We have a large pond system on our land but we leave that to the frogs and ducks in the summer and the lemon-sized tadpoles in the winter. It’s silty and deliciously dark, but not suitable for bathing. Instead, we go to the lake down the road and rustle water in big blue jugs. It takes about four trips to secure enough water to fill the hot tub. Brian braves the ice and freezing water temperature while I ferry jugs back and forth in the car. It’s not an easy task but so worth the effort. Especially at night when the stars and moon grace us with a show. Sometimes it’s hard to see through the steam off the water in the tub, or find your glass of wine in the dark, but we do our best. 

What? Yes. Many things. Like building a website for my new writing project which I can’t tell you about right now. (How’s that for suspense?) And musing over my work in progress. And thinking about the comic strip I want to write. And building a shed (two walls currently stand). And planning some wonderful confection for my friend Cathy’s wedding in September. And gardening. Oh, the gardening.

Needless to say, none of this is moving me closer to meeting my current deadline. I just have to put all these things aside and keep my nose to the proverbial grind until that first draft is done. Because I’m running out of time, dear reader. That much is evident.

The truth is, this WIP of mine is tricksy and petulant. It’s mad at me, and as a result, refuses to talk. Really, it’s just responding to my own ability for distraction. It is summer, after all.

But again, no excuses. I WILL, I MUST tend to my WIP. Because saying it makes it so, no?

But here I am: starting another official page. So far, 31 likes. I have a big hill to climb to get back to where I was.

How did I come up with the idea to make pie out of squash? Well, my husband loves pie more than any other kind of dessert. He wanted pumpkin, but all I had was butternut squash. Not to be defeated, I baked the squash and went ahead as though baking a pumpkin pie. To my astonishment, the squash pie was phenomenal. Never satisfied with first attempts, I tweaked and adjusted the ingredients to create the best possible recipe. I’m not too shy to say that this recipe is great. In fact, this pie may very well be the best thing you’ve ever tasted – gluten-free or otherwise. Bold statement, I know. But don’t take my word for it. Bake one for yourself. And be sure to share with friends. Now, roll up your sleeves and repurpose that squash!

Superior Squash Pie with short crust (gluten-free)

One medium-sized butternut squash
1 cup of brown sugar
1 package of softened cream cheese
5-6 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbl arrowroot flour
1/4 tsp salt

*fresh grated nutmeg (to be grated on top of the pie just before baking

Remove the stem of the squash and cut in half, cleaning the seeds from the center with a spoon. Place face down on a parchment-lined sheet and bake at 400 degrees until soft. It’s okay and even desirable if you forget about the squash and it gets a little blackened around the edges – this adds to the flavour! Remove from the oven when done and let cool to the touch then remove the skin.

Place the prepared squash in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cream cheese and process again until creamy and smooth. Add sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt and arrowroot flour and process on slow until blended, then medium-high until uniform. Set aside.

Short Crust

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup ground almond flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of room temperature butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place the dry ingredients in a deep bowl and blend together with a fork. Add the softened butter and cut in with a pastry cutter until the mix is course but uniform. Form into a ball and place on two floured sheets of wax paper overlapped in the middle to create one bigger sheet. Sprinkle some flour over the pastry and roll into an even sheet about 1/4 inch thick. Place pie plate at the edge of the wax paper and carefully lift the pastry with the wax paper and flip it into the pie plate. Remove the wax paper and flute the edge of the crust.

Add filling and smooth it into the crust. Finely grate some fresh nutmeg evenly over the top of the filling. Bake at 325 for 45 min – 1 hour. Pie is done when cracks appear in the filling. Cool on a wire rack, preferably overnight, covering the pie with a clean cotton tea towel. Enjoy plain or with a dollop of whipped cream.