PUNKA PIE

First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Flaky Pie Crust:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
scant 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup Earth Balance
2-4 T ice water

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in shortening and butter. If you want a flaky crust, be careful not to overmix. Add enough water to make dough stick together when you squeeze it, then let the dough chill in the 'fridge for 30 minutes. Roll into one disk on a lightly floured surface.

Filling:
1 can unsweetened pumpkin
2 boxes firm Mori Nu tofu (DON'T use refrigerated tofu!)
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 T egg replacer or soy flour, plus 4 T water

Mix everything in a food processor until smooth.

Roll out dough and place into greased pie pan. Flute edges as desired. Pour in the batter, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace between filling and crust edge. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and bake for 35 minutes. Refrigerate pie for several hours before slicing.

If you happen to have leftover pie filling, bake it in a greased dish for 30 minutes at 350, and voila--punka pudding.



URBAN APPLE PIE:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Crust
Double the crust recipe, above. Divide dough and roll into two disks.

Filling
5 large organic Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
2 T flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 T vanilla
2/3 cup soy half and half [or vanilla soy milk]
Demerara sugar, to sprinkle on top [optional[

Combine ingredients and spoon into prepared crust. Top with the second crust and crimp edges as desired. Sprinkle with sugar. Put the pie on a cookie sheet [to avoid nasty cleanup later] and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down heat to 350 and bake for 45 more minutes until the top is golden. [If crust seems to brown too quickly, cover the pie with aluminum foil]. Allow to cool completely before slicing.