"Yes? Can I help you?"

It took three months, but Miles finally discovered the luxurious comfort of the baby papasan.

Home Grown Tomatoes presents: Crust a Must? No.

Crustless Pecan Pumpkin Pie with Maple Pumpkin Frosting

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column by Giovanina Bucci
(in other words...Scarlet Lily did not write this:))

I just like staring at these pictures. They make me happy, except I am doing the Master Cleanse right now, so they're kind of pissing me off, because I can't eat anything for 10 days! Nonetheless this creation, otherwise known as Crustless Pecan Pumpkin Pie with Maple Pumpkin Frosting, is sweet, delicious, and gluten free! In my humble opinion, it's pretty much an edible version of the Adirondacks: pumpkin, maple, pecan...

Beau requested this number for Thanksgiving this year, so I figured a trial run wouldn't hurt anyone. And it didn't. We grabbed forks, spoons, whatever we could find, and dove into this delight like ravaging animals. And now it's gone... :)

I adapted this recipe from My Sweet Vegan, which is a highly recommended, fabulous vegan dessert cookbook with pictures for each recipe. I decided to ditch the crust, add my own little flair for the frosting, and made a few other changes. Speaking of frosting, I was acting like an 8 year old on Christmas this day and couldn't wait for the pie to cool before frosting with my Ziploc bag. Regretfully I piped too soon, but I grabbed the camera just in time. About one minute after these pictures were taken, the frosting started gravitating towards the middle and the pies' decadent appearance disappeared as each pecan was swallowed. Tasty, nonetheless.

Serving Size: apparently 8 slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Pumpkin Filling

1 C. pumpkin puree

1/3 C. sugar

2 Tbs. of Rice Milk (Soy Milk, Soy Creamer, anything milky...)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger (which I didn't have, but I'm sure would add a magnificent dimension)

1/8 tsp. allspice

2 Tbs. Non-genetically modified cornstarch

(Note: I am not a huge fan of using cornstarch, and try to use it minimally in my cooking. I haven't experimented yet, but I imagine there are alternatives here, especially if you're not vegan. And as a vegan, I would likely try using something like Arrowroot Powder or something similar to help the pie set up and thicken.)

Pecan Filling:

1 C. pecan halves

2 heaping Tbs. of honey or 1 Tbs. of agave syrup

1/3 C. maple syrup (I used Grade B, which is excellent for cooking)

1/4 C. dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Maple Pumpkin Frosting:

This was a "wing it" effort - so the measurements are, well, approximate.

3 Tbs. Earth Balance butter (room temperature)

1/4 C. confectioner's sugar

2-3 Tbs. pumpkin puree

1 Tbs. maple syrup

Essentially, with frosting, you want to get a good consistency and sweetness, and those two things aren't very hard to accomplish. Begin with the measurements above and modify as needed. The worst that could happen is you'll make too much...which gives you an excuse to eat a spoonful here and there.

First, mix all of the ingredients for the Pumpkin Filling. Once mixed well (either by hand or using a mixer), pour into a well greased 9" pie dish. Mix the ingredients of the Pecan Filling and layer on top of the pumpkin. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Once the pie has COMPLETELY cooled, frost away.

As I said earlier, I just used a Ziploc bag and piped small, round swirls to add to the beauty. Honestly, since I dove in head first, I didn't even attempt to slice the pie. However, it did set up nicely and I think would be sliceable. Now that I am looking at the size of this post, it looks overwhelming. Seriously, I don't make things that are overwhelming or take 3 hours to make, because I'm impatient and usually hungry. This whipped up very fast and the outcome is well worth it! Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Yikes. Bad blogger lately. As always, I will make up for it by distracting you with pictures!

Do you not look at this picture and want to eat her!?! I barely even eat food from the kitchen anymore as her cheeks and thighs are sustaining me quite well.

Before you write in, I'm well aware that she's tipping over in this picture. There was even a version of this picture where she wasn't, but I didn't look good in it and since I have the ability to type and she doesn't, I win!

B's beautiful pumpkin from Family Pumpkin Carving Night.

Home Grown Tomatoes presents: Turnip the Volume

I 100% could not resist the absolutely ridiculous title - it's been lurking in the back of my brain since deciding on this post, so I figured, what the hell? As you guessed it, we're exploring the strange little land of the turnip. I always remember turnip as that "required" vegetable at Thanksgiving that looked like potato, but did not even remotely compare (remember, these are 9 year old taste buds we're talking about here).

This past summer Beau grew turnips, much to my surprise. So when it came time to do my part in "gardening," I began to explore the white and purple wonder. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of this recipe. But I must confess, it isn't the healthiest side dish in the world, but all will be forgotten (and hopefully forgiven) once you indulge.

