The Great Pumpkin Pie Adventure

For the last three months, my host mom and i have have been eagerly talking about and planning the little bit of American culture I had planned on sharing Thursday, November 24th--Thanksgiving! I'd compiled my recipes and decided on what dishes to prepare and which weren't even worth making in a house of picky eaters, and I'd even figured out where to get my turkey. Well, unlike in America, that third week in November is not reserved solely for a great turkey feast and as the day drew closer, more and more things were added to the week's schedule.

By the time Thanksgiving week arrived, it was quite obvious that to try and commit to a Thanksgiving dinner despite the chaotic schedules would only assure stress and disappointment. So, determined to not let Thanksgiving pass unnoticed, Mama and I took it upon ourselves to make an American pumpkin pie! Now, before you roll your eyes at the simplicity of our little task, let me tell you that in Germany, canned pumpkin doesn't exist and because baked goods are the pride of German cuisine, store bought pie crusts are a foreign concept.

 
That being said, we hauled the pumpkin upstairs and sat him on the kitchen counter...if only he knew what a noble cause he would be serving :-) I was disappointed that I wasn't able to help with the beginning on the task as I had school--yes, on Thanksgiving--but I left the recipe and instructions with Mama and hurried home after school. The pumpkin was baked, but I took up the task of scooping the flesh from the skin and blending the pumpkin into a bowl of orange goo. I'll admit it didn't look so appetizing :-)

Mama wanted a picture of me with my mess

A beautiful crust is hard enough with a regular pie pan!

At one point I look around the kitchen to find pumpkin everywhere! In a good way though :-) I helped with what I could but at 4:00 had to leave for over and hour to be briefed on my upcoming babysitting job. I returned home ready to start the crust and get that sucker in the oven! But Mama beat me to it and in the oven was a perfectly American pumpkin pie baking on a perfectly Swiss pie crust. We called it our Swerican pumpkin pie. :-)

An hour later--we crossed out fingers and pulled him out of the oven--SUCCESS! The pumpkin flavor was even better than I'd remembered and the Swiss crust wasn't too different from what I was used to and definitely added a memorable touch to our little adventure. Mama was nervous it was going to be nothing like what I was used to, but I assured her that it was even better :-)

Now came the most difficult part of our task--convincing those that this creamy orange mess of sugar and a vegetable was actually worth trying. The adults reluctantly tried it to be polite and the response was the same among all, "wow, it's better than I thought." Only one of my siblings, Christian, was willing to try it, and not because he's the best eater, but because he has the biggest heart. It was very sweet and he actually said he liked it and wanted more :-)

The next day I made a second pumpkin pie and we stuck the remaining pumpkin in the freezer. Mama said she liked it but not for every week. I assured her it wasn't every week that Americans ate it but that sometime around December 25th I might just need to pull a little bit of that pumpkin out the freezer :-)