Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

It's casserole week! Comfort food for the winter. Here's a simple vegetarian "shepherd's pie," because you can't spend all that time caring for woolly little sheepies and then eat them. My old flatmates in New Zealand deserve credit for this recipe!

6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp milk, cream, or buttermilk

2 medium onions, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp oil
300 g diced mushrooms
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp thyme
lots of freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp arrowroot flour (or cornstarch)
1/2 cup potato cooking water or low-salt veggie stock
2 tbsp sour cream (optional)
about 2 cups cooked kidney beans (1 large can, well drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar (optional)

Cook quartered potatoes in water until tender; reserve 1/2 cup of the drained cooking water. Mash potatoes with the cream, milk, or buttermilk.

Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in oil in a large frying pan. Add the diced mushrooms and sugar and cook until the onions are well browned. Stir in the salt, herbs, pepper, and arrowroot. Pour in the reserved potato cooking water slowly, stirring constantly, until the sauce is the consistency of thick gravy; remove from the heat and add the sour cream, if desired. Stir in the cooked drained beans. Pour into a 2L casserole. Top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, until nicely bubbled up.

Makes about 6 to 8 servings, depending on appetites.

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

A vegetarian delight, featuring oh-so-good for you (oh-so-expensive) quinoa. The almonds are a must for texture. Select peppers that are shorter than they are long. They will sit more easily in the pan as they bake.

*I used canned tomatoes for convenience, and I drained the tomato juice, seeds and all, and used it, topped up with veggie stock, to cook the quinoa. This was delicious.

3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, or a combination of vegetable stock and tomato juice

5-6 small- to medium-sized peppers -- all red, or a mix of red, green and/or other colours

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups mushrooms, diced
1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tbsp herbes de Provence
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced*
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1 cup old Cheddar cheese, grated

Cook quinoa in vegetable stock until the water is absorbed and the disturbing little curlicues have emerged from the grains of quinoa. (A rice cooker works equally well for quinoa.) When cooked, pour the quinoa into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the tops off the red and green peppers. Discard seeds and core, and dice remaining tops.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add diced mushrooms, jalapeno pepper, and reserved diced pepper tops. Sprinkle with herbes de Provence, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Cook until vegetables are just tender.

Stir vegetable mixture, diced tomatoes, lemon juice, and toasted sliced almonds into the quinoa. Stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, reserving 1/4 cup to sprinkle on tops of peppers. Taste mixture and adjust seasonings.

Spoon mixture evenly into prepared peppers, mounding the mixture if necessary. Sprinkle each pepper with a little bit of reserved cheese. Place in 8" glass baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until peppers are almost tender. Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes, until peppers are tender and topping is nicely browned.

Makes 5-6 servings.