Stout Infused Mushroom Lentil Shepherd's Pie

St. Patrick's day is by far one of the best celebrations of a Saint that has ever existed since the Pagan's were throwing party's...those guys did it up right. But celebrating with beer and parades, random strangers demanding kisses a la "Kiss me I'm Irish" T-shirts and silly green costumes gets a Fondue Voodoo seal of approval. We celebrate the best way we know how with beer infused veggie shepherd's pie, until the Pagans comeback...

What you will need:

humble beginnings

• 2 cups diced mushrooms (mixture of cremini and trumpet or others of your choice)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cups green cabbage
• 1 TBSP oil, best choice - coconut oil
• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 cup lentils (see cooking instructions below)
• 3 bay leaves 
• 1 bottle (340 ml) stout. We used St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout by McAuslan Brewing
• 3 TBSP mushroom powder
• 1 TBSP umami paste (can be substituted with 1 TBSP tomato paste or 1/2 TBSP anchovy paste
• 1 cup veggie/mushroom broth
• 3 TBSP tomato paste, or more depending on your preference
• 1 tsp rosemary powder
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp oregano
• crack of pepper
• 3 TBSP beurre manie
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 TBSP freshly chopped herbs such as flat leaf parsley

Prior to starting, have on hand 2 cups of mashed potatoes, warmed up with speed up the process.
To cook the lentils first rinse with cold water, drain and then place in a stock pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches and add bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 10 minutes. Once cooked pour into strainer and rinse with cool water.

Chow time

In a separate stock pot add the oil and gently sauté the onions, carrots, celery and cabbage for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and then add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Remove from pot and add the mushrooms. Sauté until browned. Deglaze the pot with the stout. Add the stock, mushroom powder, umami paste and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in beurre manie to make a lightly thickened sauce. Bring back to the heat and bump the heat up to medium to thicken - it should just cover a spoon slightly. Add in the mushrooms, vegetables and lentils back to the pot.

Once the mushroom-vegtable mixture is heated through pour into a casserole dish and cover with the mashed potatoes. You could proceed to bake for 20 - 25 mins to heat all the layers evenly, or place on top rack under the broiler until the potatoes are browned.

To serve, scoop a 1/4 cup of peas on the dish and then add a layer of the Shepherd's pie on top. Finish with herbs, cracked pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Shepherd's Pie Beer Pairing: Best to pair this meal with the same beer as you used for the deglazing. An oatmeal stout works great here as the creamy oatmeal and toasted malts balances perfectly with the richness of the mushrooms and lentils.

Cauliflower Blue Cheese Soup

Winter is here and in my neck of the woods that means rain, rain and more rain. By the end of winter Fondue Voodoo has sprouted webbed toes, a feathery rain coat and has a relentless urge for paddling around the local duck pond. Before that metamorphosis happens, I try to comfort myself with a giant bowl of soup. This blue cheese spiked soup is an excellent example of how to improve on cauliflower - the veg that hasn't the decencey to produce chlorophyll, seriously, it's basically a failed cabbage, time for redemption through blue cheesy goodness.

A Fondue Voodoo duck after months of rain.

You'll need:
1 head of cauliflower
1 onion
2 stalks of celery
2 extra large cloves of garlic
1 litre of veggie broth
500 mls water
seasoning - thyme, pepper, bay leaf, salt if necessary
1/3 cup or more blue cheese
Topping: Sour cream for decedents and toasty croutons floated on top.

Step 1. Cut one head of cauliflower
into 2 x 2 chunks. Toss with a little oil and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet & roast at 475 degrees. Roast until golden brown and cooked through. The cauliflower can burn quickly at this high temp, so keep your eyes's on it.

Step 2. Sweat the veggies
In a big heavy bottom pot sweat the following in a little oilve oil:
1 onion
2 stalks of celery
2 large cloves of garlic

Step 3. make soup
Add in the roasted cauliflower to the onions, celery and garlic
add 1 litre of veggie broth
1/2 litre water
season as desired - thyme, pepper, bay leaf, salt if necessary.

Step 4. Blend
Using an immersion blender to blend the soup throughly. The goal is a thick velvety soup that grips the spoon.

Step 5. Assemble
Crumble a table spoon, or more of blue cheese in your bowl and pour the pipping hot soup on top. Give it all a swirl as the cheese melts to incorporate the cheese. You can consider a spoonful of sour cream on top to add a rich creaminess, your preference.
Top with a float of croutons.

Something transcendent happens when the blue cheese melts, it's magic, it's a miracle, it's a mystery and it's fabulous.

Greens - aint not big thing

Too many iceberg heads of lettuce out there blanding the whole world up with their tastelessness. If your in the grocer and your buying iceberg, please for the love of sweet bearded baby Jesus remember this ...

                    you CAN buy good taste.

There is no reason for this leafy treason, it's time to be introduced to the new green in town. Time to give up on the regular leafy ho hum, and approach the greens as an experiment in developing new flavors and combinations. Salads, cole slaws, fresh veggies and cru de tay it can all be better when your try something new.

 

Here's a simple chart to help you start your picking, of greens…I don’t even what to think about what else your picking sitting in front of your computer, alone, without anyone watching …ewwwwww. 

