First, I have to say, I do not consider myself a pie maker. I have made as many sweet pies as I have roasted turkeys. Two, maybe three. But, as I prepared to host the feast holiday in my home this year, and upped the ante by inviting a few guests beyond my family, I planned on making a pumpkin pie that my husband nor my son would be able to eat due to egg allergies. Then, two things happened to steer me from the traditional pumpkin pie. Did I mention that I love pumpkin pie?
1. I stumbled upon a vegan pumpkin pie filling on a blog I read regularly, Susan T’s Kitchen. The use of coconut milk instead of sweetened condensed milk seemed like a great alternative, and corn starch instead of egg made me think of all the new possibilities for eggless cooking. I was going to give this a shot.
2. I cooked up the first Chersonskaya, and in my quick search of the web for recipes (finding none) I stumbled upon a single comment on a random gardening board in which the commenter stated that he had substituted Chersonskaya for the pumpkin in a pie he had made and said it was fantastic.
An eggless, milk free Chersonskaya “pumpkin” pie. What could be better?
On pie baking day, I took out my cooked squash from the freezer to thaw. Once thawed I drained off a little of the water, afraid the excess would make the pie too runny. I threw it in the food processor to make it real smooth and added the rest of the ingredients. With two little ones running around, I was cutting corners where I could and used a pre-made pie crust. Nonetheless, that was almost a disaster. I saved it, but it didn’t look too pretty in the end.
My daughter helped, and once we added the coconut milk to the pie filling she declared that it smelled “consusting.” That would be “disgusting.” I did have to agree that it smelled a little odd, but continued to stir and hoped for the best.
This is what is left of the pie 24 hours after it was served. Needless to say, this pie was a hit! And, it got people talking about squash, which resulted in a trip to my pantry to see the famous Chersonskaya.
Again, here is the link to the recipe from Susan T’s Kitchen. I substituted the pumpkin with Chersonskaya and added two table spoons of white granulated sugar.
I can only imagine it would be an excellent substitute in a traditional pumpkin pie as well.
Tonight, before going to bed, my daughter confirmed that yes I would be eating a piece of “our” pie and then declared that I must leave her some for tomorrow. I guess the “consusting” coconut milk is a long forgotten detail.
Growing Up in the Garden 
and I bet you will remind her of the “consusting” coconut milk when she is a grown up — I love family stories.
So that’s a win-win – a great pumpkin and a great pie !
Thanks! Yes, my daughter has had many funny words over the years. “Consusting” will definitely go down in the books. She often asks us the correct way to say it, will use “disgusting” a few times, and then revert back to “consusting.” I find her funny words amusing. I know she will grow out of them soon enough, so am enjoying them when they pop up.
Absolutely. I scold my mom for correcting our two younger ones. They’ll figure it out soon enough and I need the laughs.
Yum. I loved our pie, too. I used half sugar pumpkin and half chersonskya. it wasn’t a great hit at Thanksgiving. It may have been because I overcooked that one–but I think people are also used to pumpkin pie that doesn’t taste like squash. The leftover one we ate today was wonderful. I had extra filling, too and used it for breakfast. : ) BTW–I’m all for the pre-made crust. Making pie crust added a big heap of anxiety to my TG preparations.
I know. People say pie crust is really easy, but I beg to differ. Maybe I just haven’t made pie crust enough. I do make a killer quiche crust (if I do say so myself), but it wouldn’t work for pie. How did you use the squash for breakfast? Anything special?
I can’t wait to make another pie. I need an occasion first….
That was such a funny and cute story! I just had to share it on my FB page! Thanks for using my recipe!
It is really a great recipe! I will be making this pie over and over again. Everyone was going back for seconds. Thanks for posting the recipe.
I also discovered this year that squashes are great substitutes for pumpkin in cake and cookies, and am thrilled about that, as my root cellar is fairly full with them. Sounds like you found a very happy use for your wonderful squash. Loved your daughter’s word, so gorgeous. I’ve forgotten so many of them, but I do remember that my older boy (now 14), went through a phase of insisting that it was the ‘crust’ of a hill, not a crest. He firmly denies that now.