Friday, March 11, 2011

Comfort Food: Shepherd's Pie & Lemon Rosemary Cupcakes

Now that it's warming up (slightly) I'm trying to increase the amount of fresh greens in my meals.  But that's not where this post is going.... I've had a hard time eating salads this cold winter and have indulged in plenty of warm vegan comfort foods.  Speaking of mega-comfort-food, yesterday I made a recipe that's turned into a real favorite the past few months, vegan Shepherd's Pie. And why stop there?  We had vegan Lemon Rosemary Cupcakes for dessert.  Today I'm eating a huge salad for dinner.  Balance, right?
The cupcakes are based on the Golden Vanilla Cupcake recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I added lemon zest, lemon juice & fresh rosemary to the cake batter, and frosted them with the Lemon Buttercream recipe from the same book.  So good & light & lemony!  This book is so awesome.  I've made several of the recipes and they've all turned out super yummy. 
The Shepherd's Pie is sort of a throw-together recipe that I change almost every time I make it based on what I have in my pantry. There are 3 components: filling, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Last night's version started with a filling of onion, garlic, lentils, Yves meatless ground, spinach, fresh herbs and peas.
Then comes the vegan gravy.  Yesterday's was made with veggie stock, miso, nutritional yeast, and some soy sauce.  It all gets mixed together & poured into a pie plate.
Then it gets topped with mashed potatoes and baked under the broiler until it's slightly browned on top.  Last night's potatoes were whipped up with green onion, garlic, soy creamer, earth balance spread, salt & pepper.
The pie tastes even better re-heated the next day.  Yay for left-overs!  And, yes I had a cupcake for breakfast this morning.  Happy Friday!

12 comments:

  1. amazing!!!

    i love shepherd's pie...and adding lentils is a really great idea!

    and i totally get wanting to eat warm foods when it's bitter cold outside...warm foods are soothing and soul full. and necessary when the weather is grim and brutal.

    have a beautiful weekend friend. so glad you're back!

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  2. ohhhh i almost forgot about the sweetest part of the post...those cupcakes are beautiful...and i absolutely adore anything lemony!!!!!

    =)

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  3. Thanks, Nelly! It's been soooo cold for sooo many months here. I'm happy that signs of Spring are starting to show up. And yes, I love all things lemon too.

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  4. I too get so cold eating salads in the winter. It's been a cold and damp one here too. I love the lemon cupcakes and shepard's pie. Looks delish!

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  5. it's clearly been ages since ive been here b/c you changed your title, name, site, etc...and it looks wonderful, nikki!!!

    thanks for stopping by today and keeping in touch :)

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  6. Thanks, Aimee & Averie!

    I'm just starting to get caught up with everyone in bloggy world :)

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  7. Oh my gosh, I want everything! I have to confess I've never had shepherd's pie but have always wanted to try it. Your version looks scrumptious and then to top it off with lemon rosemary cupcake, what could be better? :)

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  8. Wow, those cupcakes are calling me! I've been adding warm grains or veggie burgers to my salads to warm me up! But nothing beats good old comfort food! Mmmm

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  9. Every cupcake I've made from VCTOTW is so good! I've had a salad every day this week and I've actually been enjoying them with warm baked sweet potatoes. So happy to see you again!

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  10. I gave you an award for your new blog :) http://hihorosie.blogspot.com/2011/03/fun-blog-awards-and-meme.html

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