I attended a Wild Blueberry Festival at Toronto's Evergreen Brick Works yesterday. It was a beautiful celebration of all things blueberry: interesting food (even blueberry soup and blueberry coffee!), live bluegrass music, children's activities, and a pie contest.

Oh, a pie contest! After finding out about the contest a few days ago, I felt intimidated yet intrigued by the idea of entering because it meant going up against traditional, "mainstream" bakers. But then I thought, Wouldn't it be great if a vegan pie won this contest? I don't do traditional pie crusts made of shortening, butter and white flour, or pie fillings that are full of white sugar, so I came up with a healthier yet tasty vegan substitute. My "Not like the others" blueberry pie was a combination of raw, vegan and tradition.

"Not like the others" blueberry pie

It consisted of a vegan flaky pastry crust made with organic canola oil; a blueberry-cashew cream filling that was inspired by the raw desserts I've been playing with lately; as well as a traditional sweet blueberry topping.


It was a very tough competition--I was up against 16 other pies! When the pies were put out on display, everyone crowded around to photograph and critique them before they were cut and served to the waiting judges. Some of the pies were traditional, while others were very unique. I'm pretty sure mine was the only vegan pie there.


Occasionally I get caught off guard with the realization that not everyone lives in a vegan bubble like I do. This event was one of those occasions. In other words,  I'm not sure if my vegan desserts are quite ready for mainstream just yet, but it was a good challenge nonetheless. The winner was the "Not like your momma's PB&J" pie. Congratulations!

"Not your momma's PB&J" pie

Perhaps the Toronto Vegetarian Association's Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off coming up in October is a better bet.