This past weekend we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. As usual it is a time for sharing and enjoying time with friends and family. Sometimes family are too far away to be around, so your friends become the family you choose. 🙂 We had a big celebration here which ended up being a vegan potluck full of teenagers, friends, fun dishes and an array of tasty delights that spanned a few cultures. Somehow celebrations at our home usually end up being all plant-based. I love it, though I always tell our friends that any sort of food they would like to bring is welcome in our home. It honestly is, although I am secretly hoping that everyone will find the plant-based food so amazing that they will consider adding more vegetables to their diets! I only do this with peace and love and with the best of intentions. I love that the animals that usually suffer this time of year, such as turkeys and sweet little pigs are safe from harm here.
We shared so many great recipes that I thought it would be fun to highlight them over the next few blog posts. They are all great recipes to make this fall so I do hope you try them out and enjoy them. Please send me a note if you do!
This recipe is from Kris Carr. Here is a link to her website. She is an inspirational cancer survivor who was diagnosed with a rare and incurable stage IV cancer 15 years ago. She has written Crazy Sexy Kitchen, Crazy Sexy Juice and many more similar books to celebrate the healing qualities of a plant based diet. She helps people throughout the world lead healthier lives by incorporating vegetables into their daily meals. I actually contacted her office a month ago or so because I was positive I walked by her on the beach in Carmel when we were visiting. They said it was very likely because she was taking a bit of a break in central California at the time. Kinda cool. 🙂
This recipe is so easy, it’s a bit like a sweet hummus that you blend up and freeze. Simple, nourishing and easy to pull out for a gathering or in a pinch! My youngest daughter always asks me to make her pumpkin pie, and this is the next best thing!
One thing you might be questioning about this recipe is, “What the heck is coconut manna (also known as coconut butter)?” Is it the same as coconut oil? Nope, it’s not. Coconut Manna is organic coconut meat, which, according to the Nutiva website,”is flaked and conveyed through a hot air dryer, which runs at 170°F, within a few hours of shelling, and is then ground like a nut butter. It is not pasteurized or refined. It is a whole food coconut nut butter and it contains protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and oil. It is very different from our organic virgin coconut oil, which is just the oil that has been expeller pressed from fresh coconut. It’s ground, whole coconut that has the water removed.” So, enjoy! This is a whole food which has been minimally processed.
Ingredients
- 1 - 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1/2 cup melted coconut manna (a.k.a. coconut butter)
- 5 tablespoons brown rice syrup or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Sucanat or coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add pumpkin puree, almond butter, coconut manna, brown rice syrup or maple syrup, vanilla extract, Sucanat or coconut sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Puree until smooth.
3. With a rubber spatula, carefully spoon pumpkin mixture into a parchment lined loaf pan, making sure the surface is even and smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for a minimum of 5 hours.
4. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and cut into squares.
Notes:
This "fudge" needs to be served almost frozen. As it thaws it becomes soft like the consistency of pumpkin pie.
If the fudge is in the freezer for longer than 4-5 hours, it will become very hard, so it should hang out at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before serving.
www.thevibrantveggie.com
