Tag Archives: shortening

Going gluten free. First gluten free and vegan baked good –strawberry rhubarb pie!

Posted by Banana Curl Vegan Girl in Baked Goods, Fruit, Gluten Free, Original Recipes, Pot pies, Recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well, I am somewhat relieved to finally have an explanation as to why I have been so exhausted lately. I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disorder. I also have hypothyroidism as a result of it. So, I started researching what else I can do that will help me to feel better besides what my doctor is doing for me. And I kept seeing the benefit of going gluten free. I know I seem to have issues with feeling like crap when I eat too much gluten, so I am trying it. It’s sad for me, because I really loved gluten. I will need to learn more about baking gluten free, and I know I can do it, and be making all sorts of new delicious vegan AND gluten free stuff in the future!

In fact, I made a pie. Unfortunately, my oven and stove just randomly stopped working yesterday. I’m glad I made this before that! I have some ideas up my sleeve for the future, but they will have to wait until it gets fixed 😦

IMG_3740It’s my favorite pie of all time, strawberry rhubarb.

I actually used Bob’s Red Mill Pie Crust Mix. I had used it before and thought it was awesome even when I wasn’t gluten free.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag Bob’s Red Mill gf pie crust mix
  • 12 tbsp Earth Balance cut into tbsp sized pieces
  • 8 tbsp cold non hydrogenated organic vegetable shortening
  • 8 tbsp cold water
  • 1 lb strawberries, chopped into slices
  • 1 1/4 cup rhubarb, chopped
  • 1 cup vegan sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

  1. First make the crust. Follow the directions on the back of the packaging. I always need the full 8 tbsp of water it says I might need. You may need 6 or 7 like it says. I find it hard to roll out after it’s been in the fridge…but I manage to fix it up if it breaks apart a bit as it’s pretty easy to put back together.
  2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  3. While the crusts are chilling, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice into a large bowl.
  4. Take the crusts out of the fridge after the hour has passed, and roll one out into a large circle.
  5. Press into a pie pan.
  6. Pour the filling inside.
  7. To make a latticed topping, cut strips out of the second pie crust after rolling it out a bit.
  8. Place the strips across the pie. First lay them out horizontally, then vertically. You may need a spatula to help you get them off your work surface, and they will probably break apart, but it will still look nice even if they break apart on the pie. Just smoosh them together a bit if they crack or fall apart in the process.
  9. Place in the oven with a cookie sheet underneath to avoid the gooey delicious filling from falling on the bottom of the oven, making a mess and a nasty smell/smoke.
  10. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for anywhere between 30-60 additional minutes until the crust is firm and golden/brown around the edges.
  11. Enjoy! My entire family loved it. When I asked if they could tell the difference between this and a gluten based pie crust, they said they couldn’t. (I can, unfortunately, haha! but it’s still really good!)

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Vegan MoFo 2014: Too Good Baked Good Tuesday: Pina Colada Pie

Posted by Banana Curl Vegan Girl in Baked Goods, Desserts, Original Recipes, Vegan Mofo 2014 and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Phew, I am barely making it to post this tonight. I literally just finished it, as it requires 3 hours of chill time.

This recipe was originally inspired by a recipe for lemon pie in the book Soy Not “Oi!”, but I ended up changing it quite a bit once I realized it was going to taste better and be a better consistency the way I wanted to. It’s still somewhat runny, but is incredibly delicious, if I may say myself (I just tasted it!) I am bringing the rest (I made 2!) to school tomorrow so they can all try it and give me feedback on it, as well.

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Pina Colada Pie

Makes 1 pie

Ingredients:

Pie crust:

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 tsp vegan sugar
  • 3 tbsp cold Earth Balance
  • 3 tbsp non-hydrogenated organic vegetable shortening
  • 2 tbsp cup cold water

Pie filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 tbsp cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • 3 teaspoons arrowroot
  • 3 tsp water
  • 2 tbsp Earth Balance 
  • 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

Whipped cream:

  • 1 can coconut milk (I used Goya brand), placed in the freezer for at least an 1 hour before use with the white cream scooped out only, not the rest of the clear liquid.
  • 1 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup organic non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

To make the pie Crust:

  1. Place flours and sugar in a food processor. Give it a quick whir to combine together.
  2. Add 1 tbsp of shortening, quickly pulse, and continue to add the shortening 1 tbsp at a time until you’ve put in 3 tbsp.
  3. Follow the same method with the earth balance as above.
  4. With the processor running, open the little opening thing on top and slowly pour in the water.
  5. Smoosh into a round disk shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.
  6. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to 2 hours.
  7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  8. Roll out the dough into a thin round layer on top of plastic wrap.
  9. Carefully place on top of a pie pan and shape the crust with your fingers around the edges of the pan.
  10. Bake in the oven 7-12 minutes until golden and crispy looking and not mushy when touched.

To make the pie filling:

  1. In a saucepan, add sugar and cornstarch.
  2. Stir in the coconut milk and pineapple juice.
  3. In a separate cup, whisk the arrowroot and water together. Add to the other ingredients in the saucepan.
  4. Add the margarine and boiling water over the Earth Balance so it melts.
  5. Heat on medium heat on the stove until just starting to thicken, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
  6. Once starting to thicken, add in the agar agar powder and immediately start to whisk until combined. Be careful to whisk a.s.a.p after placing it in the saucepan and whisking all around the pan or you may end up with agar agar clumps throughout. It will thicken very quickly after this step.
  7. Shut off the heat and continue to whisk for a bit.
  8. Pour into the pie shell you made and refrigerate for 3 hours before piping the whipped cream on top.

To make the whipped cream:

  1. Place the coconut milk can in the freezer for at least 1 hour before using.
  2. Open the can and scoop out the solid cream with a spoon. Use the remainder of the watery coconut milk in a smoothie or whatever else you think you’d like it in.
  3. Add in the powdered sugar, shortening, and vanilla. Mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
  4. Use a handheld electric mixer and whisk in circles until peaks form.
  5. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use/place on top of the pie, or for at least an hour until it’s more solid. I like to place it in a ziploc bag and cut the tip and squirt it out in little round globs.
  6. You will have extra left depending on how you choose to decorate the pie, so use every last bit of that for other delicious reasons!

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Oh, and here’s an interesting wikipedia article on the history and other fun facts about one of the ingredients I used, agar agar.

See you tomorrow for another entry for Vegan MoFo 2014!

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