by Kate 

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, which was one of my favourite holidays when I lived in Canada. Unlike our neighbours to the south, our thanksgiving holiday is a harvest festival, a day, according to the official proclamation, of “General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.”

So, in short, our holiday is mostly about food.

Delicious, delicious, full roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce and potatoes and vegetables and gravy food.

However, the cream of the crop, the queen of the table, the piece de resistance is, of course, the pumpkin pie.

One of my authors asked if I would share our secret family recipe for Pumpkin Pie, and in the spirit of thankfulness and generosity and recognising the many, many blessings in my life, I’m delighted to post it below.

Go forth and pie, my friends, and wherever you live, in these days of too little compassion and too much greed, give thanks for all the good in your lives.

Pumpkin pie

1 large cup mashed pumpkin
2 rounded tbsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
nutmeg

2 pie shells of your choice, set aside (number of pies will depend on the size of the shells – this recipe can be used to make pumpkin tarts as well)

Preheat oven to 230C. Sift all the dry ingredients together except the nutmeg, and stir in the pumpkin. Beat the milk and egg together, and add slowly to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend. The combined result will be very wet. Pour into the pie shell, until just below the edge of the shell. Sprinkle nutmeg across the top. Cook at 230C for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 175C and cook for 40 minutes more, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm or cool with whipped cream. For a true Canadian experience, serve drizzled in maple syrup.