Vegetarian Cottage Pie with Toast

Life has been kinda morbid lately. So I dealt with it the usual way..get through the day with minimal possible effort, watch Extreme Cakes on TV, read through a novel, and cook my heart out.

Tempeh Cottage Pie (adpated from the Veganomicon's Tempeh Shepherdess Pie)

-  8 oz tempeh, cubed
-  2 tbsp tamari/ soy sauce
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tbsp white flour
- cilantro for garnish

For the mashed potatoes:

- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a skillet, crumble the tempeh into small pieces.
- Add the stock, tamari, fennel seeds, chili powder, and 1 tsp of oil.
- Cover and let boil for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid from the tempeh and continue to boil until the most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Drain the tempeh.
- Return the pan to the stove top over medium heat.
- Saute the onions in the remaining olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the tempeh, along with the sliced mushrooms and, thyme and coriander. Cook for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are juicy.
- Add the flour, and stir until brown. Now add the milk and let it thicken.
- Add the corn and peas, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

- In a sauce pan, cover the potatoes with an inch of water to spare and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes.
- When the potatoes are done, drain the water out.
- Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper to the potatoes, and mash well.

- Place the tempeh filling in a 10x10 inch casserole dish. Spoon the potatoes over the filling.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. The potatoes should be slightly golden, if they aren't turn on the broiler for a few minutes.
- Remove from the oven, garnish with cilantro and serve with herb toast.

For the toast, I simply broiled thick cut slices from a wheat baguette on one side, then flipped them, brushed them with a mixture of olive oil, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper, sprinkled some Parmesan on top and broiled them again. Delicious with the shepherdess pie.

While I was taking pictures of the food, A came home with these.

I feel better already. :)