We Had a Cool Snap

But now it's gone.  Before it left, we had The First Pumpkin Pie and The First Apples.

My daughter adores pumpkin pie more than I do, which is saying a lot.  She has been begging for it for months, so I promised her that the minute butternuts appeared on market, I would make her a pie.  The butternuts appeared last week.  The weather was cool enough for a quilt on the bed at night, so I cheerfully baked those pumpkins down, put most of them in the freezer for future pies, and baked Genevieve her pie.  (She is at the funny self-conscious stage where she can't smile naturally for the camera).

She was thrilled.  And the recipe is my own, cobbled together after lots of experimenting a few years ago, so I'm very proud of it.  I realize that opinions vary regarding pumpkin pies, so I'll tell you that mine is dense in a creamy, satisfying way, spicy and not over sweet.

And the fall apples are in.  These are Ginger Gold apples with a lone Fuji left from last week.  The summer apples are nice for making sauce if you are crazy enough to want to do that in the middle of summer, but I'll be making applesauce towards to the end of September when I'm in the mood. 

Margo's Pumpkin Pie

Blend in blender under totally smooth:
2 c. cooked pumpkin, well drained
1 1/2 c. heavy cream (or evaporated milk, if you must)
2/3 c. dark brown sugar
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk (or if you're in a rush, 3 eggs will do)
1/2 tsp. salt
scant 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon

Pour into prepared 9" deepdish pie crust.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes; reduce temp to 350 and bake an additional 30-40 minutes until pie is not jiggly in center.  Cool or chill for at least 2 hours before serving.  Can also bake in a buttered casserole as a custard - keep the depth to 4" or less.

There's an unguarded smile, bless her pea-pickin' heart.