March 16th, 2017
St Paddy’s Day!
…well a day early. There wasn’t a holiday that fell on Thursday this week, and wouldn’t it had been a bummer not to have some traditional St Patrick’s fare this week?..Our Beautiful Plate..
The best thing about daylight savings is that this is the better time out of the deal. Love that we have some sunlight. We’ve been missing these picnic table photos. So here is our plate. Starting at the potato at 6 o’clock we’ve got Boiled cabbage w/potato, onion, and carrots, Calcannon, Coddle, Shepard’s (Sheep’s) Pie, “Kiss Me I’m Salad”, and in the middle Corned “Beef” and Pickled Beets.
..Our Table..
..Corned Beef..
St Patrick’s is synonymous with Corned Beef and Cabbage, and I decided I was up for the task. I pretty much followed a recipe I found on pinterest with a few minor adjustments. It was pretty tasty. Didn’t scream corned beef, and it could have stood to be a bit more red in color, but it was yummy and had some of that flavor via the pickling spices. I used the broth I boiled the seitan in to boil the cabbage, carrots and potatoes and those came out pretty good. I felt the broth enhanced the natural flavors of the vegetables. 
..Shepard’s Pie..
One of our guests was going to make a Shepard’s Pie, but fell ill and couldn’t come last minute. I kinda had my heart set on having it, so I whipped this puppy together with some items from my pantry. I found a basic traditional Shepard’s pie recipe and did a little tweaking to make it vegan. Recipe at the bottom of the page. For mine I added some kidney beans and TVP because I had some to use up, but it’s not necessary, so I won’t add that to the recipe just to keep it simple and easily replicable.
..Coddle..
Okay, so I’ve never had this as a meat eater, but holy cow I’m in love. Wendy knocked it out with this one. The blog she got it from used Isa’s sausage seitan, which is now going to be my go to sausage. Wendy also said this bouillon is one of her secret weapons. Mmm, this stuff was delightful!
..Colcannon..
You can’t go wrong with mashed potatoes. Unless you’re me, because I more often than not turn mashed potatoes into glue. But luckily Angela made these and they came out amazing! This is the base she veganized. She used an onion in lieu of heavy cream. Angela’s maiden name is Meeks, and I joke that it should have been Leeks, because she always goes for those leek recipes. I seem to avoid them; we really do make a good team. This stuff was the perfect base for the coddle. A match made at the end of the rainbow! 🌈
.. 💋 Kiss Me I’m Salad 💋 ..
Jeanie got creative with her dish naming again with this beautiful salad. Can you tell it’s the flag of Ireland? 🇮🇪 Spinach mix with asparagus, Chao creamy original, parsnips, carrots, orange bell peppers, and apples, with a poppy seed dressing.
I had to use pickled beets for the seitan, and I served it on the side because it’s delicious, as well as strong Irish mustard, and horseradish.
And finally, here’s me modeling my new cabbage hat.
Shepard's Pie
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
45 mins
A lentil based traditional Shepherd's Pie adapted from Delish Plan
Course:
Main Dish
Cuisine:
United Kingdom
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Lentils
- 1 cup dry lentils
- dash garlic powder
- dash onion powder
- 1 tsp worcestershire
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3-4 large carrots finely diced
- 1 large onion finely diced
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup vegan chicken flavored broth/bouillon
- 6 cups mashed potatoes fresh or leftover
- grated parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
-
In rice cooker add 1c dry brown/green lentils, spices and Worcestershire sauce. Set to white and walk away. Or use the stovetop method to cook lentils of your choice.
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When done, add thyme and any seasons you like to make it taste a bit beefy. (Here is where I mixed in the extra protein)
-
Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan until hot. Sauté carrots in the olive oil until starting to get tender, about 2-3 minutes.
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Stir in onions and sauté for a minute or two, then add the cooked lentils.
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Reduce to medium heat; add the butter and peas; stir until the butter is melted.
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Sprinkle with flour and stir until well blended.
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Add tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.
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Cook until the mixture reduces slightly, then add the broth. Allow the filling to thicken and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
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Remove from heat. Transfer the filling to an slightly greased baking dish; spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over top. I like to rake my fork on the potato to give it some ridge. Sprinkle with vegan parm if using.
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Bake for 20 minutes or until the potato is golden brown.
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Add a spring of thyme and some paprika to make it shine and ENJOY!
Recipe Notes
For mine I used boxed potatoes (1 1/2 c dry) for the topping, sue me, I love the taste of them! I also added some kidney beans I had leftover from the corned beef I made, and some TVP for fun.