Cooking: Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Shalom Shalom!

I've been meaning to post this for a while, and the last time I made this, I had "technical difficulties".  I announced on Facebook today that I was making Vegan Shepherd's Pie for dinner, and I was asked by the one and only Em Ahuva of Set Apart Living for the ingredients to my recipe.  I promised her that I would put the recipe on the blog today, and I am woman of my word.  This is a favorite in our house.  My Ish absolutely loves it!  I know, you may be thinking, if a vegan Shepherd's Pie will taste just as good as one made with meat.  I can definitely assure you that it is indeed delicious, and when I experimented and formulated this recipe, I did my best to give the best "meaty" taste as possible.  Well, for one, lentils are an excellent vegan protein source and meat substitute.  If you look back at my "Taco Tuesday" entry, you will see that I made taco filling with lentils.  It was just as good as, if not better, than that made with meat.  The same goes for this Shepherd's Pie.  And as a meat eater, I can definitely attest to the texture and flavor is similar to lamb (which is what a true Shepherd's Pie is made of) or beef (for cottage pie)!

Here's what you'll need...

*3 medium sized carrots

*4 stalks celery

*1/2 large onion (or 1 small or medium onion)

*5 cloves garlic

*3/4 cup corn (frozen is fine)

3/4 cup green beans (frozen is fine)

*1 cup dry lentils

*2 tablespoons tomato paste

*1/2 cup Liquid Aminos

*3 cups of liquid (vegetable stock, water, or a combination of both.  I used both because the vegetable stock was still somewhat frozen)

*Potatoes (for topping.  I used 9 medium sized russet potatoes for this recipe.  Use as little as much as you like--depending on how much you like mashed potatoes)

Finely chop the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

Peel and quarter potatoes...

...and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until soft.

While the potatoes are cooking, on medium heat, add oil.  I use refined Coconut Oil.  Now, before you get in a tizzy on whether it's healthy or not, the particular brand of refined coconut oil is steam refined--as opposed to the use of chemicals.  I use Nutiva Refined Coconut Oil, and usually buy it by the gallon for about $20 on Amazon.  The oil has a smoking point on 425 degrees, so it is not easy for it to go rancid quickly.

Once the oil is heated, add the chopped carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.  I also add a sprinkle of salt (I use Himalayan Pink Salt) to draw out the moisture in the vegetables and to help them cook quicker (the sprinkling of the salt can be omitted--as the Liquid Aminos is quite salty).  Cook until softened and onions translucent--approximately 3 minutes.

Next, add the corn and green beans, and cook for about another 3 minutes.

Add the lentils, tomato paste, and Liquid Aminos.  The tomato paste and the Liquid Aminos is what gives this Vegan Shepherd's Pie a "meaty, beefy" taste.

Mix thoroughly...

...and add liquid.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, turn the heat down on low, and allow to simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes.  You may need to check the level of liquid every so often--as lentils absorb liquid quickly.  Add more liquid if need be.  We want a nice sauce with the lentils.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

The potatoes are ready.  After boiling, strain, and keep on low heat.  This will help excess water to dissipate--as the excess water will result in watery mashed potatoes. Mash the potatoes (I used a potato masher), and prepare them as you like.  What I do, after the mashing is to add Earth Balance and cashew milk for creaminess, and add salt and pepper to taste.  I prefer cashew milk over other non-dairy milks for mashed potatoes because it has the consistency of half and half--which I would use if I were making a non-vegan version

Filling is ready also.

In the pan it goes.  I used a half hotel pan (you can get these in restaurant supply stores.  My stepfather is a chef, and had these in abundance).  I would suggest that the depth be no less than 2 inches.

Now for the mashed potato topping.  Spread the potatoes evenly on top of the filling.  You can leave it flat, or you can fluff it up--as I did in the pic.  Simply take a fork and fluff up the top.  This was mainly done for aesthetics.  The look of the topping is completely up to you.

Put the Shepherd's Pie in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  This will further cook the lentils and give the topping a light browning.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie...

...Done!

This recipe should yield 6-8 servings--depending on your portion sizes.  Being that this is just my Ish and I, we will have leftovers for the next few days.  It's all good, because it tastes better the days after it's made!

I sincerely hope that you make this for your family, and please let me know how it turned out for you!  Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.  Shalom Shalom!

Bathshua

Homemade Coconut Milk

Shalom Shalom!

I know.  It's been a while.  I meant to post this sooner, but was unable to due to difficulties with my technology.  I think I got it together now...lol.

Anywho.  Homemade Coconut Milk.  As with many of my entries, I would post it on social media (i.e. Facebook, Instagram), and would be asked for the recipe.  So, here it is...as promised!

I've been using a lot of coconut milk lately--especially in my millet porridge.  I also use it to make vegan rice pudding--as well as the coconut cream to make vegan whipped cream.  Prior to this, I would buy the canned coconut milk; however, I would notice that there would be thickening agents added to the coconut milk.  That doesn't sit with me too well.  That being said, I researched on how to make it from scratch, and this entry is a culmination of what I've learned from my research.  I've seen many people use the dried coconut flakes and add water to them, but I still feel that this is still not natural enough--as the dried coconut goes through a process before shelved at the store.  In addition, you may not know what preservatives (if any) were used--so that it has a fairly long shelf life.  They say, if it spoils, then eat it--as the nutritional value in live, fresh food is higher.  That being said, I decided to make mine using...

...fresh coconuts.  That's it!  It can't get any simpler!

