What's for dinner? Shepherdess Pie with a 'cheesy' leeky crust

Fall for me means lots of lovely comfort food, and there's nothing more comforting than a good old shepherds pie, especially one as easy as this one! This one is adapted from a recipe from the English dame of cooking, Delia Smith, and it took just a few simple tweaks to make it suitable for our vegan table. The original recipe is here.
Seeing as shepherds pie is traditionally made from lamb, this one is renamed as shepherdess pie!

You will need...

• 1 cup dry TVP (or whatever burger crumbles you like)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped rutabaga (or swede if you live in good old England!)
• 1/2 level teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley)
• 10 fl. oz vegetable stock (I used Better than Bouillon brand)
• 1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar style shreds (or whatever vegan cheese you prefer)
• 1 large leek, sliced thinly
• 2lbs potatoes
• 2 tablespoon vegan margarine (I like Smart Balance Light)

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
If using TVP, rehydrate with 1 cup boiling water.
Gently saute onions, carrots and rutabaga for about 10 minutes until the onion turns opaque.
Add the herbs, spices and burger crumbles, then gradually add the stock.
Turn the heat down and cook for about 30 minutes.
While that's cooking, peel and boil the potatoes then mash with the margarine. Don't use milk or any other liquid for this mash as you need it to be pretty firm on top of the filling.
Turn the filling into an ovenproof dish, top with the mash, sprinkle with the leek slices and then the Daiya.
Cook for 25 minutes and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

How humane is your city?

I came across this nifty site today from the Humane Society of the United States, where 25 large cities are compared for how humane they are. You can also see issues specific to your area and how you can help.

Check it out, here.

'Let's Move' launches school lunch menu contest

Let's Move (the anti-obesity campaign started by First Lady Michelle Obama), in partnership with the USDA has launched a competition to create healthy plant based school lunch menus. The participants will be grouped together and the menus judged by students initially, then as they progress through the contest, a panel of judges  and then the public via a website.

To find out more info, go here.

This Dish is Veg launches new social network!

 

The lovely people at This Dish is Veg has launched a social network! It doesn't matter if your focus is veganism, vegetarianism, flexitarian, animal welfare, or green topics, This Dish is Veg Social has a spot just for you!

Come take a peek... here!

Tonights '30 Days' show deer hunter living a cruelty free life for a month

Tonight, Planet Green is airing an episode of '30 Days' that challenges hunter George Snedeker to not only live with a vegan family for a month, but also to participate in several PETA initiatives during his stay. The show, hosted by Morgan Spurlock of 'Supersize Me' fame, takes a person and asks them to live the life of someone else for 30 days, typically taking them far outside of their comfort zone.

To preview the episode and to learn more about 30 Days, please visit Planet Green.

Happy birthday John Lennon!

I've been a huge Beatles fan for as long as I can remember (thanks Dad!), and as I got older a lover of John Lennon's solo career too. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact he would have been 70 years old today - I wonder what he would have done with the last 30 years? I'd like to think he would still be getting in people's faces while creating magical music.

Rock on John!

UK Food Standards Agency calls for cameras to be installed in slaughterhouses

Once again, a distressing undercover video has been released, documenting the cruel and unnecessary violence that animals destined for slaughter as subjected to.
The video, taken from secretly installed cameras at seven slaughter houses in the United Kingdom, has been released by Animal Aid and shows graphic scenes of animals being beaten, kicked and stunned inappropriately.
Sadly, as the cameras were installed 'unlawfully' it is unlikely there will be any prosecution, however Tim Smith, chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has backed a move to install cameras in all abattoirs across England saying, "We looked at the cost [of installing CCTV], and it didn't seem to us to be disproportionate, compared to the reassurance that the customer of that plant might get. If I was a major retailer in this country and thinking what I was going to give my customers that … the best animal welfare standards were being used, then I would be putting [CCTV installation] in the specification for meat procurement."

You can see the video at the Guardian's website here.