Pumpkin Pecan Pie - Dairy-free

This Thanksgiving I made the pumpkin pies for the family dinner. We have one person who cannot have dairy so I really wanted to make one pie that she could eat without worry. The result was a not too sweet, smooth, more mousse-like textured pie. It brought back memories of the pumpkin chiffon pie that the family bakery used to make. But J didn't like the texture, not close enough to standard pumpkin pie. If you're like him, follow the directions to stir in the pumpkin. Most dairy-free pumpkin pie recipes are vegan - this one is not. I think the egg helps it set more nicely but you could substitute 2 tablespoons of cornstarch if eggs are not an option.

Dairy-free Pumpkin Pecan Pie
16 ounces silken firm tofu (refrigerator section of large or asian grocery stores)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg (or 2 tablespoons cornstarch)
15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
9-inch deep dish pie crust in pan (non-dairy, if it matters)

Slice tofu in half longitudinally. Wrap each piece in several layers of paper towels or lint-free dish towels. Put them on a plate, put a plate on top and put a couple weights (like cans of pumpkin) on the upper plate to press down gently. Let tofu drain for about 20 minutes. Unwrap tofu and put in a food processor or blender.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place pie crust on a baking sheet for stability and in case of drips.

Process or blend tofu until smooth. Add sugar and egg. Pulse to combine. For smooth pie, add pumpkin and spices; pulse to combine thoroughly. For more textured pie, remove filling to a large bowl, add pumpkin and spices; stir to combine thoroughly.

Pour filling into prepared pie crust. Sprinkle pecans evenly over filling. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over pecans.

Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 325°F and continue baking an additional 30 to 40 minutes, until the center of the pie jiggles slightly when nudged but the edges do not. Cool completely before serving.

Fish and Fighting - late 14th century french style scroll

I had a scroll to make recognizing a boy's contribution to youth combat. When asking his family and friends about him, I learned he is interested in late 14th century France, his chosen name translates as "Nicholas the fisher," he likes to be called "Nick the Fish" and he is part of group where he wears a blue tunic. There were other details but those went into the wording.

With this inspiration I knew I had to include fish in a late 14th century french style. I based the overall design on BL Lansdowne 1175 f.370v (France 1364-1380). The bar & ivy border and calligraphy hand come from this manuscript. The inspiration piece had illumination within 170 x 110 mm or 6.7" x 4.3". I kept close to those proportions but scaled down to fit within a 6" x 4" mat opening.

There were some interesting abbreviation marks and conjoined letters in the inspiration manuscript that I used, particularly the tall-s plus -er or -ear that I modified for l(ear)ned on line 6. Possibly because the manuscript was written in French the 2 shaped symbol for con- was also used for com- so I used it in (com)bat on line 9. There was also the use of an actual v when it was the start of a word even though u was used when it occurred in the middle of a word.

The illuminated capital is based on BL Yates Thompson 31 f.48 (Spain, 1375-1400) with two fish diving into the water in an X shape, which was modified into the needed N. The little hybrid creature at the bottom is based on BL Burney 275 f.166 (France, 1309-1316). The original had a face coming out the back end. Although I'm sure a teenage boy would love the face sticking out from there, I changed that into a fish tail to better fit the recipient and made his tunic blue.

Fruit Custard Pie

This past Crown Tourney I wanted to make a mostly period dessert. It's been a while since I've redacted anything, cooking not being something I do much in the SCA these days, but I sure do make a lot of desserts! How hard could it be? After all, it's not like I haven't done this before and I'm not going for perfect historical accuracy. Still, I was pretty sure a test run was needed.

After going through various sweet recipes I settled on a custard pie with fruit. I wanted a classic custard, not a lenten recipe using almond milk in place of dairy and eggs, and since there were a lot of apples in the house from taking my mother and friend on a trip to an orchard while they were visiting, apples would definitely be featured.

Looking through various period recipes for custard pies (sources include Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books, Curye of Inglish, Take 1000 Eggs or More, and An Ordinance of Pottage) I found fruit and custard pie recipes using just pears and various mixtures of dates, apples, pears, strawberries, prunes, and currants. The recipes did not specify cooking the fruit prior to baking. Spices varied from none to combinations of mace, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, pepper, and more. Note that this is a really quick summary!

For my first attempt, I chopped up some apples, put them in the bottom of a pie crust, filled the crust with a milk & egg based custard and baked. The custard seeped under not only the apples but under the crust, leading to an interesting sort of soft crust texture. This was probably secondary to the amount of liquid released by the uncooked apples into the custard during baking. It tasted good but was so not what I wanted in terms of look, texture, and custard-fruit ratio.

Second attempt: There's a really tasty period fruit pie where you cook together dried fruits in some wine before adding them to the crust and baking - think mince pie. So in an attempt to reduce the liquid released by the apples I cooked them along with some figs and raisins, then added them to the crust, filled with custard, and baked. I also used less apple to start, even though the cooking reduced the volume somewhat, and more custard. Success.

Note on crust: I did not make a period-style crust as I do not find them very tasty. Really, this was meant to be eaten as part of an impressive assortment of food that our group sets out for the day, not meant to be an arts & sciences entry! Use whatever crust you like.

Fruit Custard Pie
1 large apple, minced (preferably good for cooking, I used Spencer)
2 Tablespoons dried figs, minced
2 Tablespoons raisins, minced
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon port
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, not very period but still tasty)
1 (10-inch) pie crust in pan

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine apple, figs, raisins, butter and port. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Spoon into prepared pie crust.

Whisk together sugar and eggs. Whisk in milk, spices and extract (if using). Pour gently over fruit into pie crust.

Bake until the custard barely jiggles and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely before serving.