Shepherd's Pie

What's more hearty and yummy than a baked, layered, Shepherd's pie? Nothing. Meatless it may seem less Shepherd-ish and more Garden-ish...so maybe I'll start calling it my Garden Pie...nah, I bet I could get some Shepherd's to eat this.

This takes about an hour and a half, but most of that is boiling potatoes and baking the finished product in the oven, so plan ahead enough to get it done but don't let that prep time scare you off. Serves 6 to 8 - perfect for a dinner party with a bottle of red and a nice salad. Inspired by and stolen from my beautiful cousin Laurie...who never complains about cooking vegan just for me:)

You will need (assume all ingredients I list all of the time are vegan, b/c they are):
2 medium sweet potatoes
3 medium yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup half n' half or soy milk
2 T margarine
1 bag Boca vegan crumbles
1 T dijon mustard
1 c veggie stock
1/2 c white wine
1-2 c carrots
1 can of peas (or bag of frozen peas)
1 c corn
2 cloves smashed garlic
2 t chopped thyme
1 t chopped rosemary
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch of allspice
pinch of nutmeg
course salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel, dice, and boil yukon potatoes in a large pot of water with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent (about 30 minutes). Gently mash by hand in large bowl with margarine, soy milk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper (adjust seasonings to taste).

Peel, dice, and boil sweet potatoes in a separate pot until soft (drain and set aside to be added to filling for later).

While your potatoes are boiling you can put together the filling:
In a large skillet over medium heat cook the carrots and the corn with the soy crumbles in a splash of evoo or another t of margarine. Add garlic and cinnamon to the mixture after about 3 minutes and sautee for another 5 minutes.

Add the white wine to deglaze your pan, stir for 2 minutes and then add the mustard, thyme, rosemary, and veggie stock. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to simmer, season with additional salt and pepper if desired and put a cover on. Simmer while covered for 10-20 minutes (watch the softness of the veggies). Remove from heat and add peas and sweet potatoes (and corn or carrots if they were canned and not fresh).

Spread filling in a medium sized glass baking dish, spoon yukonpotato mixture on top and spread with spatula to cover filling mixture. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes (until top is golden brown).

Me and Garfield.

I have been eating, just not posting. Actually, between the GRE and a 25-page research paper on nutrition, I actually haven't been cooking. But, with only two weeks left of school and a summer of chowing to think about - I am getting back into the groove here.

So, watch one of my favorite comedians do his Garfield bit:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Pht7-QReItY

And then go make this lasagna while you laugh and laugh (it's super easy and super tasty - adapted from fatfreevegan):

1/2 lb sliced mushrooms (I like to mix buttons and shitake)
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 T water
2 large jars of marinara of your choice (about 50 ounces)
9 lasanga noodles (regular kind, uncooked, whole wheat is great)
half a can of slived black olives

And for the filling:
box (10 oz) frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 lb (box) extra firm tofu (drained and pressed)
1 t salt
2 T nutritional yeast
2 t oregano
1 t basil (or a few fresh leaves, chopped)
1 t rosemary
cayenne pepper to taste (about 1/4 t)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Sautee your mushrooms with the pressed garlic over medium heat in the water under they are tender, remove from heat and add them to the marinara.

Mash the tofu and the spinach together in a big bowl with your hands (the tofu becomes the consistency of ricotta - how fun!) Add the remaining ingredients and mash until well blended.

Spread half the red sauce in the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish. Place a layer of noddles on top of that, spread half the tofu mix over that. Put a few more noodles on top, spread the rest of your tofu mixture, and then pour the remaining red sauce over this.

Cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, bake for another 30 minutes. Should be all done. Sprinkle with vegan parm if you like (totally optional), and the sliced black olives. Enjoy!