Frozen Pumpkin Pie

As a fairly agnostic person married to a Catholic, Lent is always an interesting time of year. I understand the historical and cultural significance of Lent, but I didn’t grow up with it. I didn’t give up candy or TV. I didn’t get ashes on my forehead. I didn’t pray, unless you count those ‘Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret’ moments. But yet, the Easter bunny still came a-knocking every year, chocolate eggs in tow. That’s the American way, right? Celebrate the feast, ignore the fast?

Being married to a man who does observe Lent, I find myself trying to establish my role in all of this. I want him to keep his faith. I want him to have this part of himself that has become an integral part of his identity. I want him…to be him. But for reasons I choose to keep private, I don’t want to join the RCC, and he's cool with that.

So I find a happy medium. In support of my spouse, I tag along, a scrappy Lent novice following an old pro. I try my darndest to remember the no meat on Friday rule. I remind him of the Ash Wednesday service times. I go to the service with him, politely sitting while the congregation goes forward for ashes and communion.

In a word, I'm trying.

Prior to Ben’s baptism, we received a little welcome kit from the church. Nestled in all the pamphlets and calendars, I found pure gold: the church community cookbook. Bells rang out and angels sang as I flipped through those spiral-bound pages. There were a lot of prepackaged, “open a can and dump it in” recipes, so I figured it wouldn’t be a daily reference for me, but I still kept it on hand, a nice addition to my growing collection of North Dakota community cookbooks.

Lately I’d been noticing a sole can of pumpkin in my cupboard, waiting all fall and winter for an opportunity to make an appearance. Sorry, Mr. Pumpkin, but since baby came along last year, I haven’t been much of one for throwing together homemade pie crusts – I think any parent reading this will understand that. However, I did have one of those premade graham cracker crusts. I wanted to put them together somehow – some sort of creamy, pudding-type pumpkin pie? What about a frozen ice cream pumpkin pie? A quick Internet search didn’t pull up what I was looking for, so I set the idea aside. Weeks later, I picked up that church cookbook and the page landed to this recipe.


Was this a sign from God? How did He know I was looking for something Exactly…Like…This? It may be a coincidence. It may be a small miracle. Either way, all I can say is thank god we didn’t give up frozen pumpkin pie for Lent this year.

Frozen Pumpkin Pie
From the Bismarck St. Mary's Church Centennial Cookbook. Freezers suck moisture from food, so to avoid a gummy frozen pie, once the pie has hardened, store in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

1 c. canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 quart vanilla ice cream
1 graham cracker crust
Sliced pecans (optional)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, spices, and salt. Stir ice cream to soften, then fold in pumpkin mixture. Spoon into crust and freeze. Garnish with pecans (optional).