Turnip 'n' Cheese:

Serving: 4 polite people, 2 otherwise

1 large turnip (shredded)

1 small yellow onion (diced)

3 Tbs (heaping) of butter (I use Earth Balance, for the vegan version)

6 oz cheddar cheese (Follow Your Heart Vegan "Cheddar Cheese")

Black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp onion powder

Start by sauteing the onions and butter on medium heat. Once the onion is translucent, go ahead and add the shredded turnip. Let the turnip cook for a few minutes (it really doesn't take long) and then add the shredded cheese. I let the cheese melt for about a minute, and then turn the heat down to low. Add the onion powder and black pepper. Continue to stir and work the ingredients so everything is mixed together well.

The whole dish from start to finish only takes about 10 minutes, but it won't hurt to leave it on low for a few extra minutes until you are ready to serve. This recipe is easily adaptable to any diet just by substituting the butter and cheese for whatever you prefer. If you are using regular cheese, I would maybe suggest using a bit less (than the 6oz) to start with and maybe get the heat to low before you add it (as I imagine, it will melt MUCH faster than vegan cheese does). Nonetheless, however you make it, this little number resembles macaroni and cheese, but there's a bit of unexpected finesse added with the subtle horseradish flavor the turnip possesses. It's a dish that is both tasty and different, which I think makes for a winning combination. Enjoy!

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column by Giovanina Bucci

Home Grown Tomatoes presents: Tofu Scramble

Let's talk about a staple breakfast in the Bucci household... tofu scramble. Hands down, it gets consumed about once a week, if not more. I am all about big, homemade breakfasts, particularly on Sunday mornings. I've made this meal for just about everyone I know and so far it's been well received by all. I consider it a perfect breakfast, but truly, you could make it for a dinner as well. Basically what I'm getting at...it's damn tasty any time of the day.

Servings: 4 hungry bellies

4 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbs. Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1 small yellow onion

1 block of extra firm tofu

3 c. fresh broccoli (chopped into small florets)

1 yellow squash (diced into small cubes)

4 Tbs. ketchup (any organic brands that I have come across do not contain high fructose corn syrup)

2 celery stalks (chopped)

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

Black pepper to taste

1 Tbs. onion powder

Dash of lemon pepper

Begin by sauteing the onion on med/high heat in oil and Bragg's until onion is translucent. Once the onion is cooked through, drain the tofu (I usually do this by squeezing it a bit over the sink) and crumble (again using your hands) into the pan. Let the onion and tofu cook together for about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently. The idea being: getting the tofu in nice and early allows time for it to firm up a bit (while cooking off some of the moisture).

After about 10 minutes, go ahead and add the broccoli, cook until somewhat tender (I prefer mine a bit on the al dente side, it's completely up to your taste buds). Add the ketchup, celery and then squash. Let all of these veggies cook and flavors blend together. After I've let the veggies cook through, I turn down the heat a bit to medium or medium/low. Finally, with the heat lowered, add the spinach and let it wilt away... I use two good size handfuls of spinach, because obviously, it shrinks considerably in size. Top off the scramble with the black pepper, onion powder and dash of lemon pepper.

Essentially this "scramble" is a stir fry - and you can use any vegetables that you have or prefer; mushrooms, zucchini, pepper...the kitchen sink, etc. The final kicker is the avocado, Tofutti sour cream and salsa that I use to top off this little delight. Most often I serve the scramble with some tempeh bacon and hash browns (or some potato concoction).

For all of you veggies out there who are trying to cook for yourself and your carnivore counterparts, this is a great 'introduction to tofu' meal to help convince the haters that tofu can, in fact, be consumed AND enjoyed by humans. The texture is palatable and there are so many other flavors bouncing around that the tofu is hardly the focus. This allows you a good opportunity to give that tempeh bacon a whirl too. Not to mention this scramble recipe can easily be done with eggs instead of tofu. Also, if you're not vegan, regardless of whether you are using eggs or tofu, feel free to throw some cheddar cheese in the mix - that can't hurt anything :) Indulge and enjoy - please email me and let me know how your scram turns out or if you have any questions: giovaninabucci@yahoo.com.

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column by Giovanina Bucci

A Night Away

B & I had a delayed anniversary celebration this weekend with a night away at a Lake George B&B - our first ever B&B believe it or not. It was the longest I've ever been away from my little lady, save for that one hour I spent at Macy's back in September shopping for a Naming Ceremony dress, so it was a little nerve wracking. I actually did fine though. Her Nona kept me in text messages and picture updates so that got me through. And we even managed to spend all of our conversations talking about life and career aspirations and not our child. Woo Hoo! After all, we wouldn't want to be THOSE PARENTS, ya know? I can't decide if the best part of the weekend was the wine on the porch, the 2 1/2 hour Italian dinner we had, or the woman at breakfast the next morning telling us that "You CAN'T have too many Snuggies! Seriously, I own four of them, there is NOTHING not to love!"

When photography goes horribly wrong

Did you know I was an amputee? Or a "little person?" Ya, me either.
This one inspired doubled-over laughter in the middle of the forest.