It's freezing and rainy outside and that always motivates me to work harder for some reason... maybe because I know I wouldn't be outside having fun otherwise? Or maybe because the heat setter is so warm on the press, and it's cozy down in the studio.
Cold weather reminded me though, that it's warm foods season, and finally, phil will agree to making hot soup again (I am perpetually cold and ALWAYS ready for stew, but he is perpetually hot, and waits until december to put on a sweater). One of our favorite warm cozy foods to make is vegetarian pot pie, and the other day after making Phil and apple pie for his birthday, I had leftover dough and decided to use up some veggies in our fridge and make mini individual pot pies! I swear, getting your very own individual ANYTHING is double as exciting. I used little white ramekins, and baked them at the same time as the apple pie (I think about 400 degrees, for 20-30 minutes. I just kept checking them until the tops looked done.
I was scolded for not putting a recipe for the last food post I did, so here is what I can remember doing:
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1 potato-
1 carrot-
1 onion-
1 turnip-
1 stalk of celery-
1/3 can of chickpeas (I often use Quorn brand "naked cutlets" for pot pie as well, but these were GREAT too)
-about
3 cups vegetable stock (I boil water and add something called "better than boullion" which is better because it has no msg) even better: making your own stock)
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fresh sage, dry thyme, rosemary, tarragon, & ground black pepper.
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2 tbs olive oil or butter-
leftover pie crust dough
Boil the water/stock in a medium saucepan. While it's boiling, saute the other veggies (including chickpeas) in a big frypan with the herbs. I usually cook the potatoes and starchier veggies first so they soften, but it's not that important. When they start to soften, and the stock is boiling, add the stock to the veggies in small amounts (1/2 cup at a time). You may not need all of the stock - you want the veggies to be wet, with a little bit of thickened broth at the bottom, but not a ton. Think really thick stew. When the potatoes and carrots start to get soft, turn off the heat. Use your leftover pie crust to line the insides of two 5" ramekins, and roll out two discs of dough to cover the tops. Fill these mini pieshells right to the top with the veggie mix and cover with the dough tops. poke a couple air holes, cover with tinfoil (otherwise, the tops will burn before the pies are cooked all the way through), and bake at about 400 degrees (F) for about 20minutes. (or until they look done).
I happened to use those things on the list because they were what I had in the kitchen. Other veggies we use a lot: Frozen peas, green stringbeans, parsnips (careful, they're potent), sweet potatoes, squash... you get the idea.
Let me know if you do things other than eat potatoes and wear sweatpants to endure the cold weather.
