Potato (cottage) Pie

The temperature outside is dropping and you feel like something substantial than soup. Of course hubby comes home hungry and you know that an old fashioned potato pie is just the thing to warm you up. DO was a bit sceptical that he would like a potato pie without meat but he really enjoyed it, helping himself to seconds and taking leftovers to work for lunch.

Potato Pie

5 large potatoes
dairy free milk
dairy free margarine
2 tabs olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (I used the stuff in the jar)
1 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
1 can drained and rinsed kidney beans
1 can tomatoes
2 tabs dried mixed herbs
1 1/2 cups water
2 beef flavoured vegan stock cubes
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup bourghal (cracked wheat)
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Peel potatoes. Place into a saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return to saucepan. Add margarine and milk. Mash until smooth.

In a large saucepan, place oil, onions, garlic and cumin saute until cumin is fragrant. Add kidney beans and tomatoes and crush with potato masher until beans are smooth. Place stock cubes and cocoa powder into tomato can, add 1/2 cup water and stir until smooth. Add that to saucepan along with the remainder of the water. Add herbs, bourghal, worcester sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place lid on saucespan and simmer for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 24cm x 30cm (base) lasagne dish. Spoon sauce into dish. Top with mashed potato. Dot the potato with a little margarine and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until potato is golden brown. Serve.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Crash Hot Potatoes was completely and blatantly stolen from Vegan Yum Yum who in turn found it on The Pioneer Woman.

I didn't have new potatoes, so I used what I had in the cupboard andI used dried dill instead of rosemary. Oh, and partway through boiling the potatoes, I had to take the cat to the vet, so I ended up cooking them in the microwave. A girl has to take a shortcut when she can...

Okay, my Crash Hot Potatoes didn't look as nice as the ones on Vegan Yum Yum's site, but they tasted delish. I don't have a photo but if you go to her site, you can pretend.

East End Wedges

Several years ago - well maybe more like a couple of decades ago - when the children were young, DO and I went one night to the cinema and afterwards went for supper at a small coffee shop called the East End Cafe. It was the only place open that late at night and we weren't particularly hungry but wanted to stretch our date night out longer. We had something called East End Fries which we shared between ourselves. The dish consisted of hot potato chips, salsa, guacamole and sour cream and was totally yummo.

East End Wedges is my veganised version of it. I used wedges because I had a packet in the freezer for a lazy snack but by adding the extras sauces, it turned into a meal and while it tasted decadent, I think it was quite healthy...kinda...well healthier than the original East End Fries at any rate.

East End Wedges

750gms potato wedges (cooked in the oven according to the pack)
Jar ready made salsa
1 1/2 to 2 cups guacamole
1 cup vegan sour cream

On a large serving plate place wedges, top with salsa, followed by guacamole and sour cream.