Gluten-Free Blueberry Corn Muffins

I was unexpectedly successful at inventing a recipe today!  I love when this happens.  It's a huge kitchen-confidence booster.  This is also a recipe that falls into an uncharted category for me- gluten-free baking.  On a GF-familiar friend's suggestion, I used Pamela's baking and pancake mix for this recipe.  I don't have enough GF experience to try creating my own GF flour mixture, yet.

The idea for this recipe came from my desire to recreate a muffin I had at Ravens Restaurant in Mendocino.  This recipe didn't come close to replicating that one, but it did successfully create a tasty blueberry corn muffin.  As with all GF baked goods I've ever had, I can't say this muffin truly compares to the real thing.  It is good for what it is, though; and, it's a healthier alternative to regular muffins.  I plan on playing with and tweaking this recipe over the next few weeks to refine it.  I'd love feedback from some of my gluten-free readers.  If anyone tries this recipe out, please comment letting me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.

Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Corn Muffins

1 tablespoon chia seeds (you can leave them whole or grind them.  I used a mortar and pestle, but I       can't promise I actually did anything to them)
3 tablespoons almond milk
1 cup Pamela's baking & pancake mix (or GF flour mix of your choice)
1 cup cornmeal 
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
4.4 ounces organic blueberries


Directions:


1.  In a small dish, combine chia seeds with almond milk.  Stir and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
2.  Preheat oven to 375 F
3.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine Pamela's baking mix, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to make sure ingredients are evenly distributed.
4.  In a small bowl, combine agave nectar, applesauce, olive oil, and almond extract.  Stir well.
5.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir vigorously until well incorporated.
6.  Add the (now goopy) chia seed mixture to the batter and mix in well.  Then fold in blueberries.
7.  Spray a muffin pan with oil and distribute batter into the spaces, filling 3/4 full.
8.  Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes, until they turn golden on top.  Makes about 6 muffins.

Serve warm or cooled.  I liked mine best warm from the oven with a spread of earth balance.

Strawberry Shortcake With Whipped Coconut Cream

My favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake.  Actually, I'm pretty sure most desserts are my favorite.  Today, as I was in between things I spent some time looking at food porn on Pinterest.  It got the better of me, and I decided that I had to make something new.  I have had a bottle of strawberry extract in my baking cupboard for over a year (ok, more like two) and have never found a reason to use it.  I also had several cans of chilled coconut milk and a big bag of strawberries left over from Sunday's garden party.  So, with the perishable ingredients in desperate need of a reason to have lived, I decided to make strawberry shortcakes.

This was a very quick dessert to whip up, taking only about 30 minutes total.  This recipe makes 8 shortcakes.


Strawberry Shortcakes with Whipped Coconut Cream
recipe by Emily Haydel


Ingredients:


For the shortcake:

2 cups   all purpose flour
4 Tbs    baking powder
3/4 tsp   salt
2 Tbs    sugar
2 Tbs    earth balance (or other non-dairy margarine)
2 Tbs    earth balance (melted)
2 Tbs    non-hydrogenated shortening (I use spectrum brand)
3/4 cup soy creamer
1 pint    strawberries tops removed and sliced

For the whipped coconut cream:**

2 cans      full fat coconut milk chilled in the fridge over-night
1/2 tsp     xanthan gum (you can find this in the baking aisle of most health stores)*
3/4 cup    powdered sugar
1 tsp        vanilla extract (Or extract of your choice.  For this recipe I used strawberry AND vanilla)

Directions for the whipped coconut cream:

1.  Remove cans from the fridge carefully- hold them level and don't turn upside down

2.  Open the cans.  The coconut milk will have separated.  The cream will be at the top.  Scoop this out into a mixing bowl.  Do not add the coconut water, you want this to be thick and creamy.

3.  Whisk the coconut cream in the bowl until it is smooth.  Add the xanthan gum, powdered sugar and whisk again until  the mixture becomes thick and fluffy

4.  Add the vanilla (or other extract) and whisk again.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Directions for the shortcakes:


1.  Heat oven to 450 degrees F


2.  Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to blend.

