VeganMoFo Day 14 Pumpkin Mousse

Thanksgiving in less than two weeks away. Since it's just the three of us and neither have now nor ever have been turkey eaters, we rarely do up a big holiday meal. One year we had mac & cheese, a few others (Maybe even again this year) we had lasagna. 

But I do try have a special holiday themed dessert, not on the day of the holiday itself but to share with the elderly relative I wrote about yesterday when we visit her the day or 2 after a holiday (We don't drive on holidays so she's used to late celebrations with us). Last year it was pumpkin pie, and unfortunately I had blood work drawn just 2 days after we had it and boy, was my cardiologist mad when my triglycerides were up higher than 2 months before! According to him, I should never have any dessert ever again, not even a McDougall-approved one, not even plain fruit, and not even for a holiday with a 92 year old relative. Sounds like my childhood all over again, when I was constantly on a 1000 calorie diet.

Sorry, doc, but that ain't gonna happen! Maybe after the old lady dies, but not until then.

Oh, and my trigs were only 16 points out of the normal range. They were much higher than that just a year before while eating 100% McDougall MWLP.

This year, because she's been having problems with her partial denture, I'm going to make something nice and soft. It's a recipe I found on a weight loss forum last year and I'm going to whip up a batch of it either today or tomorrow as a trial before the big day. The gal who posted it said it came from a friend of a friend who found it on-line on "some newsletter" so I have no idea what the real origin of the recipe is or who to credit it to. 

I've made tofu based puddings before so it won't be weird to me, but when I give it to my husband to test I'm not telling him what it's made from. If he can't tell it's soy based the old aunt won't either. 

Direction change: I'll probably just dump everything but the cookies into the food processor to whip up - why switch from blender to bowl and whisk? All my other tofu based puddings go into the food processor alone.

Pumpkin Mousse with Gingersnap Crumbs

1 10 oz package Silken tofu (soft variety)
1/2 cup Maple syrup
1 tsp Grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1 Pinch Ground cloves
1 Pinch Salt
3 cups Solid pack pumpkin or fresh cooked pumpkin (29 oz. can)
8 Gingersnaps cookies, crushed with rolling pin

Place everything except pumpkin and gingersnaps in a blender, and puree until smooth. Add half the pumpkin and puree again. 

Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and beat remaining pumpkin with a whisk until the mixture becomes uniformly creamy. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice. 

Cover tightly and chill for several hours or overnight, so the flavors combine and deepen. 

To serve, spoon the mousse into bowls and sprinkle with gingersnap crumbs. Serve immediately so crumbs don't turn soggy.