was up at the cabin over the 4th. I kept waking up before everyone and got bored, so i flipped through my mom's Moosewood Low-fat cookbook. This is a modified version of their banana muffins to make them vegan. They are delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder.

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup oats

2 tbs. oil

3 bananas (~1.5 cups)

1/3 cup vanilla soy milk

Preheat oven to 400 F

Mix the dry ingredients together. Moosewood made the oats into the flour, but i just kept them whole. Add the banana's, oil and soy milk to the dry ingredients, smushing the bananas with a fork to mix in. Stir until it's all mixed together. It's okay if there are some lumps of banana, but you wanted it mixed well.

Oil or put in muffin papers and fill ~2/3 to 3/4 the way up (they will rise a little). Bake for 20-25 minutes, testing with toothpick or match, etc. so it comes out clean. I suggest letting them cool down for a while, i thought they were better the next day than still hot form the oven.

Would taste good with a crumble (can try combining some oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and oil for a crumble), but healthier without!

My Favorite Things - ABCs

Not going to lie, my mom did this on her blog a while back, so i'm kind of copying her. it's nice to list the things that make you happy though.

A : almonds, avacados

B : being barefoot, bears, bananas, blueberries, my brothers

C : Chloe (my cat), candles, chocolate, cinnamon, clean lakes, cheese

D : down comforter, downhill skiing, drawing

E : entertainment

F : fireplaces, freshly baked baked-goods, fresh air

G : ginger, garlic, gardens, green things

H : honey crisp apples, herbal tea, hugs, harry potter

I : ice tea

J : juice boxes

K : kittens, Kopps, kiwi fruit

L : lemons, limes, lavender, lakes

M : mint tea, mint in general, my mom, massages, mittens, music, markers

N : new socks, naked juice, ninjas

O : oceans

P : pumpkin bread/pie/etc., pies, peaches, piano playing, photography, painting, pudding, pandora radio

Q : my quilt, quietness

R : raspberries, rain, rhubarb

S : Sprecher rootbeer/gingerale, strawberries, salmon, storms, smartwool socks, snow

T : thunderstorms

U : [new] underwear

V : vanilla

W : woods and wilderness, winter, water, webcomics

X : X-ray films (seriously, they are cool, ok?)

Y : yelling happily (only when i do it, other people can be annoying, haha)

Z : zero stress

perhaps not raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens... and ignore the fact that half of those are food, including some that i can't eat, being vegan and all, haha