3.  Add earth balance and shortening and pulse until the flour looks a little grainy, like course cornmeal.

4.  Pour flour mixture into a bowl and stir in soy cream.

5.  Drop by heaping spoonful onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush on melted earth balance.  Bake for 15 minutes.

6.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire cooling rack.

7.  Suddenly remember you need to get the dog to the vet's in 10 minutes.

8.  Rush around like a crazy person looking for your phone and keys.

9.  Find your keys and give up on the phone, take the dog to the vet

10.  Return from the vet with a healthier dog, wash your hands, and return to the kitchen to assemble your shortcakes.

11.  Slice the shortcakes horizontally.  Place a layer of sliced strawberries on the bottom layer.  Put a heaping spoonful of the whipped coconut cream on top of that.  Top with another layer of strawberries and replace the cap of the shortcake.  Serve at once and call it dinner, if you like.

*A word about xanthan gum:  Xanthan gum is often used in baking as a binding agent.  It is quite expensive, but a very little goes a very long way.  I use it pretty frequently in things that need to have a thick, custard-like texture.  I'm going to keep using it because it gives me an excuse to use the letter "x" in my blog.


**Whipped coconut cream is my vegan answer to whipped cream.  It has a slight coconut flavor to it that I think works well in fruity and chocolatey concoctions.

Cake vs. Pie

Last night two of my friends hosted a Cake vs. Pie baking competition as a shared birthday party.  Everyone brought a cake or pie to enter in the competition.  I made a cake inspired by my favorite girl-scout cookie, the Samoa:

To make this cake, I layered the batters of half a yellow cake and half a chocolate cake into a glass pie dish and had a small round tart pan in the center to shape the cake with a hole in the middle.  It is frosted with a thick, sticky caramel glaze which I mixed with toasted coconut.  I used the remaining coconut to cover the top and make a crispy outer layer.  Finally, I carefully dressed the cake with a chocolate drizzle in the same style as its little cookie cousin.
Ralph decided to make a banoffee pie to bring to the party:

Banoffee pie is a graham cracker (biscuit) crust layered with sliced bananas, filled with thick caramel (toffee), topped with freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of shaved chocolate.  Unfortunately, he accidentally bought regular condensed milk instead of the sweetened variety; and, after several hours of boiling, he opened the cans to find boiled milk instead of thick caramel.  It was very disappointing because he didn't have time for a do-over before the party.  Fortunately for me, he decided to make it today instead and I finally got to try the English delicacy.  I may or may not have eaten two slices and called it dinner.  This pie is amazing, but sadly not vegan.  I would like to say here that I will make a vegan banoffee pie one day; but, I'm truly doubtful that I could ever come up with a replacement for the creamy caramel center.
As for the rest of the competitors at the party, I have to say it was a very talented crowd.  Everyone brought something beautiful and delicious to the table:



It was a gorgeous spread.  There was even cake vodka:

Incidentally, it is an English vodka.  If you've read my previous post about the English calling everything either biscuit or cake, you will know why this is funny.
My Samoa cake was the only vegan entry and it was being judged against rich cheese cakes, so I didn't expect it to make it to anyone's top three list.  There were three awards:  best cake, best pie, and best over-all.  The best pie award went to the yellow-crusted pie at the bottom of the above photograph.  It was a chicken curry pie and people were raving about it.  Obviously, being vegetarian, I couldn't try it; but, I'm going to ask for the recipe to see if I can convert it.  Here is the sour cream cheesecake that (deservingly) won best over-all:

It was made from a secret family recipe that has been passed down through generations.  I wished my sister was there to try it.  She loves cheesecake more than I love dogs.  And that's a LOT.  Finally, the best cake award went to my Samoa cake!!!  It is now called Emily's award-winning Samoa cake.   It was very exciting to place in the top three when there were so many good things on the table to choose from.  Here's my cheesy grin and adorable hand-made ribbon (which will be going on the wall of my bakery when it opens):

Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones

Having an English boyfriend makes for some interesting debates on what food should or shouldn't be (and how it should or shouldn't be pronounced).   English scones (pronounced sc-ON) are more like American southern style biscuits.  They aren't sweet; but, they're generally eaten with dollops of clotted cream and jam.  I imagine the final outcome to be quite similar to a traditional strawberry shortcake:
Meanwhile, the English use the word biscuit to describe, well everything:
Cookies are biscuits.

