Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Maple Walnut Pie


One again... ate 90% of it before a photo could be taken..... :)

Happy Thanksgiving! This is a festive pie that I actually made for a pre-Halloween pumpkin carving party.  It was delicious, and I liked that it was less traditional than your typical pecan pie. (and also... walnuts are cheaper than pecans! :) )


Crust:

1/2 c + 3 tbs millet flour
1/2 c garbanzo bean flour
1 tbs potato starch
1/8+ tsp salt           ---> combine dry ingredients
3 tbs ghee              ---> mix into dry ingredients to make velevety consisitency
3 tbs ghee              ---> mix coarsely to form pea sized balls
~1 tbs ice-cold water   ---> drizzle in, gently mixing until dough forms into a ball

Roll out for a 8.5" pie pan (8 or 9" would work too) on waxed paper. Place the pie pan upside-down on the rolled dough, and use the waxed paper to flip the crust into the pan. Repair any cracks that may form, then crimp edges
Prick bottom and sides of pastry with fork. Line edges of crust with double thickness of foil. Bake 8 minutes at 450 F.. Remove foil, them bake 5 minutes more or until crust is lightly browned cool. Reduce oven to 350 F.


Filling:


1.5 c maple flavored agave (or maple syrup, if you can eat it)
3 eggs
4 tbs ghee
2 tbs coconut oil
1/3 c coconut sugar
1/4 c erythritol (or more coconut sugar)
2 c chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tbs vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp tapioca flour


Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored, ~5 minutes. Add ghee/coconut oil (softened), beat in. Add all other ingrdients and mix, then fold in walnuts. Pour into crust. Bake on baking sheet for ~45 minutes, or until middle just begins to set but edges are not burned. If edges seem to be cooking too quickly (browning) before middle begins to set, turn temeprature down slightly.  Cool before serving.


Tastes like a cross between a pecan pie and maple stick donuts. :)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

New Rainbow Light Shake?

What's the deal with the new Rainbow Light Chocolate Protein Energizer?


I'll tell you what the deal is.  They increased the price by four dollars at my regular supplier, Vitacost. This magic is now over a dollar a scoop.  And you know what else they did? They reduced the scoop size. A pouch that used to have 14 110-calorie large-sized scoops now has 14 88-calorie small-sized scoops.  Fourteen over-a-dollar-each 88 calorie small-sized scoops.

And you know what else they did?
Well, they did improve the flavor. I was never critical of the old taste- especially since I always choose to eat my protein shake as pudding-consistency, with way less water than usual. This makes the taste more concentrated, and that's just fine with me!

But I immediately noticed a new creaminess about this latest pouch of Rainbow Light that I opened. And it was good! Almost like genuine chocolate milk- but not to worry- it's just as allergen free as before. The only difference I noticed was that "Custard Vanilla Flavor" has been added to the "other ingredient" list.

Way to go, Rainbow Light- you invented Custard Vanilla Flavor, and it tastes like chocolate milk.  But is it worth a 36% price increase per pouch?


(PS I've been sprinkling this new formula over my granola in the morning... mmMMmm!)