Great Grandma Leila's Banana Cream Pie- Vegan Style

Happy Mother's Day.  I miss you Grandma.
My great grandma was once one of those women who baked her own bread and didn't know what a microwave was.  Once she got a microwave, and a taste for convenience, she loved it.  Long before my time, my grandmother was a nurse in mental hospital and worked nights.  Her husband worked for PG&E (the electric company).  They also had a cattle ranch.  Grandma Leila never would have considered complaining about this schedule, but this is what she used to do:  Work all night, come home, make breakfast and pack a lunch for Grandpa Lee, hay the cows, go to sleep for a minute, do any other ranch tasks, make dinner, keep the house clean, go to work for a full night shift, repeat.

If anyone deserved a microwave and food that came in boxes, it was my Grandma.  There are flavors that I miss that come with her cooking but come from packaged things that have ingredients I don't eat, and it makes me miss her and the experiences of being in her kitchen.

Then I discovered PETA's I Can't Believe it's Vegan list.  I couldn't believe that Jello pudding and Keebler pie crusts were vegan!  I headed right to the store to get what I'd need to make Grandma's banana cream pie!

Banana Cream Pie

1 Keebler cookie crust (or make your own with vegan graham crackers and buttery spread)
3 Bananas
1 large package Jello vanilla pudding (not the banana flavor, it's too fakey)
2 cups cold soy milk
1 package soy whipable topping (this and the soy milk are all I changed- she used to use Dream Whip)

This couldn't be easier.  Slice the bananas and line the bottom of your pie crust with a single layer.  Reserve the other slices.  Feed a few slices to a baby if you have one, she'll love it.  In a stand mixer or hand held mixer, combine the cold soy milk and Jello pudding package.  The stand mixer is easy because you can just kind of walk away and play with the baby while she eats banana slices.  You want that gelatinous consistancy that you expect with pudding.  Add the rest of the bananas and let it mix some more.  They will stay chunky, but also get mixed in.  Pour the pudding into the pie shell and refrigerate for about three hours.  Whip your soy whipable topping until it is light and fluffy, and then spread over your pie.  You can then refrigerate and it will keep for a few days- but it probably won't last that long!