Day 97 -- Pie, Pie, Pie, Pie, Now I Shall Have Some Pie

Not that kind of pie.  Although I haven't had a slice of pie since December 27th, I'm really looking forward to having one.  Cherry is my favorite, followed up by Dutch apple.  I also like pecan.  All with ice cream.  So NOT vegan.  But the pie I'm going to write about today is Shepherd's Pie -- not really a pie because it doesn't have a crust.

Shepherd's pie, or cottage pie as it was first known, is an old dish, dating back to the 1780s, when the potato began to be cultivated as food for the working class.  Usually made with a meat layer, covered by a layer of mashed potatoes, the dish originated in Britain and/or Ireland.  I found a delicious recipe for this dish on the Oh She Glows blog.  This Vegan Shepherd's Pie is the perfect comfort food.  I used the mushroom sauce from the Cozy Millet Bowl recipe I referenced on Day 93 for a delicious gravy.

The pie is filled with root vegetables including one of my favorites, parsnips.  When I was a kid, my grandmother used to grow parsnips in her farm garden.  She'd leave them in the soil over the winter and around Easter time, the ground was usually thawed enough to dig them out and serve for Easter dinner.  Left in the ground to freeze, the parsnips get sweeter.  I like them roasted as they get even sweeter.  And these days, parsnips are readily available in most larger grocery stores.  Don't buy them encased in wax.