December has definitely arrived with the declaration of several inches of snow in our area this past weekend. I was pretty excited on Saturday while if was snowing because I always like the first real snow. That being said, it won’t take me long to get over it! I think I’m in for a long Winter. Do you look forward to the first time it snows? Or maybe you live in an area where you don’t even get any snow. I think that Christmas would be a little strange without snow but otherwise I wouldn’t mind it.
On Saturday night I went on a trolley ride that was supposed to be a holiday lights tour. While it was fun (they served wine and champagne 😉 ), I was surprised that the majority of people didn’t have any Holiday lights up around their houses. I know that it’s a lot of work for the short period of time that they’re up (unless you ‘forget’ to take them down..), but was still surprised. It was nice because it was still snowing but there were some hills on the route covered in snow that I wasn’t sure the trolley would make up! They had to back up a couple of times when the tires started spinning. At least we didn’t have to get out and push…
Enough about my weekend though. No one guessed what the fruit that I used in the pie recipe is, so I will just tell you! Persimmon. I had heard of Persimmons before this year but hadn’t actually tried them until recently. There are usually two varieties available in stores, the Hachiya and Fuyu. I bought both and used a combination in this recipe. I think that main difference is that the Hachiya is more ‘astringent’ when it isn’t ripe and leaves this really strange, chalky coating on your tongue. Because of this, try to buy the Hachiya when it’s soft to the touch. I preferred the Fuyu for taste because I’m impatient and didn’t want to worry about it ripening.
 The following pie comes together quickly in a blender or food processor. The crust is equally easy to make and compliments the filling well, but if you really want to make it simple, a graham cracker crust would work fine too. However, check the nutrition labels if you do! A lot of graham cracker crusts still have trans fat in them so you definitely want to avoid that because it is the worst type of fat for you to consume (it actually raises your ‘bad’ cholesterol levels).
Persimmon Coconut Pie
Filling:
- 1 ½ cups of chopped persimmon + 1 whole Persimmon
- 6 ounces of firm Silken Tofu (about ½ of a box of Mori-Nu)
- 1 tbsp. of Brown Rice Syrup
- 1/8 cup Sucanat or Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp. of Vanilla Extract
- 3 Dried Dates
- 2Â tsp. of Coconut Spread or Oil
-  ¾ cup Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 tsp. of Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp. of Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp. of Ground Cardamom
- 1 ½ tsp. of Orange Zest
-  ¼ cup of Shredded Coconut
- 1 tsp. of Baking Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp. of Salt
Crust:
- 10 Dried Dates
-  ¼ cup of Pecan Halves
-  ½ cup of Old Fashioned Oats
-  ¼ cup of Shredded Coconut
-  ¼ tsp. of Ground Cardamom
-  ½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- 1 pinch of Salt
- 2 tsp. Coconut Spread or Oil
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
– Preheat oven to 350 F.
– In a blender or food processor combine the ingredients for the crust.
– Spray a pie dish with cooking spray. Put the crust mixture in the pie dish and use a small rolling-pin or spatula to press the crust along the bottom and up the sides (it should not go all the way to the top).
– Slice the whole persimmon into thin rounds and line the pie crust with about half of them. Reserve the other half.
– Process all filling ingredients in the blender.
– Pour the filling into the pie dish (it will completely cover the pie crust). Top with remaining Persimmon slices.
– Bake for one hour and then cool completely before serving.
Twin Taste 