Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians celebrating!
We've been fortunate with a glorious sunny autumn weekend, allowing us to breath in the crisp, sweetly scented fall air, gather inspiration in VanDusen Gardens, and drench our bones in some kayaking adventures in Deep Cove.
In the meantime, I invite you to try my pumpkin pie recipe, with an orange-lavender crust. FYI I used roasted fresh pumpkins for this pie in the picture - and it gives it a beautiful depth with hints of smokiness.

For the Orange-Lavender Shortbread Crust:

100gr (1 stick) butter
1 cup + 1 Tbs Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbs Orange Juice
Rind from 1 orange
1 tsp fresh or dry lavender buds

2 Tbs Sugar

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract (Or use vanilla sugar instead of the sugar above)
- Using your fingers or a manual dough blender, mix together butter and flour inside the pie pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead just until a dough forms (avoid overworking the dough, as it would take away from its flakiness).
- Press the dough firmly onto the pan to spread it evenly and line the pie pan (including the sides of course!).

Pumpkin Custard Filling:

3 eggs
1-1/2 cup Cooked and pureed pumpkin (if you have fresh - all the better; if not - canned pumpkin is good too)
1 cup cream or hald&half (I prefer full cream)

2 Tbs Orange Juice
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Tbs grated fresh Ginger (I freeze my ginger and than it is really easy to grate it; the taste is incomparable to the dried ginger!)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Nutmeg (freshly grated), or ground mace

Bake in 350 F (170-180 c) degrees for 40-60 minutes, until the filling is set.
Serve warm or cooled down to room temperature.

Serving suggestions: I like it best on it's own with milky cinnamon or chai tea on the side. But of course you can’t go wrong with the traditional a-la-mode (be sure to use real vanilla bean ice cream) or a dollop of freshly whipped cream or crème fraiche.