What did the turkey say before it was roasted?

Answer: Boy! I'm stuffed!

Thanksgiving was last week and like the last 5 years, I celebrated it from afar.  And no, Australia doesn't recognise or celebrate Thanksgiving.  There were no Pilgrim settlers and Native American tribes giving thanks for a bountiful harvest Down Under in 1621.  So dinner is usually on the weekend because Thursday is not a public holiday and it's always HOT.  I never noticed that all the food that goes into a Thanksgiving Dinner are oven-baked until my first Thanksgiving in Australia in 90-degree-heat!  This year was no different so while the turkey was roasting, the A/C was set on 'Artic'.

Cooking for Thanksgiving without the basic ingredients like Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin,  French's French Fried Onions, Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and Stove Top Stuffing is also a challenge.  The first year I ordered supplies from http://www.usafoods.com.au/ which is a great website for us ex-pats to get a taste of home (He-lo, Doritos Cool Ranch) .  The years that followed, mostly due to lack of preparation, I slowly built-up my copycat recipes and came to realization that what's more giving thanks for a bountiful harvest than making pumpkin pie from scratch.  So here's my receipe using real pumpkins:

Ingredients
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Crust:
2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup shortening (Copha for those in Australia)
1/2 cup cold water

• Halve a Kent pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits.  Cut the pumpkin into chunks.  In a sauce pan,  in 1 inch of water, heat the pumpkin (peel too) to boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.  Drain, cool, remove the peel (you should be able to peel it off easily), and mash.  I used a food processor.

• Pre-heat oven to 400F or 200c
• Prepare pie crust by mixing together the flour and salt.  Cut the shortening into the flour.  Add 1 tbsp cold water to the mixture at a time.  Mix dough and repeat until dough is moist enough to hold together.
• With lightly floured hands shape the dough into a ball.  On a lightly floured board, roll the dough to 1/8" thickness.  With a sharp knife, cut dough 1 1/2 inch larger than a round upside down pan.  Gently transfer dough into the round pan.

• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour into prepared pie crust and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.