No More Dessert?!

But what can I eat during exams or after a bad breakup, if sugar and chocolate are no longer there to get me through?! First of all don’t panic. The rule is merely avoiding desserts that are made in restaurants or found in food stores. Sugary treats, like Swedish fish, are still safe, as is dark chocolate, and can save you when you’re short on time. Otherwise, there is rarely a dessert that you can’t make. Don’t get me wrong, it will be nearly impossible to enjoy another canola (unless you know a pastry chef that can figure out a way to make the cream sans diary), but most desse rts you won’t have to give up forever. For ten years, my mom was able to enjoy only a nibble of pumpkin pie and even that was with four lactaid pills. However last week, I took to experimenting. The main ingredient in pumpkin pie that makes it indigestible for us is the evaporated milk. However, after trying a couple versions, I found that lactaid whole milk works just as well. Many of my friends tried it and found no difference. They were thrilled to have homemade pumpkin pie and had no idea that I had completely changed the recipe so I could enjoy it with them! Here’s a copy of the recipe:

Ingredients

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1 (15 ounce) can Pumpkin

1 (12 fluid ounce) can Evaporated Milk (or 12 ounces Lactaid Whole Milk)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. (Do not freeze as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)

Some of the other desserts I’ve made (with slight alternations of course) are elclairs (even with the creamy filling, I still was able to make them), red velvet cake (usually has buttermilk), Peppermint Chocolate Roll, even Ice Cream Sandwiches (Lactaid ice cream will never cease to amaze me)!