h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Now that the weather's gotten cool, and I can run the oven without sending the electic bill through the roof, when I'm not making soup, I find myself craving bean pie and lentil loaf.

I've got my own favorite "recipe" for each, of course, but I'm always keen to try a different spin on something. Especially if it involves less prep or cooking time; on most weekday evenings I can't really spare much more than an hour or so preparing the meal.

So I'd be interested in hearing from any of you who have a favorite "shepherd's pie" or bean loaf of any kind.

Shepherd's pie is easy. Cook up some veggie mince with some onion and carrot, mix in some Bisto (yes it's even approved by the Vegetarian Society and everything!), chuck it in a dish, cover it with mashed potato (sometimes I make it with sweet potato, mmm mmmm), chuck it in the oven for half an hour and eat

Usually I use cooked aduki beans and chopped red bell pepper. And lots of garlic. Never thought to cover it with mashed sweet potato, though- that's one way I could get my beloved to eat sweet potato. I bet it'd be fantastic if I made the "filling" with root vegetables and lentils.

What's Bisto? Yes, I could Google, but it's more fun when people who actually use it can explain it to me.

Bisto - gravy powder

Ah, gotcha!

I don't *think* that's available here. But I'm sure I have something that works similarly.

Tomorrow is pre-Thanksgiving prep night. I'm making the green bean/ "cream" of mushroom/ fried onion bits casserole.

Ooh that sounds nice!

My cousin loves it, so I always bring some. It's a veganized version of a traditional holiday side dish. It's easy, too- just steam some green beans (or use frozen), the "French cut" variety. While you're doing that, sauté some finely chopped onion in a bit of olive oil (or butter/spread). Add about a half pound of sliced crimini or button mushrooms and cook till soft. Mix with the beans and some of the fried onion bits. Sprinkle fried onion bits on top- as much as you like- and wing into the oven at 350° for 20-30 minutes, until all the beans are done and the onions are a bit browned.

Last night we had a lentil loaf. Mashed up half a block of extra firm tofu, tossed in a cup of rolled oats, a few tablespoons of corn meal, a handful each of chopped onion, red and green bell pepper, a couple cloves minced garlic, a splash of Bragg's (tamari would work), a splash of balsamic vinegar, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of tomato sauce (tomato puree, apple cider vinegar, brown rice syrup and a wee bit of sriracha, used to top the loaf), and a pinch each of chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder, and sugar.

Mash it all into a prepared loaf pan, and bake at 375° for 20 minutes; smear the tomato paste mix on top and pop back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let it sit for about 10 minutes or so, and then eat!

Crap- I left a sentence out when I was mentioning the beans- obviously for the "cream" of mushroom part you'll want to add sour cream (I use a tofu-based version) to the mushrooms before mixing with the beans. Alternatively, if your grocery store carries canned cream of mushroom soup, then you can skip the sautéeing of onion and mushroom altogether and use that.

I might have to try that recipe out, sounds delicious

The loaf was so good I made another yesterday so we can have some over this weekend. As for the beans- I sampled a nibble, and they're fantastic.