A Little Pumpkin History

Before There Was Pumpkin Pie, There Was Just Pumpkin.

The word pumpkin originated from the Greek word Pepõn which means large melon. The word gradually morphed by the French, English and then Americans into the word “pumpkin.” Pumpkins and squash are believed to have originated in the ancient Americas. These early pumpkins were not the traditional round orange upright Jack-O-Lantern fruit we think of today when you hear the word pumpkin. They were a crooked neck variety which stored well. Archeologists have determined that variations of squash and pumpkins were cultivated along river and creek banks along with sunflowers and beans. This took place long before the emergence of maize (corn). (From All About Pumpkins)

The Three Sisters are squash, corn and beans which grow and thrive together. Corn serves as the natural trellis for the beans to grow on. The beans roots set nitrogen in the soil to nourish the corn. The bean vines help to stabilize the corn stalks on windy days. The squash plants shelter the shallow roots of the corn and shade the ground to discourage weeds and preserve moisture. Truly a symbiotic relationship. I have read where it was a common practice to bury a small fish alongside the seeds at planting to nourish the “Three Sisters.”

The early Native American farmers were practicing an early form of sustainable agriculture. How cool is that?!? We can learn many lessons today from them.

These early Native Americans roasted pumpkin strips over campfires and used them as a food source, long before the arrival of European explorers. Pumpkins helped The Native Americans make it through long cold winters. They used the sweet flesh in numerous ways: roasted, baked, parched, boiled and dried. They ate pumpkin seeds and also used them as a medicine. The blossoms were added to stews. Dried pumpkin could be stored and ground into flour. They dried the shells and used them as bowls and containers to store grain, beans and seeds. I have read where they pounded and dried the pumpkin flesh into strips, and wove the strips into mats which they used for trading purposes.

It is said that Columbus carried pumpkin seeds back with him to Europe. There they were used to feed pigs, but not as a human food source.

Now…. onto the recipe!

Paleo Pumpkin Pie {grain-free, dairy-free}

This delicious Paleo Pumpkin Pie recipe was graciously shared by Conner Middelmann-Whitney, Nutrition Coach at Modern Mediterranean!

This grain-free, dairy-free pumpkin pie is lower in sugar than most traditional pies, but no less satisfying: between the fragrant spices, the velvety texture of the filling and the crunchy base, you get the full-on Thanksgiving dessert satisfaction – minus the indigestion!

Serves 8.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

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Course Desserts

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

Crust

• 2 cups pecan nuts, walnuts, and/ore Brazil nuts (mixed)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 pinch lemon zest or cinnamon
• 1 pinch Salt

Filling

• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (from untreated, organic lemon)
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 2 cups pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin, red kuri pumpkin or butternut squash
• 1 cup cashew cream or coconut milk (the thick, creamy milk sold in cans, not the thinner coconut beverage sold in cartons)

Instructions

 

• Start with the crust: Lightly butter a pie dish and pre-heat oven to 325F. Place nuts and sugar in a food processor and grind into a fine powder. Add egg and process again until the ingredients start sticking together. Transfer nutty paste to pie dish and spread out evenly with lightly moistened fingertips. Freeze for 15 minutes, then bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Increase oven temperature to 400F.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the brown sugar, salt, spices—cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, cardamom, and lemon zest. Mix in the pumpkin purée. Stir in the cashew cream/coconut milk (whichever using). Beat together until everything is well mixed.
• Pour the filling into an uncooked pie shell. Bake at a high temperature of 400F for 15 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 350F. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes more, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (About half-way through the baking, you may want to put foil around the edges to keep the crust from getting too browned.)
• Cool the pumpkin pie on a wire rack for 2 hours. Note that the pumpkin pie will come out of the oven all puffed up (from the leavening of the eggs), and will deflate as it cools.