Happy St. Patty’s Day, friends! I hope you’ve enjoyed a little luck of the Irish today.
We’ve had a wonderful time here at Chez Recessionista, and our workdays were perfectly lucky indeed. I even managed to survive a trip to the lab to get my blood drawn (routine tests, nothing fancy!), and limped back to the office under my own power. Victories! I’m sure it can be attributed to the bright green beads I wore today for the occasion.
Today has been lucky on the food front, as well. I’ve known for two weeks that I wanted to make our traditional vegan shepherd’s pie for dinner tonight, so before I left for the office this morning, I got started on some of the prep work. Namely, I washed and diced some potatoes, put them in the Crock-Pot, and covered them with water, flipping the heat to Low to let them cook all day long. This saved a ton of time tonight! All I had to do when I got home was drain the water off, add some almond milk, and mash them down with my trusty potato masher (a wonderful invention if I’ve ever seen one!). Magical!
As per usual, I followed the trusty recipe I received in a PETA Vegetarian Starter Kit a thousand years ago, and once again, it didn’t dare fail me. As the potatoes sat to the side, waiting to serve as the pie topper, I pulled out a deep-dish pie pan and mixed a container of Tofurky ground beef – the second container from yesterday’s meal – with a can of peas and carrots and a carton of mushroom gravy. Then I added some spices – garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and crushed red pepper – and mixed everything together. Finally, I topped the pie with the mashed potatoes and put the plate in the oven for about 40 minutes. Easy as … pie!
When the shepherd’s pie had about 15 minutes left in the cooking time, I got to work on the cabbage. Often I’ll steam or boil the cabbage, but tonight I decided to try something new and sautéed it in a big pan instead. First I coated a large nonstick pan with cooking spray, and then I placed the separated leaves of half a head of cabbage (I’ll use the other half later this week) into the pan. Halfway through this process, I added some chipotle seasoning, and then added the rest of the cabbage leaves. On top, I added a pat of butter (which would later melt and give the cooking spray a little depth) and a generous helping of parsley. Then, as the cherry on top, I sprinkled a dash of nutritional yeast, because I simply adore the stuff.
I turned the burner on Medium and let the cabbage cook, stirring and tossing the pan every couple of minutes. A few of the leaves got a little brown around the edges, which looked and tasted just wonderful in the end! And every piece of cabbage took on a bright green sheen, which added additional flair to the meal.
Bu the time the shepherd’s pie was ready, so was the cabbage, so LeeLee and I popped open some Guinness and sat down to eat! We both loved the pie, as usual – who can resist the meaty, hearty goodness of a gravy-laden dish topped with potatoes? And we both went crazy for the cabbage, as well. I think sautéing it really brings out the best in cabbage, and we’ll certainly do so again. It was crisp-tender and teeming with flavor, having soaked up the spices and butter magnificently. Each bite made our taste buds sing!
On the leftover front, we’ve got plenty of shepherd’s pie left (and no cabbage). I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!
:)