Banana "Cream" Pie

from Eileen Kupstas Soo (kupstas@cs.unc.edu) (Adapted from The Food Allergy Cookbook)

This recipe can be varied by adding other things - coconut, etc. If there are ingredients here that you can not eat, try substituting ones you can.

1/2 cup sugar
6 Tbs. corn starch (or substitute other thickener)
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cups nut milk OR coconut milk, thinned with water a bit
   (see recipes below)
2 well-beaten eggs or egg substitute in equivalent amount**
1 tsp. vanilla
3 very ripe bananas
Optional: pie shell, cooked and ready to go

Mix the sugar, salt, and cornstarch in the top of a double boiler* until the cornstarch lumps are gone. Slowly add the nut milk, stirring constantly. Stir constantly for 8 to 12 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. Cover and cook 10 more minutes. Take about one cup of the milk mixture and slowly add to the beaten eggs; you want to avoid cooking the eggs. Now add the egg-milk mixture back into the rest of the milk mixture. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring often. Do not overcook. The mixture will thicken as it cools. Cool slightly then stir to release steam. Add vanilla and stir in well. Let cool until warm to the touch.

If you are making a pie, get out a cooked pie shell. If you are using a bowl, get that out. Alternate layers of sliced bananas and warm mixture, making sure each banana slice is coated. If the bananas aren't coated they turn a yucky purple-gray, but still taste okay. If the bananas are added while the mixture is too hot, they turn tough. If the mixture is too cool, the banana essence doesn't permeate the custard.

*You can substitute a heat-proof bowl over a pot of hot water for the double boiler; you just need to have a lid that fits for later. The custard will stick if you do not use a double boiler.
** you can use egg substitute here (ex. Ener-G egg replacer) with adequate results, but the pie won't be quite the same.

Nut Milk
Yield: 2 cups

This can be used to replace milk in recipes that taste odd when made with commercial soy or rice milks. I use this for custards and puddings, since soy milk can take on a nutty taste when used in these. It is fine to drink, also. The fat content depends upon the type and quantity of nuts used. More nuts in proportion to water give a richer milk. This is somewhere between whole milk and half-and-half in richness.
1 cup + approx. two tablespoons almonds (blanched*) or raw cashews
------- use less for a less rich milk (1/2 cup = skim milk?)
2 1/2 cups water

Put nuts and water in a blender. Blend approximately 2 minutes (more or less, depending on your blender.)The nuts should be pulverized.) Strain the resulting mixture to remove the nut chunks. (I use a mesh coffee filter [ex. Melitta gold filter and a rubber spatula to force the liquid through. Paper coffee filters are too fine, and kitchen sieves are too coarse.) This makes 2 cups, approximately.
*blanching the almonds (dipping in hot water for 30 seconds then removing the brown skins results in a much prettier milk. The little brown flecks don't filter out so well.

Rice Milk
Contributed by Mary

2 cups rice
4 cups water
Rinse rice to clean. Pour 4 cups boiling water over rice and let soak for 1 to 2 hours. Blend 1 cup soaked rice with 2 1/2 cups water (can be cold water). Blend rice to a slurry (not a smooth liquid);pour into a pot and repeat with rest of rice. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Line colander with nylon tricot or a few layers of cheesecloth. Put bowl under colander and pour rice mix in colander. Another cup of
Water, more or less, can be poured over the rice to get out more milk. Press with the back of a spoon, then twist nylon and squeeze out as much milk as possible .
This milk is very plain and can be flavored with oil, vanilla, salt, etc.

Coconut Milk

This is hardly a recipe, just an idea that works.

Canned coconut milk
Water
Thin the coconut milk until you get the consistency you need. About equal water will get a reasonable milk substitute. The coconut taste isn't very strong after cooking, surprisingly enough.

Here's another milk substitute.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute
from Sherree Cook

Here's another milk substitute.

For one cup of sweetened condensed milk, blend:
3/4 cup Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
1/4 cup honey

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