Sherpherd-less Pie

All four burners and the stove going for this one. My family loves shepherds pie so this was a tricky one but so yummy and worth it. Also it took me only about 1/2 an hour to assemble My husband makes a beef one that my daughter is nuts over. He challenged me to make one as good. Here it is.

YIELD: 1 shallow oblong casserole dish


INGREDIENTS:

5 medium potatoes
2 carrots
1 cup frozen peas
9 or 10 mushrooms (I prefer cremini but any kind would work)
I package of ground round (an Yves product)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 mushroom flavour bouillon cube in 1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce (or Tamari)*
2 heaping tbsp tofutti cream cheese
olive oil
Earth Balance butter
2 / 4 tbsp flour*
Salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven 375˚ 

Pot 1 ~ Wash and cube potatoes (skin on). Add to boiling water and cook till well done.

Fry pan ~ Dice the onions and add to a hot frying pan with a good glug of olive oil. Cook over medium heat and once they are soft add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Cut 6/7 mushrooms to desired size and add to onions and garlic. (I mince some and leave some in 1/2 slices.  The kids pick out the big chunks and unknowingly eat the little pieces, evil Mommie) cook till starting to shrink and brown. Add the ground round and mix it in with the rest in the pan. Add 1 tbsp Worcestershire and the soy sauce.  Let cook while preparing the rest.

Pot 2 (steamer) ~ Check your potatoes.  Are they ready? No, okay peel the carrots cut lengthwise in 1/2 and the 1/2 again. cut into pieces about twice the size of a pea. Add them to a steamer and cook till tender but firm. Chuck in the peas and let them heat through. Turn off burner but reserve the water. Add veggies to the frying pan.

Pot 3 (small one) ~ Melt a good dollop of Earth Balance in the pan. Mince up the remaining mushrooms and saute them in the butter. Once they are cooked reduce temp to low and add the flour till it forms a thick paste. Add the 1/4 cup water with bouillon and whisk till thick. Add a bit of the reserved carrot water at a time, whisking in between to keep it thick. keep adding and mixing till you have about 1 cup of mushroom gravy that is a thick gravy consistency. Add the remaining tbsp of Worcestershire.  Add to the fry oan and mix everything together.  As all this whisking and adding water is going on you probably want to check the potatoes and drain them.

Mash the potatoes adding the tofutti and veggie water (as needed) till you get the right consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

Grease the casserole dish and add the ground round mixture evenly over the bottom. Cover with potatoes and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.



* if you use tamari and and cornstarch or other alternative to wheat flour this is easy to make gluten free,

I had 3 helpings which was totally unnecessary but I'd been left out so many times and my mouth was so happy that I just went for it.

Freedom Carrot Cake

This cake has been adapted from the Vegan With A Vengeance book.

I like this with wheat so I thought I would try to adapt it. I haven't eaten any yet but the batter tasted pretty good. Or as Mira said, "Mmmm, Mommie you have to try this batter, it's De-Lici-Ous!"

There is a frosting recipe to follow.

Give yourself time to make this. It won't take as long as you think but I always end up with a messy kitchen. Especially with 2 and 5 year old helpers.

YIELD: 2 8" rounds


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour.
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp guar gum
2 tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp water
1/2 cup pineapple juice*
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups carrots, grated
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp fresh shaved ginger
1/2 cup pine apple

*I use the juice from the pineapple bits as pineapple juice.


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly grease two 8" pans and place a piece of parchment in the bottom letting it curve up two sides.

Sift together in a large bowl flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, guar gum and spices. Sift again into a smaller bowl.

Mix (in the large bowl - don't bother to rinse) the pineapple juice, orange juice, sugar, honey and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches. Add the carrot, walnuts and coconut mixing with a fork. Then add pineapple.

Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Bake on middle rack for 40 - 45 minutes till it passes the toothpick test.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then lift out using the parchment and let sit till cool
to the touch before frosting.

Gluten Free Pie Crust

Here it is.


