Christmas will be here soon… I’ve been celebrating the holidays leading into Thanksgiving. I started preparing my family’s Thanksgiving dinner weeks earlier. I even shared in my previous blog a recipe I hope you got to try. Family and friends were excited about serving a whole foods, plant based selection, or two or more for Thanksgiving; therefore, I provided my own main dish recipe for a meaty and hearty and, of course, delicious nut and veggie loaf. I love my nut and veggie loaf so much I made a mushroom and nut loaf for this year’s Thanksgiving. It was my first mushroom and nut loaf, made with much of the same ingredients as my nut and veggie loaf, but with lots more yummy mushrooms… and I must say, it was quite delightful… I’ll include the full recipe for my mushroom and nut loaf in my forthcoming food book…

This year I am giving each of you an early Christmas gift… A gift I hope will create an abundance of cheer in your home and while with your own family and friends. This gift requires you to be an artist… a creative… an individual who loves to make beautiful things, including beautiful cuisines. I’m sure you already know what this gift is… Whether you know for sure or not… it’s again, one of my own personal recipes. I’ve been watching food videos, communicating with my foodie community and trying out my own ideas for different foods. I watch food videos for both inspiration, they get me even more excited about food prep and making, and to learn about various ingredients and methods used for meals I am interested in. I recently made my first Shepard’s pie… It was so so good… I really loved experimenting with this recipe and changing it up a bit…

What did I do differently… Well… rather than mash my potatoes, I decided to smash my potatoes… I learned about the process of smashing and baking potatoes, so I tried this method and love the texture and flavor of my potatoes after they are baked. I also played with the recipe of my Shepard’s pie by trying a mix of veggies, herbs and seasonings that came to mind as I was tenderizing my lentils. In the pot with my lentils I added the following ingredients:

Classic(al) Vegan Shepard’s Pie

• Tenderize a cup or two of green and red lentils (or use only green or red)
• As lentils are tenderizing in at least 4 cups of water (less water if only 1 cup of lentils) add chopped veggies, herbs and seasonings: Add herbs and seasonings to preferred taste.
• Chopped tomatoes (One or more tomatoes depending on size)
• Chopped carrots (3 medium or more)
• Chopped okra (optional)
• Chopped onion
• Dried thyme (chopped)
• Dried rosemary (chopped)
• Dried sage (chopped)
• 1 Bay leaf
• Smoked paprika
• Cayenne powder
• Cumin powder
• Coriander powder
• Cardamom powder
• Marjoram
• Herbamare
• Black pepper
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Tamari sauce (a few or more dashes)
• Cornstarch (optional)
• Cook lentils with veggies, herbs and seasonings until lentil filling thickens.
• Remove Bay leaf then spoon thickened lentil filling into a pie pan, pie plate or casserole dish.

Vegan Smashed Seasoned Potatoes

• Steam at least 5 medium red or white cleaned potatoes
• When potatoes are soft outside and in let cool slightly
• Keep skin on potatoes then take one potato at a time and smash until flattened
• Place flattened potatoes on an oiled or parchment lined baking pan
• Brush the tops with olive oil and vegan butter
• Season with salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
• Sprinkle nutritional yeast on top if you like a cheesy top layer on your Shepard’s Pie
• Bake smashed potatoes for at least 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Once the potatoes have a slightly browned and crispy top layer place potatoes on top of lentil filling
• Bake lentil filling with potatoes on top for another 20 minutes. Potatoes will brown and crisp up more.
• Your Shepard’s pie is ready to serve…

I have to say, again, this Shepard’s Pie was really good. The taste and crispiness of the potatoes on top added a texture that was quite pleasing to my palate, and was fun to eat. The base of the pie, the lentil filling, was perfect in taste and texture too, especially with the okra added. My family and I use lentils and other beans as alternatives to meat. There are different varieties of lentils that can be used for your Shepard’s Pie, such as French or black lentils. Both have great meaty textures as well… or you can use another bean in place of lentils.

Shepard’s Pie is a great main dish to add to the table for any holiday meal. Perhaps, you’ll try this recipe or your own recipe for Shepard’s Pie this Christmas and enjoy with family and/or friends. Since my family and I are currently enjoying our Shepard’s Pie, we are having left over Shepard’s Pie tonight, I probably won’t make another one until after the holidays. This Christmas we plan to have a vegan Wellington. We’ve had vegan Wellington’s for past holidays and truly savored them. My mom introduced a vegan Wellington recipe to me several years ago. After making the Wellington, it accompanied one of the first vegan holiday meals we had with my father. We’ve made vegan Wellingtons for at least a few holidays. Each was made with different ingredients. I’ll make this one with different ingredients too… Stay tuned… BIG SMILE…

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