When we were growing up, my Mom always made an additional pumpkin pie during our Thanksgiving holiday to bring to St. Vincent de Paul’s soup kitchen. She somehow always ended up with too much filling and would portion out some of it into ramekins and bake them alongside of the pumpkin pies for us kids. We were so desperate to break into the pies the night before Thanksgiving that she appeased us with these little cups of Crustless Pumpkin Pie. I remember eating them in our dark kitchen the night before Thanksgiving with nothing but the glow of the oven to light the way.
I haven’t made pumpkin pie since my mom died. I’ve actually had a hard time eating it. When my Dad found my Mom dying in the kitchen a day before Thanksgiving, she was in the process of making pumpkin pies for the family & the soup kitchen. Her pies were never finished. She made the filling and that was it. She died while doing something out of pure love for her family so it’s hard to not feel emotional about it.
The holidays are unfortunately a time when food and grief are intertwined. As a way to help process grief, I thought it might be nice to recreate that crustless pumpkin pie my Mom used to make for us.
I made a dairy/egg free on a whim and OH MY GOD it is hard to taste the difference. Pure alchemy! I almost ate half of it on my own. I am happy that I found a recipe that would please my anti-carb Dad and my oldest brother who is vegan. My Mom was always so accomodating of anyone’s dietary needs and I’m happy to be that person in our family now. If someone was gluten-free in the family, they would be covered too! Pumpkin pie without all of the crust fuss. Everyone wins.
