I like this sunset picture because it has a hint of purple.

Last night for the third time, I dreamed about eating gluten. Two nights ago, I dreamed I was eating a sugary Christmas cookie. Last night, it was pie. Since both are holiday related, I suspect some part of me is either stressing I’m going to accidentally eat gluten, or I’m still mourning its loss.  In all the dreams , I’m eating something sweet. Funny because I thought bread would be the hardest thing for me to give up, but maybe it’s forgoing the occasional baked treat (especially anything homemade) that gets me down. Since I’m determined not to eat gluten this holiday season, I’m going to attempt to make a gluten-free pie for Thanksgiving dinner.  Last night’s dream sealed my fate.

I’m not much of a baker and I’ve never made a pie. I’ll be going to my stepmom’s for dinner so I won’t have control over the menu. She does try to accommodate my gluten-freeness, but I think gluten-free homemade baked goods would be too much to ask. She’s got her hands full this year and a houseful of people. My husband and I have done the big ‘ol turkey dinner a couple of times. I always feel like I’ve hiked up Mt. Whitney afterwards. In case you don’t know Mt. Whitney, it’s about 5 hours north of San Diego and the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.  Sometimes you need oxygen at the top. I’ve never done it, but that’s what I heard.

Here is a song by The Script that could be applied to climbing Mt. Whitney, cooking a Thanksgiving feast for a horde of hungry Howes, or me surviving the holidays without glutening myself.

So back to the pie. I think I’m going to need it to keep me honest. A quick search on Bing only confirmed that the pre-made gluten-free pie crusts aren’t delicious. Yuck was the word used most often. I skimmed the recipe for doing it from scratch and decided that would probably be too much for me being a first time pie maker. I fished out a recipe for Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie my mom got from Southern Living magazine about two decades ago. This isn’t the exact recipe my mom has handwritten for me on a yellow legal pad paper, but it’s close. I think the rich filling might be my best bet for disguising the questionable pie crust. I’m going to try to stick with my mom’s recipe.

I’ll let you know if it works. I honestly have no idea what will be available at the health food stores near my house in the way of gluten-free pie crusts, but I’m hopeful. Since two of the key ingredients are chocolate and bourbon how can I go wrong.