Cauliflower Overload & Healthy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

This recipe was inspired by one of those last-minute improvisation meals. I had some leftover meatless ground beef and a head of cauliflower in the fridge. Ok I'll admit that I bought three heads of cauliflower at the grocery store that week because they were on sale. I'm a sucker for a deal on produce!

What did a gal do with all that cauliflower? As per usual, I cut some up and froze it. I also made Cauliflower Buffalo Wings from the PETA website, which were fantastic by the way.

I had some similar "wings" at a local Ottawa restaurant and was inspired to make some at home. They turned out really good, even omnis approved!

I still had lots of cauliflower left so I made a Cauliflower-cream mac and cheese dish.  This is my favorite homemade mac and cheese sauce to make, comparatively to cashew or non-dairy cheese based recipes. I'm still tweaking my recipe for this, so stay tuned!

After this, I STILL had more cauliflower! What's a girl to do? Cauliflower mash. And then I put it in a shepherd's pie. How very French-Canadian of me ;)

I made them in individual servings because it's easy to serve and keep extras for lunches. And of course, because they are so much cuter!

Mini Healthy Shepherd's Pies

Ingredients:

For the cauliflower mash: Roughly 2 cups of chopped cauliflower
1/4 - 1/3 cup of potato starch or potato flour (depending on how thick you like your mash)
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of vegan butter or oil (optional)
1 teaspoon of onion powder
A dash of garlic powder
A dash of salt

For the shepherd's pie: 3-4 small ramekins
1 batch of cauliflower mash (above)
1 cup of meatless ground beef
1/2 cup of canned corn (I used creamed corn but you can use regular corn if you like)
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds (also called flaxseed meal)
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
Ketchup, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Boil the chopped cauliflower in a saucepan for 15-20 minutes until it is soft. A fork should slide easily through the pieces. Drain out most of the water. You want it to be damp, but not so wet that you have a soup at the bottom. Add in the potato starch, nutritional yeast, vegan butter or oil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and mix thoroughly. It should have a thick consistency like mashed potatoes.

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide your meatless ground beef between your ramekins and pat down to make a somewhat smooth surface. Spread the corn on top the same way. Scoop out some cauliflower mash and fill the ramekin to the top. I like to smooth out the top again but that's totally optional. Sprinkle the flaxseeds and nutritional yeast on top of the mash. This will make a kind of crust and will turn golden in the oven.

Place the ramekins in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the mash starts to brown slightly. Wait 10 minutes to serve, they will be very hot. Serve with ketchup if that's your thing. Enjoy!

Favourite Cookbooks for Gift-Giving

It seems like every year I consistently have cookbooks on my wish list. Even with all the new ones coming out, there's always the handful that you keep going back to. I've rounded up a few of my favorites that are perfect for gift-giving.

This year's shopping list will be so easy!

For the Italian (at heart): Comforting recipes for the creamy pasta lovers.
Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli

Field Roast in Canada

As some of you know, the Health Canada has recently ceased the distribution of Feild Roast products in Canada. This brand makes great tasting and nutrition-dense vegetarian sausages using wheat, vegetables and all-natural ingredients. I met the Field Roast President, David, at Toronto's VegFoodFest in September and this is were I first learned of this news.

President David Lee and I at Toronto's VegFoodFest

Here is a quick update on their status and what you can do about it:

In a recent email from Field Roast, they state:

We have continued to receive a great amount of feedback and support from Canada over the weeks since ceasing distribution. Our Canadian customers are near and dear to the heart of Field Roast and we understand that our products are in high demand, which is why we continue to work towards a resolution. We recently sent a letter to the CFIA and Health Canada, asking for an exemption to sell our products in Canada while they work to reform the outdated regulations. For those who wish to take action, there is an online petition circulating to change flawed standards for vegetarian meats in Canada.

The current regulations from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada categorize the Feild Roast products as “simulated meat products” and thus requires the brand to re-label their products as so. In addition, this category of food requires a Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) study (using animal testing methods) to measure protein ratios in comparison to animal meats. If the product does not meet nutritional criteria, they would need to re-formulate the product adding synthetic supplements or vitamins.

If you want to stay updated on the progress, you can sign up for their “Field Roast in Canada” mailing list here.