Fear not, it is shepherd's pie!

Merry Christmas (or boxing day actually) everyone! 

As I wanted to align my cooking theme with the current holiday, I chose shepherd's pie. Perhaps because it is my favourite part of the Christmas story."Fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy" I think it is truly amazing that it was the shepherds, the outcasts of society at that time, who were the ones to receive this message and not the high and mighty. Whether or not you celebrate the birth of Jesus, no matter what religion you are (or are not), let's just choose to meditate on his message of love and his most important command: "Love your neighbour as yourself" . It does not matter if our "neighbour"  is black or white, muslim or christian, dog, chicken or cow. If we treated ALL others with love and respect, this earth would be paradise. 'Nuff said, let's eat.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

There are so many ways to make meatless shepherd's pie.  Mine may not be the healthiest; but it is my once in a while comfort food. A great alternative is to use lentils with canned tomatoes and spices instead of the veggie" beef' and "gravy". As I often say, don't be afraid to play with a recipe. This is a made up recipe so there are no measurements-sorry.

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Make mashed potatos as you normally would; you can use soy/rice/almond milk  or veggie stock instead of real milk.  
• Heat the veggie ground beef, and chopped onions and garlic in a lightly oiled pan on medium heat. 
• Mix in corn, peas, or whatever you want to the mixture.
• I then add veggie gravy: mushroom gravy is great or I use St. Hubert's poutine gravy.(I underlined poutine because it is the only one with no animal products, though always read the label as ingredients change).
• Mix together and simmer for a minute or two.
• Pour mixture into oven safe dish and top with mashed potatos.
• Heat in oven for 30 minutes or until potatos are lightly toasted.

Festive special

It isn't very often that I find myself compelled to run for my camera while I am in the middle of cooking; especially when I am running late. I decided right there that I was making this dish again.

It hadn't actually been tasted at that point, but who cares? It's pretty! That kind of decision making has often left me collecting many animals, shoes, clothes, and sometimes even men that I just didn't need.

I was almost finished cooking when I began to panic that the cranberries were way too tart and overpowering. I was already running late so to alter the recipe was not really an option. However,  letting it simmer while I got ready for the evening did help soften the flavour of the cranberries. 

The combination of the spices was surpisingly sophisticated and the tartness of the cranberries added an interesting pop of flavour. By the time the dish was eaten at the potluck(about an hour later), it was really well received by the people who were at my table.  A suggestion was that the cranberries had a chance to marinate.
Next time, I will try pre-cooking the cranberries with a touch of honey or sugar.

Green Beans with Fresh Cranberries

1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut
2 tbsp margarine ( I used olive oil)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp tarragon
pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add the beans and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans in a colander and hold unter running water to stop the cooking process. Blot the beans with a paper towel to remove the excess water.

Put the beans in a dry skillet and heat over medium heat until the remaining moisture on the beans evaporates. Stir in the olive oil, cranberries, garlic, parsley, tarragon and pepper, tossing to coat well.

Cook until heated through.