Dog kibble is biscuits.

Crackers are biscuits.

Drugs are biscuits.

I'm pretty sure everything is a biscuit.  Except for cake.  Everything else is cake.
Brownies are cake.

Cake is cake.

Pudding is cake.

Although sometimes pudding is bread.

And pudding is cake.

Pudding is also meat.  Gross.

Got it?  Good.
That's enough culture.  Back to America and these beautiful sc-OH-ns.  I found this recipe here:  http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/dream-a-little-dream-of-scone/ and easily converted it to vegan.  These scones were not too sweet, had a moist texture inside, and a slightly crunchy outside.  This will be my new base for scones as they can easily be modified by adding different fruits and spices.
Orange Cranberry Scones
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt ---> DO NOT MEASURE YOUR INGREDIENTS OVER THE BOWL.  I can say with sheepish certainty that salty scones are not very satisfying.

5 tablespoons chilled earth balance

1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup soy cream
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt  into large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.
3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in earth balance until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger margarine lumps. Stir in chopped cranberries and orange zest. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add cranberries and orange zest and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.
4. Stir in soy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with a knife or bench scraper
6. Place rounds or wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sunny Orange Layer Cake

The dreary fog has descended and the rain has commenced in our busy little city by the bay.  To keep spirits up and bring a little colour into our soggy lives, I decided to bake a much needed orange cake.  I know, it's not included in the "can eat" section of our diet; but, we needed to prevent scurvy somehow.  It's cake for survival, mates!
I got delightful results from converting a recipe I found on finecooking.com: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/orange_layer_cake.aspx
Here is my own vegan version of the recipe by Ris Lacoste:
Sunny Orange Layer Cake

Ingredients:
For the filling:

2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh orange juice (from about 3 large or 4 medium oranges), without pulp
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbs. earth balance

For the cake:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup earth balance
1/3 cup unhydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 tsp. grated orange zest (from about 1 large orange)
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp Energ Egg Re-placer + 8 Tbs hot water + 1 Tbs vegetable oil (whisked until powder is incorporated)
1 cup fresh orange juice (from about 3 large or 4 medium oranges), without pulp

For the frosting:
6 oz. (12 Tbs. ) Earth Balance at room temperature
4-1/2 cups (about 18 oz.) confectioners’ sugar
Dash salt
1 tsp. grated orange zest
5 Tbs. fresh orange juice

For the garnish:
1 or 2 small oranges, sliced thinly, slices cut halfway through on one side, laid on paper towels to drain
7 or 8 sprigs fresh mint (pick pairs of leaves)

Directions:
Filling:
In a small saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, xanthan gum.  Pour in the orange juice and whisk vigorously to combine.  Place pan over medium-high heat and whisk constantly until boiling.  Once mixture begins to boil, continue to whisk as mixture thickens for about one minute.  Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl.  Cover and refrigerate.

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 round  9" x 1 1/2" cake pans.
I recently learned a useful trick for removing cake from pans.  Trace the pan bottom onto parchment paper and cut out the rounds.  Place them in the bottom of the pan.  You don't need to grease them, and the cake will dump out beautifully when it's finished baking.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl,  (or kitchen mixer) cream the earth balance, shortening, and zest.  Gradually add the sugar.  Cream until light and fluffy.  Add the egg re-placer mixture and mix well.  Alternate between adding orange juice and flour mixture until all is well incorporated.  Don't over mix.  Batter will be very thick.  Pour into prepared pans.  It will seem like it's not enough batter, but remember this is a layer cake.  Pick up the pans and drop them on the counter to remove trapped air bubbles.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.  It doesn't get very golden on top, and that's okay.
Frosting:
Cream all ingredients except orange juice with an electric mixer.  Add the orange juice slowly until desired thickness is achieved.  Careful- too much orange juice will make the frosting separate a little and give it a slightly curdled look- DO NOT WANT!
Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Then flip out onto wire cooling racks.  Allow cakes to cool upside-down on the racks to help flatten them and make them look better when stacked.
If you are impatient: Once cakes are cool, flip one over onto a cake stand or plate.  Spread the filling on top of the cake.  Carefully place second layer on top.  Spread cake with a very thin layer of frosting.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes.  Frost the rest of the cake.  Garnish with orange slices and mint leaves.
Alternately: Once cakes are MOSTLY cool, flip one over onto a cake stand or plate.  Spread the filling on top of the cake.  Carefully place second layer on top.  Stick the cake in the fridge.  Go watch an episode of whichever British telly series you're currently in the middle of and enjoy a smallish glass of wine.  When the episode has finished, frost the cake- first smooth over a thin layer to lock in the crumbs, then cover the cake with the rest of the frosting.  Garnish with orange slices and mint leaves.

