Vegan Shepard's Pie

Delicious and satisfying winter comfort food!
Could be served as a holiday meal or at a dinner party.

Serves 10

Ingredients

1 Head roasted garlic (*instructions below)

For the potato layer
8 medium potatoes
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance (or other vegan buttery spread, or leave it out completely for no added oil)
1/3 Cup soy or other unflavored non-dairy milk, or vegetable broth
4 cloves roasted garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Veg layer
1/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup red wine
1 parsnip peeled and cut in a small dice
2 carrots peeled and cut in a small dice
1 medium onion cut in small dice
2 stalks celery cut in a small dice
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
4 cloves roasted garlic
2 tsp. dried thyme

Sauce
1 Tbsp. tamari sauce
1 Cup vegetable broth
1/4 Cup red wine
3 Tbsp. flour

To make roasted garlic, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the off approx. 1/4 inch of the tip end of the bulb and peel off the outer layers of skin, leaving skins of individual cloves attached. Place in the middle of an 8x10" piece of foil and spray with a bit of cooking spray. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Open foil and allow to cool for 20 minutes before attempting to take the cloves out of their jackets.

Peel and dice the potatoes cover with lightly salted water, allow to come to a boil. Turn heat down and allow to simmer for approximately 20 minutes until potatoes are very soft (while waiting on potatoes start on veg mix below). Drain. Return to pan. Add Earth Balance, soy milk, 4 cloves of roasted garlic, mash potatoes until just barely lumpy with a potato masher, or use a hand mixer. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and spray a 12x9" glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray.

While waiting on potatoes to cook through peel and dice parsnip and carrots and dice celery and onion, slice mushrooms, and if very large cut slices in halves or quarters. Line a skillet with 1/4 Cup red wine and one quarter Cup water. Once heated through add all vegetables except frozen peas and corn. Once onion is translucent and other veg are soft add four cloves roasted garlic and stir through. Reduce heat to low. Place frozen corn and peas in microwave and cook for two minutes (don't worry if they are not completely cooked through). Add peas and corn to skillet. Add dried thyme.

To make the sauce; in a small dish or measuring cup wisk together 1 Cup vegetable broth, 1/4 Cup red wine, 3 Tbsp. Tamari sauce and 3 Tbsp. flour.

Add sauce mixture to veg mixture. Turn up heat, bring to a boil and allow to thicken. Take off heat.

Spread veg mixture in bottom of greased baking dish. Layer potatoes on top. Cook in preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow 10 minutes to stand before serving.

Serve with vegan gravy if desired. The Happy Herbivore (link provided) is probably the best vegan gravy I have had.

Veg Chili

Feeds 8
It's great stored in the fridge and reheated

Ingredients

1 medium onion chopped
1 green or red pepper chopped (if you like things really spicy use a hotter pepper)
2 cans organic chili hot beans
1 can red beans or dark red kidney beans
2 cans tomatoes (spice things up using chili ready tomatoes or fire roasted tomatoes)
1 can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp. chili powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/3 bag of Quorn grounds Use TVP for veganizing
Ketchup(use the kind made with cane sugar, not corn syrup)

In a large non-stick dutch oven sweat out the onion and green pepper in water or a little red wine.
Pulverize the tomoatoes in a ninja, magic bullet, blender or food processor.
Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce and pulverized tomatoes to the veg.
Add spices and a couple of big squirts of ketchup * note my measurements are guidelines add more or less spice dependent upon your taste.
Cook the mixture for at least 15 minutes, longer to allow flavors to blend.
15 -20 minutes before cooking add the beans and the Quorn grounds and allow to heat through. If you use TSP you will need to rehydrate it before adding to the chili.