YIELD: 1 double crust or 2 single pies


INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 1/4 cups corn starch
2 tsp guar gum*
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup margarine
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 ice cube
1/3 cup cold water
2 tsp cider vinegar


DIRECTIONS:

Mix flax seed in with water, cider and ice cube, set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients together twice.

Cut in butter till it's well mixed. Mix liquid well and slowly add liquid to the dry, mix til just blended, using just as much of the water mixture as needed.

Using your hands ball up the dough and split into two. Place each piece onto some plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for a least a hour. Let sit out for 10 minutes, place between two pieces of wax paper to roll out (one to an inch larger than the pan)

For raw crusts, place ingredients into crust, cover with second and pinch then bake according to the recipes instructions.

I'll add the baked crust instructions soon.

Mushroom Gravy

So I know I am supposed to be posting the pie crust tonight but I am sitting in bed and too lazy at the moment to go downstairs and get it. So instead I am posting my mushroom gravy. I love gravy and sauces and not being able to eat them is just not acceptable to me. I made this tonight to put over the Veggie Curry Pie from yesterday.

YIELD: 1/2 cup


INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp Vegan Margarine
1 large mushroom diced
2 tbsp rice flour*
1/4 cup rice milk
1/4 mushroom bouillon cube
1/4 cup hot water


DIRECTIONS:

(Basically we are making a roux.) Melt margarine over medium low heat. Add mushrooms and pan fry till cooked through.

Dissolve the bouillon cube in the water.

Once the mushrooms are cooked through sprinkle it with flour. If the pan is very dry you can add more margarine before you put in the flour. whisk together to coat the mushrooms and absorb the margarine.

Add the rice milk a bit at a time whisking between each addition. Allow time for it to thicken between each addition, but stay close to it, it burns quickly. If the mushrooms get caught in the whisk just tap it on the side of the pan, they'll pop back out.

Once all the milk is added and you have what looks like a paste begin adding the water. Add as much of the 1/4 cup as you want slowly till you get the consistency you like.

I leave the mushrooms in because I love love mushrooms, but if you wanted a smooth gravy just strain them out or use a slotted spoon.


*I think cornstarch or any other alternative flour would work here, I just only had rice.

Vegetable Curry Pie

This is just the first time I've made this so there going to be tweaks to come I am sure.

We had a wonderful meal with my youngest step brother and his family just after Christmas. They served this amazing Vegetable Curry Pie that they had picked up from a place near their house in Alymer, Quebec. I have been wanting it again since then. So with no idea what was in it except veggies and curry, and with me still cleansing my brains out, I decided to make a Vegan, Sugar Free, Wheat Free, pie. I'll be honest the measurements for the spices are guesses since I just added stuff to a small bowl and now I am trying to remember how much there was. Also I think some of the spices could have been more so I have compensated for that here. I apologize if it's too much but I really don't think it will be.

It was quite yummy. This recipe comes in two parts since the first challenge was to make a sugar, wheat, animal product free pie crust. The crust recipe is here.


INGREDIENTS:

1 carrot
1 sweet potato
1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1 potato
10 cherry tomatoes - halfed
1/2 cup peas*
6 coriander seeds
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mustard powder
4 tbsp soy cream cheese (I use Tofutti)


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400˚

Cut the first 5 vegetables into small / thin pieces. (Sliced or cubed, it's up to you, just changes the look of the finished pie.) Place them in a Ziploc bag as well as the tomatoes.

Grind the cloves, cardamom pods and coriander seed in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

Add all of the spices together and add them to the Ziploc bag. Give the bag a good shake to coat the veggies.

Pour the veggie mix into an unbaked rice flour pie crust (or any other pie crust).

heat the cream cheese for a minute on 5 in the microwave and pour / spread it over the top of the veggies.

Top with a second crust and seal around the edges. resist the urge to cut vents in the top. You need all the steam to stay inside to cook all the veggies.

Bake for 45 minutes. If the crust looks like it is browning too quickly cover with foil or reduce the temp and increase the time.

Eat . . . I wanted to have it with a nice leafy green salad but I didn't have the stuff so we had bean salad instead.


*I didn't put peas in this time but I will next time. I also think parsnips, squash, and mushrooms would be yummy in the pie.