Raw Vegan Papaya- Pumpkin Pie with Macadamia Crust

I admittedly love Thanksgiving because I admittedly love food. I love spending time with family and thinking about reasons to be grateful, but yes, I love food. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that, as long as you are going about it in a healthy way!

This Thanksgiving will be our first on the Big Island, which has a very different feel than our Maryland holidays. I wanted to make a recipe that combined my old nostalgia for Thanksgivings past with new, local ingredients from Hawaii.

Believe it or not there are some beautiful pumpkins to be found on the Big Island. We picked our heirloom variety straight from the patch on top of the Kohala Mountains. I wish I could tell you what kind of pumpkin it is, but all I can tell you is that it was a greenish-bluish gray, and it tasted delicious!

For the crust:

2 cups macadamia nuts
2 1/2 cups raisins
pinch of pumpkin pie spice
pinch of pink Himalayan salt

Combine ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a dough-like mixture. Place the mixture in a pan, preferably a spring-form pan, and press out carefully into a crust shape evenly with your fingers.

For the filling:

3 cups fresh pumpkin
2 papayas
seeds from 1 papaya
1 small banana (I used apple banana, 1/2 a banana if using conventional)
1 1/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or bean scrape if you can afford it)
2 tablespoons liquid sweetener of your choice (honey, coconut nectar, agave, or maple syrup)
dash of pink Himalayan salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into pie crust. Put into the freezer for 15 minutes to set, then transfer into the refrigerator for at least an additional 15 minutes. Slice with a careful hand and serve.