Thursday, January 6, 2011

pot pie

{Voluptuous} I love the comfort of a golden crusted pot pie fresh from the oven, the goodness within steaming our faces as we sit together talking over the days highs and lows.  I love when it tastes so good you scrape your plate clean with the edge of your fork and contemplate having more, not out of hunger, but of pure sensory delight. 
A pot pie in January is like no other time of the year; the root vegetables are prime warmers during this season, the holidays have sweetened our palette and we crave a reprieve.  The creamy pie filling melds with the variety of textures , potato, corn, cauliflower; and the herbs make savory what the crust makes flaky. As the wind howls and the snow piles, warm and toasty on the inside, our bellies full, all is right with the world and we can turn inward and toward each other to share in the comfort.

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 tbsp earth balance vegan margarine (I use the soy free)
1/2 C flour
1 C nutritional yeast flakes
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 C plain almond milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin
3/4 C frozen peas
3/4 C froz
1 C frozen cauliflower & brocoli blend
*maybe cubed extra firm tofu

Saute celery, onions, and carrots in butter for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the flour and yeast, stirring constantly for 1 minute, i like to whisk at this stage~
Add broth and milk to mixture while stirring constantly
Cook over medium heat until bubbly then stir in the peas, cauliflower, & brocoli, salt, cumin and pepper.

pour into pie crust~
Bake at 375 F for 30-45 minutes
you could also use cauliflower, earth balance butter and a vitamix (or food processor if your awesome husband didnt buy you one!) to make a top crust not unlike a shepherds pie, instead of a top layer of crust.  it is delicious and has far less carbs~
I used a frozen spelt flour crust that i bought at the food co-op, you can make your own or you could add the pot pie mixture into a 2 qt baking dish or individual ramekins and cover with this:

1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup earth balance
2-3 tbsp cold water

Mix flour and salt together, cut in butter, add the water, then shape into a ball and chill. Once it's chilled roll out the dough to fit over the casserole dish.

yum!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

soup-a!!!

[Voluptuous] Craving soup, nutrtion to refuel from a workout, and, use of limited produce, i made a pot of soup yesterday that turned out yum, if i do say so myself!


i had a quart of no-chicken broth
2 cups of almond milk
1 cup of nutritional yeast
2 cups water
2 white onions
3 organic yukon gold potatoes
1/4 head of organic cauliflower
1 bag frozen organic butternut squash
1/2 bad of sliced carrots
1TBSP cumin
sea salt to taste
1TBSP Tamari

I could have used miso for the broth too, so dont forget that if you try this at home! I used what I had.  I would have added garlic if I had it, but it was all old and squishy.  i was so good, and did the job soup should so well, i would make this again on purpose! i would however get myself a loaf of french peasant bread from crescent bakery in frankfort, next time.  instead, i served it over a little brown rice.  this was a nice textural addition, even though i dont usually go for so many starchy foods all together like that. i loved it for lunch.  at dinner i ate it with a little frank's hot sauce added and that was delish also~ the spice was nice! today i am looking forward to seeing how the flavors merged over night. i would have liked it to be a little thicker, too.  it was much more runny than i was craving.  any suggestions for how to thicken it without adding calories would be most welcome! thanks for reading today!