Tip: If you don't want to waste the orange peels, candy them!  It's easy to do (although slightly time-consuming).

Peanut Butter Pies and the Red Vic Movie House

I haven't been posting as much these days, partially due to the fact that I'm on a diet.  It's a very boring diet that mostly has to do with eating a lot of beans.  Here's what I've learned from the experience:
IT IS VERY HARD TO BE ON A DIET AND ALSO BE A BAKER.
Case in point:

Why was I cheating on my diet?  Because I had some very important baking to do.  These delicious peanut butter pies were part of a sample box I put together for an interview:



Yes, I said interview.  Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting an inspiring woman whose family is working on a wonderful project.  I'm hoping picnic will become a part of that project.  Even if it doesn't, they have my full support!  Here's what they are all about:

Betsy and Jack Rix, owners of the (recently closed) Red Vic movie house have unleashed their future plans for the history-laden space on San Francisco's Haight St.  Their intentions?  To create a food-centric incubator for budding entrepreneurs to get started before moving on to their own storefronts.
I was really excited to learn about their idea when I first read the article about it in the SFist:  http://sfist.com/2011/10/25/red_vic_movie_house_could_become_fo.php
But, I learned even better things when I went to the Red Vic's website to find their contact info.  They are also trying to "help create change in the local food system by focusing on local, sustainably grown food."  Not only are they trying to help baby businesses get off the ground, they're also trying to make a positive change in our food system.  I think I can get behind that!
Will picnic be one of the vendors there?  I really hope so.  If not, I will surely be visiting them when they open to support their cause!

Candied Orange Peel and a Lostness Monster

I have not posted anything for awhile because
A.  I've been very busy.
and
B. I've been suffering from a misadventure I will call "Lostness Monster"
First things first.  My birthday and the holidays came and went.  My boyfriend and I got very excited about Christmas after decking the halls and decorating our tree.  We wanted to share our spirit with friends and so hosted our first annual Christmas cocktail party.  I took advantage of the opportunity to share some of my vegan desserts with some new people.  In addition to a several batches of regular old Christmas sugar cookies, I made:
peppermint pandas (chocolate sandwich cookies with peppermint filling and covered with chocolate ganache)  This is a classic recipe from the baby year of picnic and is not sharable (sorry).
gingerbread tiny cakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting and candied orange peel:

This was my first time trying this recipe.  It turned out far better than I had ever expected and was the star of the dessert table.  I made the candied orange peel from scratch.  There is still some left over in a mason jar and it looks very beautiful hanging out in there, mingling with extra sugar.
mini peanut butter mousse pies: This is a mini version of my original peanut butter mousse pie.  I think it's my boyfriend's favorite.
Sadly, there aren't many good photos from our party because we were very busy cooking, serving, and hosting.  Here are a few we took after the celebration:




Ralph came down with an unfortunate head cold the next day that lasted through Christmas Eve & day.  Then I caught it and spent my time in bed through New Year's Eve.  I've been trying to catch up with life ever since.
Second things second.  In the midst of all of this adventure, I've been suffering from a rather unsettling misadventure which I have named "lostness monster."  I should explain the history of this lostness.  When I first began to think about starting a west coast wing of picnic, I was very excited.  I began to eagerly do the necessary research into the costs of food, which vendors I would use, which recipes to start with.  I was baking often, much to the pleasure of my boyfriend and the dissatisfaction of my waistline.  Then, I reached a familiar wall.  I felt stuck.  This is the wall where Kate and I became stuck once before, and was the beginning of an end for us.

