Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

R and I used to joke that we should put "no one is allowed to become a vegetarian" in a prenuptial agreement.  At the time, we ate meat at almost every dinner.  But, over the past year or so, we've cut down on our meat consumption.  Before, a meal wasn't a meal without meat.  Now, about about 80% of our meals are vegetarian.

R really gets credit for this.  He spends a fair bit of time looking up and preparing new vegetarian dishes.  Interestingly enough, I don't really miss or crave meat.  Now if only I didn't crave carbs...then we'd be "in business."

I expected that I wouldn't like this recipe.  Mix a bunch of ingredients together, put potatoes on top and call it a meal?  That's not usually my cup of tea.  But, I was wrong.  This recipe not only tastes great, it has become a staple in our vegetarian repertoire.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
(Shiksa in the Kitchen)

2 lbs. Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled (I plan to try substituting for sweet potato)
1 whole garlic clove
1 cup (1/2 lb.) dry brown lentils
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup corn
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley, divided
2 tsp vegan Worchestershire or tamari sauce
3/4 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup milk or milk substitute (soy, almond, or rice milk)
3 tbsp butter or vegan butter substitute
Salt and pepper
Nonstick cooking oil spray
Sriracha sauce for topping (optional)

YOU WILL ALSO NEED 2 quart baking dish, potato masher

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the peeled potatoes in a pot along with one whole peeled garlic clove. Cover the potatoes with plenty of water. Bring to a boil on the stovetop, then reduce heat to medium to the potatoes continue to simmer. Let the potatoes cooks for 25-30 minutes till fork tender.

Meanwhile, rinse and sort the lentils. Pour the lentils into a pot along with a bay leaf. Cover with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let the lentils cook for 15-20 minutes till just tender.

Remove from heat as soon as they're cooked. If there is any excess water, drain it. As potatoes and lentils are cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion to the skillet and saute for 5-6 minutes till softened. Add the diced carrots and celery.

Continue to saute for 5-6 more minutes till the vegetables are tender-crisp. Add crushed garlic, peas, corn, 3 tbsp of the chopped parsley, vegan Worchestershire or tamari sauce, oregano, and cayenne pepper to the skillet.

Stir and saute for 3-4 minutes more till the vegetables are tender and fragrant. Stir the skillet vegetable mixture into the cooked, drained lentils. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Drain the cooked potatoes; reserve the whole garlic clove that cooked with them. Mash the potatoes and softened garlic clove with milk and butter (or vegan milk and butter substitutes) till smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the lentil and vegetable mixture in an even layer across the bottom of the dish. Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the vegetable mixture, using a spoon or fork to add texture to the top of the potatoes for browning.

Top with cheddar cheese (or vegan cheddar shreds), if desired.

Place the dish in the oven and let it bake for about 30 minutes till the tips of the potatoes turn golden brown. Increase heat at the end of cooking for more browning, if desired.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of chopped parsley on top of the pie to garnish. Serve hot.

Beef Stew & Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

Every weekend, we make a grocery list.  About 80% of the grocery list rarely changes: milk, bread, salad fixings, bananas, grapefruit, etc.  Then, we come up with 3 dinner ideas and make sure that the ingredients we need are added to the list.  For the other days, we'll either have leftovers, something from the freezer or an easy meal (e.g., grilled cheese, breakfast for dinner).  

Among a list of regular meal ideas, stew comes up as a suggestion fairly regularly and I'm usually the one to nix it.  I'm so tired of the same old stew recipe.  So, I decided to try out a new stew recipe.  I went with a Jamie Oliver recipe -- you can find it here.

It was delicious!  The pictures don't do it justice.  I loved the flavour that the wine added to the broth and the texture and sweetness of the squash.  I'll definitely be making this recipe again.  Though, next time I'll probably use the slow cooker.

We also took advantage of the long weekend to visit the Agriculture Museum at the Experimental Farm.  The museum is part of a fully-functioning farm, with a variety of animals (cows, horses, pigs, goats, sheep, etc.).

Of course, I loved watching E pet the kid.  This is really the heart of the museum: up close and interactive opportunities for kids to be around farm animals.

The cows are regularly inseminated so that they continue to produce milk. This calf was just born.  I got a bit teary-eyed when I read that the calves are separated from their mothers after 48 hours.  At least they get the colostrum.  

Giz likes to make fun of how it'll be difficult for me to go back to work without singing nursery rhymes at inappropriate times.  But, tell me this picture doesn't make you want to break into "Mary had a little lamb"!

I'm looking forward to the opening of their new learning centre.  The Learning Centre will have an exhibition gallery, learning labs, lecture hall and improved visitor and group amenities.  

The museum is changing names and becoming the Canadian Agriculture and Food Museum, recognizing the museum's enhanced focus on food literacy. I'm really interested to see what types of food-literacy exhibits they'll have.  The inaugural exhibition for the Learning Centre will look at what would be involved in baking an apple cake if you had to produce all of the ingredients yourself.  Sounds very interesting!  I hope they can drive home a similar message with respect to meat.  

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

It has been a LONG time since I have pulled out my cake decorating kit.  I think the last time was when I made the red velvet lentil cupcakes.  

We invited some friends over for dinner.  I guess it was an Easter supper, but I knew I wouldn't be cooking a turkey or a ham.  So, I tried to make up for it by making an Easter-themed dessert.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

I made the cupcakes and curd a day in advance.  Hopefully this means that I've evolved to pace myself appropriately when preparing food.

Lemon Curd  

Can't go wrong with anything from Ina Garten.

4 lemons, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt

Remove the zest of the lemons with a vegetable peeler or zester, being careful to avoid the white pith.

Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and process for 2 to 3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. The lemon curd will thicken at about 175 degrees F, or just below a simmer. Remove from the heat.

For the cupcakes and icing, I following this recipe from My Baking Addiction.

2 1/4 cups cake flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature

4 large egg whites, room temperature

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

seeds scraped from one vanilla bean

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Centre a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean seeds at medium speed for 3 minutes, or until the butter and sugar are very light. Add in the vanilla extract and one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter fully incorporated and smooth, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Once ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. 

Using a large scoop (about 3 tablespoons), distribute the batter between 18 muffin wells, filling each well 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers come out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Vanilla Icing

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract (this helps maintain the bright white color)
1 ½ pounds (24 ounces) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and seeds from vanilla bean until fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until well blended.

Add in vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened.

Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

I knew I wanted to decorate using white, green and orange icing, so I separated the recipe into three containers.

To assemble, I cut out a hole in the middle and piped in the lemon curd.

Then, I put the cut-outs back on the cupcake.

Then, I just had fun and iced the cupcakes in various ways:

Verdict -- I was happy to see our friends' kids clap their hands with excitement when the cupcakes were brought out.  Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes.  There is a tonne of sugar in them.  The icing was too sugary for my liking.  But, I'd definitely use the cake and curd recipe again.