 As you can see, I have 7 fresh young, organic coconuts.  You can use the more mature coconuts (the ones with the brown, hairy exterior)--which are said to have a stronger coconut flavor.  They didn't have those at Whole Foods.  Perhaps, I have to go to the a produce shop (i.e. Produce Junction, Cousins) and find the mature ones.  I may make my next batch with those.  Anywho.  Fresh young coconuts.

Next, remove from the plastic wrapping, and this is what you have.  To get a visual, these coconuts, once off of the tree, were green.  The green exterior was removed, and this is how it would look.  These shells are hard, but a bit soft--hence the cleaver.

Turn the coconut on its side, and start to cut the top off with the cleaver.

Rotate around as you cut...

...and cut to the top point off.

Next, take the bottom of the cleaver (or a chef's knife, if you don't have a cleaver), and cut the top open.  Cut around the circle of the top.  A slight word of caution, it may squirt at you, so don't be suprised by a coconut water spritzer. 

If need be, slice the top off.  As long as you remove the top, then any method is fine.  This is how I did it.

Once the top off, this should expose the actual coconut flesh.  Sometimes, the top of the coconut flesh may end up of on top that you just cut off.  If it does, simply scoop it off.  I love how cleanly the top came off!

 

Now, scoop the top of the coconut flesh off.  It is really soft, so you should have no problems.

With the top of the flesh off, the coconut water is exposed.  If you see a slight shimmer in this pic, that is the coconut water.

Dump the coconut water in a separate container...

...and proceed to scooping out the flesh. As was the top, the flesh is very easy to scoop out.  

Here is a freshly scooped out piece of coconut flesh.  Now, you may also scoop out some of the brown inner shell.  If you do, simply pick it off of the flesh.  You can also rinse some of the softer bits off with water.  I had a small bowl of distilled water on the side for that purpose.  Based on my research, there were many who would try to rid all of the brown shell off of the white flesh--in order to retain the white color of the finished product.  I did that the first time and a little bit while making this, and it can be very time consuming!

Or you can just simply leave it on.  Just remove the harder pieces.  The softer brown bits will eventually filter out and not end up in the milk. 

Once removed, put the flesh in a blender or food processor.

Here is all of the coconut flesh from the first coconut...

 

 ...and the scooped out shell.

One down.  Six more to go (or however many you choose.  To get a substantial amount of coconut milk, get no less than four coconuts).

This is the coconut water for five of the seven coconuts. This was filling up...

...as was the food processor cup.  You don't want your equipment to overflow--which can impede it from working as efficiently as it should.  That being said, I took the flesh of these five coconuts...

...and initially pulsed, then processed the flesh into finer pieces.

Then, add the coconut water...slowly, in a stream...

...until the cup is just about full, and the texture becomes much smoother.  Mind you, I had more coconut water in the container, but it's all good.  Again, I didn't want the processor cup to overflow.  Allow to process for about 1-2 minutes.

Have your filtration area ready.  This is a nut milk bag.  You simply pour in the contents, and squeeze out the liquid.  The solids will be left in the bag, and not in your finished product.  You can find these reasonably priced at Amazon, or you can find them at Whole Foods or any natural store.  If you don't have a nut milk bag, you can also use a couple layers of cheesecloth to achieve the same results.

Take two with the last two coconuts!

Once all of the coconut flesh has been processed, pour all contents in the nut milk bag (or cheesecloth).  As you can see, the milk is in the bowl--which filtered from the bag.  In addition to the milk, there is also cream in the bowl as well.

Pick the bag up out of the bowl, and squeeze it--until you get as much of the liquid as possible.  You will also be squeezing out the cream and oil as well.  That's absolutely fine--as it will attribute to the texture of the final product.  I say continue squeezing until nothing that drips (be it milk, cream, or oil) comes out any longer.

Here is the final product.  It may look curdled, but that's okay.  If you ever drank raw cows' milk, you will see bits of cream as well.  And since this is vegan, it is perfectly safe.

Coconut milk...done, and bottled in a half gallon glass bottle.  I decided to use this because it has that retro look.  My Ish purchased this from Amazon for the purpose of storing other homemade non-dairy milks.  Like raw cows' milk, the cream rises to the top, so shake it before drinking it.  This way, the milk becomes homogenized and the texture a bit more even.

This is what could not fit in the bottle, so why not enjoy a glass?  I tell you, that it is absolutely delicious! Sweet.  Fresh.  It can't get any better!

Due to fears of overcrowding the processor cup, here is the remaining coconut water.  You DO NOT want to throw this out!  Coconut water is absolutely delicious!  It is also sweet.  Save this for smoothies, for making hot cereal, or just chill it for a refreshing drink!

As for the pulverized flesh, I did not discard that either.  I froze it.  When I'm ready, I will allow to dehydrate, but putting it in the oven at a low temperature.  Once dried out, I will grind to make coconut flour.  Waste not, want not!

I hope that you make some homemade coconut milk today.  It's a little bit of labor to it, but I assure you, the end result is worth it!  The taste far surpasses the canned stuff from the store, and it's healthier because there is nothing added to it.  As you can see, it is made entirely of coconut. I've used it in millet porridge, Thai curries, and vegan rice pudding.  I'm also considering using it in vegan salted caramel and to make a coconut milk olive oil soap (if I do these things, I will DEFINITELY do entries for them). If you make this, please let me know how it turned out for you--as well as  any uses for it.  I appreciate your stopping by.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Until then...Shalom shalom!

Bathshua