I was informed late yesterday that it was Pi day, 3.14, being the 14th of March.
So we made pie, with a twist. No butter, no pastry, no chocolate and no wheat flour (boring huh!). Just the raw flavours of banoffee, banana and toffee, made from hearty, whole ingredients. Jesse created a variation on caramel sauce, using honey and our favourite nut butter while I played around with the chocolate chunk {chickpea} cookie pie recipe to achieve something of a banoffee twist – banana, coconut flour and dates.
Following pie, we embarked into the midnight darkness and stood in awe beneath the geomagnetic storm, watching greens becomes purples, pirouetting across the sky; the jewels of a galaxy the complete upside-down opposite to those which we, and our fellow kiwi friends with whom we shared our evening, grew up with in the Southern Hemisphere.
Banoffee {Chickpea} Pie
Recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Serves 4 (call us ogres but there’s no getting 8 out of this)
1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
3 Tbsp coconut flour (specialty stores, such as Arctic Co Op in Yellowknife, or Well.ca stock this)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup applesauce
1 ripe banana
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
agave syrup to taste (optional)
1/2 cup dates
Blend all ingredients, except the dates, in a food processor until smooth. Add dates and pulse until chopped and mixed through. Pour into a lightly greased pie dish. Cook at 350˚F (180˚C) for around 35-40 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Slather in caramel sauce and garnish with a pitted date.
Caramel Sauce
Recipe from Healthful Pursuit
3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp almond butter (or any nut butter)
vanilla extract
Place honey in a small frying pan and heat on medium-low heat for 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a fork or spoon, until it begins to foam. Add nut butter and vanilla and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes, until big bubbles form and the mixture pulls away from the sides; the longer you cook it, the harder it will get. Two minutes was plenty for us; any more and it becomes like toffee on cooling.
Remove from heat and pour over pie.
All I can say is YUM !
Those Northern lights are AMAZING! Thanks for sharing the pics, as well as this very interesting pie… the caramel sauce sounds awesome.
It’s my dream to see Northern lights! Your photos reminded me of His Dark Materials No flour or butter in a pie!? Ouch!
Wow, what STUNNING photographs of the Northern Lights, Christina!! What majestic beauty!! Incredible photography. Fantastic shots!!
Aren’t they amazing! We are just so AWED by them. Thank you! They are SO hard to capture – so many photos practicing focus, timing, exposure etc. I do hope you get to visit the north sometime just to experience it.
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