Family Dinner + Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie

Hey friends! Since the blog-world’s been rather quiet today, I’m assuming everyone’s had a stellar Sunday full of fun.

Breakfast (which was so late it was definitely a brunch/ lunch) was unphotographed because I was ravenous! Kashi Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters cereal with soymilk, some grapes, and an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter.

Dinner was a family affair of awesome food!

I prepared a separate vegan “main dish” for myself. I used some Whole Foods vegan baked beans and baked some tofu cubes (Caitlin style!) to add in. (I’m sorry the picture is so unappealing!)

The family had grilled lemon pepper turkey breast as their entree. Sides included grilled asparagus:

Roasted potatoes:

Baked sweet potato fries (special request from my sister’s boyfriend):

And some water rolls for the fam and multigrain bread for me (the water rolls had an egg wash so I couldn’t eat them):

My plate (plus some unpictured multigrain bread and watermelon).

Dinner was delicious! After dinner the fam went to a local park to try to see if any deer were out. They weren’t, but we still had fun walking around.

Now. Dessert.

Everyone else enjoyed my mom’s delicious chocolate truffle cheesecake – it is amazing. And I’m going to be honest with you. I really wanted a slice. Even knowing I would have awful tummy pains later and be a mess – I still wanted it. I knew that if I just tried to say no without a vegan option of my own, I would be cranky and resent the situation. So I made my own vegan dessert.

I was trying for a vegan chocolate cheesecake, but that has some work that needs to be done. This turned out more as a vegan chocolate cream pie.

CRUST:

• 1 sleeve graham crackers
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Process the graham crackers and cocoa powder in a food processor. Add the canola oil to get a crumbly texture and pat into an 8 or 9 inch pie pan.

FILLING:

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1, 8-oz. container of Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese

Whisk together a small amount of the coconut milk and the cornstarch. Whisk all ingredients except the Tofutti cream cheese together. Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer over a medium-low heat. You want the mixture to thicken up. When the coconut mixture is thickened, use a hand mixer to whip it with the Tofutti cream cheese. Pour into the pie crust and let chill until set (mine was good after 4-5 hours).

I want to experiment with this a little more (i.e. try using agave instead of sugar, maybe use less agave) but it was incredibly tasty, and it was definitely a dessert that will not leave vegans or lactose-intolerants wanting more. Even the “regular eaters” of the household liked it.

Ok, well I am off to finish watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith on tv with the fam. See you all tomorrow! (I may not blog until tomorrow night after we’re back in Gainesville). See you then!