Vegetarian Shepperd’s Pie

Saturday mornings I now have the privilege of driving my husband to work. At 6:30 in the morning. On my day off. At first I thought this was a horrid arrangement. It’s Saturday, my day off, and yet I am up at 6:30 in the morning to drive him to work. It has turned out to be quite enjoyable though. I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised. I roll out of bed, put on my housecoat and slippers, and get into the car that he has already started and warmed up. He drives to work and goes in, I hop in the driver’s seat and go straight to the Tim Horton’s drivethrough. I then take my coffee home, where I curl up on the couch with a pillow, blanket, and whatever animal decides to join me and watch tv. This Saturday it was Shear Genius (my new guilty pleasure!) but after that I turned on the cooking network. The show I watched was quite good, they made a vegetarian shepperd’s pie. It looked quite tasty and had all sorts of really good ingredients, so after watching the show I got up, got dressed and headed to the market in search of the ingredients to make the dish. Below is my version. Be warned: It makes a fair bit. And is also quite filling. Perfect for a cold day!

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 head of garlic (I used 2, but I really like garlic. Also they were small heads)
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs   
• 1 cup milk   
• 1/4 cup roasted pine nuts   
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (15 ml)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (15 ml)
• 1 tablespoon flat parsley, chopped (15 ml)
• 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled but not peeled
• 1/4 cup melted butter (60 ml)
• 1/2 cup cream cheese (I used the light Vegetable flavor) (125 ml)
• ½ cup cream or milk(250 ml)
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms (I used a mix of button mushrooms, portabella, shittake, and chantrelles)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup lentils, cooked (Save yourself a whole lot of trouble and just buy a can)
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150 °C).

1. First, cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 ½ hours. As an alternative, place on a plate and cook in the microwave on high for about 20 minutes.
2. Put the garlic head on a baking tray. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the garlic is very tender.
3. In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Mix in the pine nuts, the eggs and herbs. Put aside.
4. Mash the potatoes with the butter, cream cheese, cooked garlic puree and cream to make them nice and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (I also threw in a handful of parmesan cheese)
5. Remove the spaghetti squash flesh with a fork and put it in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.
6. Preheat the oven to 450 °F (230 °C).
7. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan and saute the onions, carrots and celery over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the cooked lentils and the bread mixture. Stir and put aside.
8. In an 8 x 11 inches (20 x 28 cm) baking dish, spoon the vegetable mixture onto the bottom. Layer with the spaghetti squash, then the potatoes and smooth them down. Cook in oven for 30 minutes or so until top is slightly browned.

I Am Thankful

Thanksgiving is coming up, it’s about a month away now. While I will not be having turkey, I am sure there is something else I can make that will be equally (if not more) delicious. However, I would like to take the time to list some of the things I am thankful for. It’s easy to forget the little things in life that you are grateful for.

My husband Trevor. He has been amazingly supportive through every strange little thing I decide to try. This includes all adopted animals.

The adopted animals. They have brought so much joy and happiness to my life.

My amazing friends and family.

The rain.

Dessert.

Bunnies! They are cute!

Wine.

Good movies. And the not so good ones too.

Books and being able to read.

Gray’s Anatomy, True Blood, and The Cooking Network.

Nature! The changing of the colors each season, the delicious produce, the smell of fresh cut grass, the tiny blossoms and buds on trees, snow….does it get any better?

Cooking. One of my true passions.

Bubble baths

Cookies.

Fresh herbs.

Champagne.

Dancing!

Christmas. And Christmas Eve.

Woodstoves.

Hot showers.

Electric blankets.

Ice cream.

Audrey Hepburn.

The freedom to choose what I eat, what I drive, where I live, and who I marry.

Vancouver Island and all of it’s beauty.

Sushi.

The sound and smell of the ocean.

Music.

Being able to work out. And being able to reap the benefits.

True love.

Clean sheet night.

Pajamas (excellent when combined with clean sheet night)

Fernie!

Tiny pigs.

Tea.

Spicy food.

These are just a few things that I am thankful for. Some are bigger than others, but they all mean something to me. Some of them are things that are all about me, some are things that I have shared with others, but they all hold meaning. Every now and then I think it’s good to remember the small things in life that make you happy.

BBQ Potato and Cheese Perogies

What you will need:

1 cup mashed potato, cooled

2oz shredded low fat cheese

1tsp onion powder

2 cups all purpose flour

1 large egg

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup of water as needed

1 spray cooking spray

What you Do:

In a bowl,  mix the potato, garlic powder and cheese until smooth. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix the flour, egg and salt. Add water 1 tsp at a time until you get a stiff dough. Roll out until it’s about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Using a large round cookie cutter or glass (about 4 or 5 inches) cut out circles of the dough. Top each circle with 1 tbsp of the potato and cheese mixture, then fold the dough over and pinch the edges to seal.  You should have a puffy half moon shape.

Place the perogies in a shallow microwave safe dish and pour about 1/2 an inch of water over them. Cover with plastic and microwave for 2 minutes on high.

Preheat your bbq to a medium high heat and coat your grill with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil. Place perogies on the grill for 2 minutes each side, until they are crunchy and golden brown.

Serve with salsa and sour cream, green onions, fresh dill…..whatever you like!

Welcome September!!

I am so excited that it is now September. This means a few good things:

 Stew. It is now socially acceptable to make stew for dinner. If you tell people that you are making a stew for dinner and it’s say….June, people look at you like you’ve grown a second head. While I probably won’t be the one chowing down on the beef stew, I am sure I can find a fantastic veggie substitute.

 Squash. I love to roast squash. Especially butternut. And acorn. I just love squash! However, much like stew, it is quite the faux pas to roast your squash in mid August. People say ‘But it’s so hot!’ It may be hot, but roasted squash with butter and cinnamon is soooo good.

 Woodstoves. I adore my woodstove. It is quite possibly the best $3000 I have EVER spent. I come home, my house smells all wood-like and is toasty warm. When combined with stew (above) you come home to toast warm, woodsy and stew smells. So good.

 Crunchy leaves that have changed color. I love the fall colours. I get so excited when the leaves change colour. Combined with the items above, it is complete bliss.

I think this month I am going to try my hand at homemade pasta. Also homemade perogies. I wonder, can you do a butternut squash and potato perogy? I think that would taste fantastic! The sweetness of the butternut, the texture of the potato….a little green onion mixed in and maybe some romano cheese? Sounds good to me!

I found a recipe for perogies, it sounds easy enough, but I’m not 100% convinced. You cook them by first microwaving them for 2 minutes, and then you place them on a bbq for another 1 or 2 minutes until they are crispy. Anyone brave enough to try this with me? If so, recipe to follow.