The only redeeming feature of holidays for me (a long story that I will not go into here) is that they do, in their best incarnations, involve great food. And I love to eat.  Since my favorite course of any meal is dessert (I have often wished that meals were served in reverse order so that I could struggle to make room for salads–not my favorite), I wanted to share a recipe for simple and delicious pumpkin “cheesecake.”

Your guests will think that you slaved in the kitchen all day, but you can assemble this pie in about 10 minutes and then just bake it and let it cool. Then you can move on to your other favorite holiday activities.

If you still need more ideas for what to cook today, there are all kinds of recipes at PETA Living.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin ‘Cheesecake’

What’s better than pumpkin pie? Delicious pumpkin “cheesecake,” of course!

12 oz. firm silken tofu, puréed

8 oz. nondairy cream cheese (try Tofutti brand at tofutti.com)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

1?2 tsp. ground ginger

1?2 tsp. nutmeg

11?2 tsp. cinnamon

1?8 tsp. salt

1?4 tsp. baking soda

1 prepared graham cracker crust

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Purée all the ingredients except the pie crust in a food processor and pour into the graham cracker crust.
• Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap or the top of the pie container, and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before serving.

Makes 8 servings