Sooo, most of the time, although there is always a healthy rant waiting just around the corner, things here are generally covered in cocoa powder and sprinkled with glittery, shiny stuff. Well, the truth is that I’ve been a bit, scattered, lately. The daily grind seems to be getting the better of me and my little corner of the interwebz is taking the brunt of the resultant neglect…
It started somewhere around February or March when my laptop [that had not been backed up since November] died an ugly, entirely un-recoverable death – I’ve yet to go back through old camera cards to get a full picture [pardon the pun] of the damage. Somewhere around the end of April things were slightly back on track and I even had a bit of an editorial plan going… until the day job hijacked three or four weeks of May with 14 hour days and I started running in circles like a chook with its head cut off. Before I knew it my birthday had come and gone, RJs birthday had come and gone and all of a sudden 2012 is half over. Cue a slight panic attack on my part.
There are at least 30 folders of un-edited photos for un-written posts of recipes I desperately want to show you, cookbooks to give away and restaurants that are too delicious not to be shared. There is an enormous backlog of my favourite blogs that I haven’t been able to visit much less comment on. I haven’t talked to my best girlfriends in weeks or longer and it’s better for everyone if we don’t even mention the state of my 1000+ unread inbox…
Anyway, RJ and I have a few adventures on the horizon and there is bound to be some tasty morsels involved. In the meantime I’m hoping to get on top of everything some of it, soon. Thanks to everyone who keeps stopping by even though posts are slightly random these days and thanks for the lovely comments – especially from those coming back to say they’ve made something and loved it, I get such a kick out of sharing food with you!
So after making your way through all that slightly self-indulgent-ranty stuff the least I can do is share pie – ha!
A while back I made a Pink Pie – and was slightly shocked that people actually wanted to try the crazy combination of flavours. In that post I lamented that after a brief flirtation with the ancient purple carrot I had not been able to locate any more. About a month later I found them in not one but two different locations. Purple Pie was back on the menu.
Something quite significant also occurred right around that same time. RJ and I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of when we met. 10 years. Unbelievable. I turned to him on the morning of the anniversary and said ‘how the hell did that happen?‘ – I meant it in the best possible way, he shrugged and laughed.
10 years. Nearly 20 overseas trips. Thousands of miles of road-trip driving. Hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles. Two countries with 10 or so residences of longer than 2 weeks. And more cake than you could dream of. I can only imagine what we’ll get up to in the next 10.
But back to the carrots, I may have been slightly overzealous in my purchasing once I found them and as a result managed to created this Purple Carrot Pie and a Purple Carrot Cake all in one day. These pie pics are a bit dodgy but both creations were delicious, as a matter of fact I could go for either just about now.
So tell me, have you ever cooked with purple carrots and is this year running away from you as fast as it is me?
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Purple Carrot Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 c purple carrot puree*
- 1 c smooth apple sauce, no-sugar added
- 1 1/2 c almond or oat milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp honey, agave or rice syrup
- 1 quantity Almond Pie Crust, pre-baked or 1 quantity Whole Spelt Pie Crust, unbaked
- Whipped coconut cream, to serve
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C [350F]. Whisk all filling ingredients together until smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust or tart shells*. Bake until centre barely jiggles, about 30 minutes for tarts or 50-60 minutes for a standard pie.
Allow to cool completely before cutting. Serve with Whipped Coconut Cream. Share with someone you love.
*Notes:
- Recipe makes enough filling for one standard size pie. I made 6 tarts instead and had some left over filling which I baked along with the tarts in a shallow dish. I then ate all the extra filling directly from the extra baking dish while sitting on the lounge, this is not a new thing.
- Steam carrots approximately 10-15 minutes until very soft, puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor until smooth.
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That looks fantastic – amazing colour. I would have thought it might lose some colour in baking, but clearly not!
Thanks Tina, it definitely got darker but stayed very purple!
This year is going so fast! JJ, good on you for making us these gorgeous little pies with such awesome colour! I once made purple carrot soup which is really unadventurous compared to these! Hope you get to take a bit of a break soon to unwind 🙂
Oh, now I must make Purple Carrot Soup!!! What a fab idea! Thanks, me too 🙂
I love purple carrots! Probably just because of their exciting colour but they’re great.
I love your little pies. I can’t believe you call that dodgy photography though. Your photos are fantastic!
Cheers Claire, I must admit, the colour is a large part of my obsession – ha!
JJ these are very special and not just cause my favourite colour is purple. They look cute and perfect too
Oh I can’t go past things that are purple 🙂 What a fantastic pie indeed!
Wishing you another fun filled 10 years with Mr RJ 🙂
Aww thanks!
WOW – they look delightful – the colour is just amazing ! well done 🙂 I wish I could try one…Do they taste “carroty” or more wholesome kinda of apple taste?
🙂 The apple really just adds sweetness more than flavour, the pie was carrot-y in the same way a pumpkin pie is pumpkin-y – if that makes sense!
“There are at least 30 folders of un-edited photos for un-written posts of recipes I desperately want to show you, cookbooks to give away and restaurants that are too delicious not to be shared. There is an enormous backlog of my favourite blogs that I haven’t been able to visit much less comment on. I haven’t talked to my best girlfriends in weeks or longer and it’s better for everyone if we don’t even mention the state of my 1000+ unread inbox…”
Oh man. I know this feeling. It is a very scary feeling. Here’s to getting back on top of everything!!
Great to see a post on purple carrots. I’ve been checking them out at Coles but I’m too intimidated to try anything with them lol
Can this be served for savory (i.e. with chicken) as a side dish or is it really for dessert?
Great question! As is in this recipe it is sweet but I have made it before spiced with cumin and using less apple sauce and it was perfect as a savory side!
Wow! JJ those look really good! I’m loving the purple-carrot hue! And a belated happy anniversary to you and RJ! We’re on the same boat – blog posts waiting to be written, recipes shared and photos to be uploaded! But I’m sure you’re already back on track by the time winter is over! xx
Nice job. And happy anniversary!
i love this! love cooking sweets with unusual foods and the color, awesome! thanks for sharing 🙂
Sounds very interesting. I haven’t tried it yet, but plan to. I am sure that I have seen purple carrots before, probably at a local natural foods market. Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods might have them when in season. I am curious if the flavor of purple carrots is any different than orange ones? I have tried yellow carrots before and didn’t notice a difference in flavor, but I don’t know if it requires a ‘trained tastebud’ to tell the difference. Also, is there any difference nutritionally between a purple and an orange carrot? I thinking there probably is some difference. I am looking forward to trying this recipe, and I like that you sweetened it with agave nectar. I am a diabetic and have been having fun experimenting with agave in homemade ice creams and sorbets. In my mind I’m tossing around ideas for a vegetable sorbet. Does that sound weird? I was thinking of cucumber with maybe some cilantro or dill weed in it. I haven’t tried it yet either. got work to do. Have had some great successes and a couple of flops. Having fun though, for sure and my blood sugars are showing the difference! 🙂 Thanks for the original ideas! Please keep them coming!