Ojai & Pumpkin Pie (Fingers Crossed)

Olives surreptitiously foraged from a tree at our hotel in Ojai, waiting to be brined.

Last weekend: went to Ojai.
This week: made a pumpkin pie.

From the Ojai farmers' market: persimmons, pomegranate, avocado, & lemons

Salad made with watercress + persimmons + pomegranate + chick peas + pecans + red onion + red wine vinegar + hazelnut oil

Ranunculus!

A whole pumpkin in the oven to make puree for pie. How to: stab pumpkin a few times (horror movie sound effects),  then bake at 350˚ for an hour or until soft. Cut in half; cool; remove seeds; peel; mash. 

An unattractive pie crust (really hoping it comes together)

Pie after an hour in the oven (really, really hope it turns out)

For this pumpkin pie, I followed a new recipe which is a crazy thing to do when you're cooking for other people - pure folly. Especially when it's a national holiday. Fingers crossed it turns out ok.

Pumpkin Pie (adapted recipe from Sunset magazine):
2 cups pumpkin purée
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ginger root, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Bake crust at 375° until starting to brown, 25 to 30 minutes; cool. Whisk together all other ingredients. Pour mixture into tart shell. Reduce heat to 325°. Bake tarts until set and slightly puffed at edges, about 30 minutes (this took more than an hour for me). Cool 1 hour, then chill at least 2 hours.

Oh yeah, and the crust:
3 cups flour
1 TB sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cold, cubed butter

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter to form pea-size pieces. Mix in 2/3 cup very cold water with fork until moistened. Turn dough onto a work surface and gather into a ball, turning to combine any dry crumbs. Form into a disk, and chill at least 30 minutes (or overnight, or even freeze) in airtight container.