Sweet Potato Pie For Thanksgiving

During the colonial period, English settlers introduced their penchant for pies to the Americas. African Americans in the South acquired a taste for and the ability to make pies which they made both with the African yam and the American sweet potato. As slaves, African Americans only splurged on such rich desserts on holidays like Thanksgiving during the year. Thus, for many African Americans, sweet potato pie became associated with holidays. On these special days, slaves received time to cook pies. I’ve been modifying traditional recipes for years, trying to make them healthier. Here’s my own sweet potato pie recipe as best I can describe it because I am a cook it from scratch type of guy in the kitchen.



Fred's Sweet Potato Pie Recipe



Ingredients:

4 to 6 large baked organic sweet potatoes (My mother in law taught me that baking the sweet potato makes the pie come out better than boiling them which is what a lot of folks do. Like steaming, baking is also healthier than boiling because it preserves the water soluble vitamins in the sweet potatoes).

2 large eggs or egg substitutes

1 cup of the thickets best tasting vanilla soy milk you can fine (try Silk’s very vanilla, or Vitasoy Vanilla)

1-2 cups unprocessed sugar

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Dash of vanilla extract



Directions:

Mix the ingredients into a sweet potato purée add milk as needed to make a smooth but thick filling. Bake in a pie crust shell (remember add a little fiber to your crust recipe/http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/) at 375 degrees on lowest rack for 50 minutes, until filling has set. Cool on rack for one hour. Then transfer to refrigerator and chill completely.

Here is a link to several other pie ideas for Thanksgiving entitled: “10 To-Die-For Thanksgiving Pies” http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/Recipes/10-To-Die-For-Thanksgiving-Pies.html