Here is the sticky situation from which the Lostness Monster was born:  I can't seem to find a certified kitchen to operate from that can be available during the god-awful early early early mornings (and whenever else I may need to be baking).
Without this certified kitchen, I can not move forward.   Stuck.  What a terrible misadventure.  I started to do what I always do when I encounter monsters- back up slowly and quietly.  This is the other reason I haven't posted anything in my blog for awhile.  Behind all the excitement of holidays and head colds, I have been stewing in discouragement and doubt.
The good news is, this is where my story takes a turn.  A new adventure is about to begin.  A different approach has been dreamed up.  Oh, it's a good one :D
I am going to be coy and not elaborate more until my next post.
Hooray for a new year and new beginnings!

Only Forgive An Ugly Pie If It Is Followed By a Beautiful One

It may be passe to be talking about Thanksgiving in December, but I feel obligated to share my Thanksgiving pies.  We don't have to discuss the pumpkin pie (non-vegan).  It was sugar and spice and everything nice; but in the end, it was still just a pumpkin pie.  But the apple pie.  Oh, the apple pie!  It was beautiful!  I couldn't take my eyes off of it from the time it first emerged from the oven.  We served it with my boyfriend's homemade warm vanilla custard.  It was the perfect end to a perfect feast!

I followed the same recipe I used in the Forgive a Pie post, but cooked the apples a little bit before putting them in the crust so they would cook all the way through.  (They were a little crisp last time).
I have several things to report on crust.
1.  When making dough for pie crust, make sure the earth balance and shortening are COLD.  Put them in the freezer way in advance and let them freeze solid (if you are using a food processor to cut the dough).  TIP:  If you can't find earth balance in sticks, measure it out in tablespoons and drop onto a parchment-lined sheet and but them in the freezer.   They will freeze into perfect chunks for dropping into the food processor.
2.  Be sure to flatten the ball of dough into a disk shape before you refrigerate it.  It will be easier to roll out later.
3.  When rolling out dough, heavily flour the surface and lightly flour the top of the dough.  Always roll out away from you and turn the dough a quarter turn after each roll.  Turning the dough will keep it dusted with flour on the bottom and prevent sticking.
4.  Here is a youtube video that shows how to do lattice for pie.  It's really easy, but it's helpful to watch.  http://youtu.be/phxya2vY5OM?t=14s
5.  Don't get overly excited when you are transferring your pie from a hot baking sheet to a wire cooling rack, or this might happen:


That is all.

Vegan Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns with Maple Glaze

Having made my first pie crust last week, I was feeling rather bold today and decided to experiment with a new dough.  I wasn't going to make cinnamon buns because there is already a place that solely makes (delicious) vegan cinnamon buns in Berkeley.   I wrote my dear friend Kate about it; and, she suggested I do it anyway as it certainly doesn't hurt to have a good cinnamon bun recipe up your sleeve.  It's a comfort food and it brings in business.  There is absolutely nothing more enticing than the scent of cooking cinnamon.
Someone asked me recently if vegans eat yeast since it's alive.  Caught off gaurd,  I had to think about why vegans can eat yeast.  I finally, decided yeast is ok because it's a fungus and not an animal.  Even so, I should be sure the yeast has a nice life. So, after much deliberation on pandora, I finally settled on a Tammy Wynette station.  After a few knee-jerk thumbs down reactions to Garth Brooks, Pandora seemed to get it and began playing old country songs for my yeast dough to grow up listening to.  It seemed appropriate to be baking comfort food and listening to country music.  I probably won't do it again, though.
The recipe I chose was actually a vegan recipe I found in the November 2011 issue of Vegetarian times found here:
http://www.zinio.com/pages/VegetarianTimes/Nov-11/416188749/pg-48
I didn't make any alterations (other than omitting the pecans- which I don't recommend doing unless you think they are the devil, as I do).  *Holy crap.  just as finished typing that last line, I felt my first earthquake.  Hello, San Francisco!  I think this may mean I should never refer to pecans as the devil again.  He doesn't like that.*
Tips for this recipe:
1.  Use a food processor to mash the sweet potato- you don't want any lumps.
2.  Mixing the pecans into the glaze will make them more ascetically pleasing.
3.  I used my kitchen aid with a dough hook for this.  It worked really well!  It's basically fool proof.
4.  Making these on a warm day is actually a good idea.  The yeast likes to be cozy.
5.  I baked mine spaced out on a buttered baking sheet.  I think next time I will bake them closer together in a buttered pan with sides.  They turned out really good, but I personally prefer the softer buns.  The edges of mine came out a little bit dry.  I think eliminating the potential for edges is a good solution.
6.  I ended up doubling the maple glaze recipe.  It just wasn't enough to liberally slather.
7.  These are obviously best served warm from the oven.  I recommend making them when you have company to help you, so you don't eat three of them by yourself, like I just did.