Type	taste	Availability	Colour
Black Kale	Brassica-spinach x brocolli	Health food stores	Dark purple to blue often dusty looking
Red Cabbage	X-crunchy slightly sweet, brassica finish	Widely available	Dark purple, sometimes shiny and sometimes dusty
Ridicioo	Bitter & Herby	Widely available	Dark purple and white, shiny
Beet Greens	mild beet root flavor with boost of grassy	sold attached to beet roots & in mixed greens packs	Shiny green and deep purple, stems are deep ruby red leading to red veining.
Green Kale	Like seaweed without that ocean flavor	available easily	deep green/blue, should be even in tone. May even look dusty
Spinach	fresh green grass – cud	available everywhere	shiny vibrant green
Arugula or Rocket	Green + pepper or horse radish	you might need to ask for it.	shiny vibrant green
Swiss Chard	green and earthy – same taste regardless of stem colour	green grocier	leaf is shiny green, stems range in colour form white, yellow orange and red
Dandilion	green and bitter	health food stores	vibrant green, pale green and white stems
Mustard	Horseradish and greens	health food stores	less vibrant green than above, but still grass green
Romaine	Greens and celery – crispy	green grocier	Shiny vibrant green and white stems, paler as the leaves go into the centre
Butter Lettuce	tender fresh green, mild	Seasonal, dependent on location	Shiny vibrant pale green
Green Cabbage so many varities!	mild broccoli lots of crunch	easily available	Variable from emerald to pale green to white
Frisse	mildly bitter	available in small quantities	variable dependent of light source white to pale yellow and tinted green
Sprouted Seeds	mild and crunchy	dependent on location can be available	variable dependent of light source white to pale yellow and tinted green
Endive	mildly bitter	dependent on location	White to pale green

_{Time to go out and turn over a new leaf.}

Cabbage Slaw - Tart and Tangy

Cabbage Slaw -

I love eating outdoors and if I was spending my time outdoors enjoying the pre autumn sun, I’d be elbow deep in my favorite Cabbage Slaw. This raw cabbage dish has the benefit of a pre-made fresh meal, and is light and tangy, a leap forward from the old cup of creamy limp stuff that came with the fried chicken. 

 BEST PART: These veggies can be cut up for a couple of days and will wait eagerly in the fridge for their final curtain call. If slaw is not ringing your bell, consider something else – use the veggies for stir fry, soup, or added to an omlette, all in tip top shape and ready to rock. 

Cabbage Slaw - outdoors, as it should be 7-2011 

Cabbage Slaw -

Veggies	Now cut it up
1 half head red cabbage	Thin sliced and bite sized Now’s the time to pull out the Mandoline, easy on the fingers.
1 half head green cabbage
3 – 4 carrots
3 – 4 celery sticks
Peppers – red, yellow & orange
Green onions	Thin cut – try diagonal
Dressing
Apple cider vinegar	1 part
Olive oil	2 parts
Grated Ginger	Thumbs size – but I like a lot of ginger
Orange marmalade or honey	1 – 2 tsp
This Slaw goes to 11
Toasted almonds	Toasting the seeds is pretty much necessity to improve the flavor.
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Toasted Cashews
Chillies Apples or pears - crunchy	Sliced & diced very small cut up bit sized

Cut these all up and place in large containers – use what you like for dinner and set the rest up for chilling til you need them again.

Mix the dressing in no particular order, in the bottom of a large wide bowl.

Add in the veggies and mix 

Then pile on top everything that brings this slaw to 11.

PS add apples or crispy pears for sweetness instead of honey to the dressing.

Crunch away in good health

Broccoli Bloody Hell

Like ever person walking the earth I have a love hate relationship with broccoli, I love to hate it. But that’s hardly good for any person to hate an excellent dark green veggie. 

According to “Incredible Edibles” (Okamoto – 1994) Broccoli is chalked full of Vit A & C, and calcium. It lowers risk of cancer at both ends of the intestinal track, but note, ensure your broccoli entrance point is still top side… 

and can help prevent cancers in the respiratory track too. Miracle food! This is a must share.

Mom and dad give the thumbs up while on Skype. 7/2011

1 Head of Broccoli cut bite sized

1 Red Pepper – cut in tiny cute squares

2 TBSP pickled red onions (I haven't discussed my new fav fridge pickle yet - next post :)

2 TBSP pickled onion juice

1 lemon zest

1 TBSP of Mayo or Greek Yogurt

crack of pepper

Prepare the dressing in a lovely salad bowl, Mayo/yogurt, lemon zest, pickled onion juice, stir to combine.

Add the broccoli, peppers, & pickled onions, stir to combine and finish with cracked pepper.

Enjoy and feel smug about eating your raw brassica. And go skype with your parents while making it – your mom will be so proud.

Salad? Yes a post about Salad

While writing a post about salad seems like possible as boring as drying paint, WAIT...this will get interesting. Here's why, salad is a terrible overlooked accompanying dish to many lovely entrees that boost about being big and juicy or rich and earthy. Salad appears at the dinner table like your wimpy nerd cousin. Limp, lacking in substance, nothing much to add to the conversation and way to greasy to be allowed at any respectable table.

Rethinking salad as a combo of colorful conversations between polar opposites can create a "rainbow of diversity" that can be the truckasaurus at the dinning monster truck show. 

Now the interesting part - I've devised a mathematical formula for an ass kicking salad.

        {(4xG)+(4xVoC)} + (.5O +. 5Vin+.2H+.2G+.3M)

                  Number of plates     

G=Greens                         VoC+Veggies of multiple Color   
O=Oil            Vin=Vinegar    
H=Herbs       G=Garlic 
M=Mustard

This can be too much free will for some. Unlike a regular recipe there is no standard ingredient list, while for others this will elevate the pressure to make a perfect salad. 

With an addition of grains, or pasta, hearty toast, nuts and cheese you'll find your salad isn’t just a side dish - but a show stopping conga line of high kicks to the iceberg shivering in the crisper drawer. 

Now get out there and give it your all. 

Eat in good company