Pumpkin Pie Filling-egg free*, dairy free, gluten free

Now I know that this does not have anything to do with cats, or Ratz, unless I stretch my imagination and tell you that Jack the Cat, whose picture adorns the header, loves pudding and basically this pumpkin pie is pudding in a shell--and there I keep it very well.

I have Allergies with a capital A because there are so many and they crisscross over all aspects of my life. I missed having pie with the rest of the family during the Holidays, so through trial and error I came up with this recipe for Pumpkin Pie--without eggs*, without milk, without gluten. Caveat here, the crust I used this year does contain powdered EGG WHITE--which will cause me gastric distress, but just this time it is worth it. There are numerous pie crusts available now for the gluten-free, including from Bob's Red Mills, Gluten-Free Pantry, Hodgsons Mills, and more. You are sure to find one that fits into your particular allergic profile. I chose Mi-Del All Natural Ginger Snap Pie Crust because it is, besides gluten free, potato starch free, and I love their Ginger Snap cookies so...

This filling, if you have all the ingredients ready ahead of time, should only take 5-10 minutes to make. If you are fortunate and live in a cold zone, and if you make this recipe near bedtime, you may be able to place it out onto a covered porch overnight to cool and gel--that would be tonight if you happen to be making this for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Pie Filling*:

2 cups cooked squash--may be pumpkin or any other squash
2 cups milk of choice--I used soymilk, but any other milk will do
2/3 cup golden molasses--or 2/3 cup corn (sugar) syrup with 1Tbsp blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup corn starch--or potato starch, but avoid tapioca or arrowroot as they get too gummy
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg--or mace
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp gelatin--vegan substitues include Agar agar, Irish Moss and Kudzu.

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium to large sauce pan and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Stirring slowly and constantly, heat on medium until it begins to thicken. Turn heat to low and continue to stir until it becomes quite thick and begins to bubble up from the bottom. It's done!

Pour into a prepared pie crust and put into the refrigerator to set. This may take several hours and is hastened by increasing the cooling power of the refrigerator temporarily.

I made my own sugar syrup that was flavored with ginger by mixing 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar with one 2 inch peeled piece of raw ginger. This was brought to a boil and simmered for an hour to reduce. I used 2/3 cup of this in place of the golden molasses by adding 1 TBSP blackstrap molasses. 

Agar agar is used measure-for-measure as a substitute for gelatin, but it must be soaked in the liquids for ten minutes before cooking, and then the whole pot must be brought up to a rapid boil quickly in order to set properly. This needs constant attention and stirring so as not to burn the mixture on the bottom of the pot or have it boil over.