Lessons on Pie

Yesterday, my friend Jenn came over to teach me how she makes pie crust.  We were skeptical at first about the making of a vegan pie crust, but as you can see, it turned out beautifully.  I am now a little bit obsessed with pie.  The possibilities are endless!  I have visions of savory and sweet pies.  Pies made from fresh fruit, dried fruit, cheeses, herbs, pies with leaves, and pies with hats, pies with birds, and pies with UNICORNS!!!
The great thing about pie is that it can be filled with just about anything your heart desires.  The not so great thing about pie is that it makes just about everything infinitely more unhealthy.  I'm going to have to walk a lot of dogs to work off this hobby.
Jenn made a balsamic strawberry pie with a basil crust:


The final outcome:

I made a blueberry-peach pie with cinnamon and ginger:

Jenn forgot her pie birds when she came over, so we made our own out of foil.  I think next time, I will make slits instead.  I didn't like having a hole in the middle of my pie.  I will probably also invest in some pie birds of my own.

So, let's begin the lesson.
It's a good idea to make the dough first, as it needs to chill out in the fridge for a bit.
Ingredients:
6 oz (12 Tbs) VERY COLD margarine (I used earth balance)
2 oz (4 Tbs) VERY COLD shortening
12 oz (2 cups) flour
1 tsp salt (can be cut in half or even eliminated if using a salted margarine)
1/2 cup ice water
Steps:
1.  Combine flour and salt in food processor  (pulse once)
2.  Add butter (cut into tablespoon size chunks).  Pulse until mealy (about 5-8 times).  Do NOT over processes.
3.  Add shortening (also in small chunks)  Again, pulse just until mealy.
4.  Add ice water about one tablespoon at a time.  You do not necessarily need all of it.  You want it to be just barely enough.  Pulse after each tablespoon is added.  You can alternatively use a  spray bottle to add the water.  Stop adding water as soon as the dough forms and clings in one big lump on the side of the processor.  DON'T add too much water or you will have to start over.
5.  Form dough into a ball.  Divide in half.  Wrap the two discs in plastic wrap or put into ziplock bags.  Refrigerate for 30 mins-2 hours before rolling out.
6.  Make your filling
7.  On a floured surface, roll out dough into two large circles.  Starting at the far edge, roll the dough onto your rolling pin.  Unroll it over your pie plate.  Trim edges.  Brush with coconut oil.  Place in 400 degree oven for about 5 mins.  Remove from oven.  Add filling.  Cover with top dough circle.  Be sure to cut some slices into it or use a pie bird so it doesn't explode.  Decorate as desired. Brush with coconut oil.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 mins until crust is starting to brown or until middle begins to bubble over the edge.
8.  If the crust isn't brown yet, you can always brush it with more oil and place under the broiler for 30 seconds or so.  WATCH IT.  It will burn really fast and the coconut oil will smoke quickly.  Keep the door open and rotate it until desired color is reached.
9.  Cool completely on wire baking rack.  It will be a mess if you cut into it before it is completely cooled.  Be patient.  Leave the house if you have to.  Do whatever it takes.
10.  Enjoy your pie!