An old fashion veggie Shepherds pie

The last few days we have seen rain falling horizontally; and snowflakes the size of large daisies, melting as soon as they hit the ground.
So a deep hearty veggie pie to make you feel all warm and cosy was welcoming. I have to point out though, this veggie pie hardly contains any vegetables. You see the textual base of this pie is made from beans and lentils. The reason for this is simple. I have been making a concerted effort to use up dry ingredients in my store cupboard, of which there are plenty of the legume family: black eyed beans, yellow split peas, and green and brown lentils to name a few.
I've made 'Shepherds pie' also known as Shepherdess pie many times before, but the adventurous and experimental cook in me likes to indulge in other variations of the recipe. This particular one is an adaptation of Delia's Vegetarian Shepherds Pie. It was served with lashings of gravy.

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie
Serves 4 generously
Ingredients
110 g dried black-eyed beans, pre-soaked and drained
75 g yellow split peas, no need to soak
100g green or brown lentils, no need to soak
4 carrots, grated
1 large onion, mined
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
salt and freshly milled black pepper
For the topping
700 g potatoes, peeled and chopped
50 g butter
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
100g cheddar cheese, grated
Method
Wash and drain the beans into a saucepan with the split peas and lentils.
Add 1¼ pints (725 ml) boiling water and some salt, cover and simmer gently for 50-60 minutes, or until all the pulses are soft. Drain and mash them a little.
Next, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring now and again until softened Then stir in the grated carrots along with the herbs, spices and salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste. Then combine the vegetable mixture with the mashed bean and spoon the into the baking dish. Pressing gently.
As soon as the potatoes are cooked, mash them well with the butter, cayenne and seasoning. Then gently fold in the parsley and cheese. Spread the potato over the rest of the ingredients in the dish.

Finally, drizzle over a little olive oil and bake the pie on the top shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Adapted from Delia Smiths Vegetarian Collection.

Aduki and mung bean brown rice salad

I have made this brown rice salad a number of time for a working lunch. When I first made it, was a little unsure whether I would like it, after all rice and beans sounds a little bit plain and boring, as well as old fashioned, but I was humbled and pleasantly surprised at the depth of flavour and textures.

Aduki beans are henna red in colour, in some parts of the world they are fondly called "red dragon" or "red wonder" beans. I really like that and would have called this 'Red Dragon rice salad, had I not added the mung bean. The mung bean is green, perhaps I could have called it 'green dragon'. Imagine that 'Red and Green Dragon' Rice Salad'! If nothing else, I know this name would have have turned peoples heads, who like me would have been curious to its contents'. Who knows marketed this way, this humble rice and bean salad could be a trendy offering like those you see at hip and upcoming deli's.
In addition to the rice and beans, there is spring onions and celery. I think celery gets overlooked as an ingredient in itself and seen only as a base of a soup or stew, even as a crudites. Over the past few years, I have come to appreciate the celery as a vegetable, in this salad it adds freshness and crunch. Although I've made the dressing here, I have to admit there have been times when I have cheated and used a ready made one, a good one is maple or honey-mustard dressing.
This is my entry for this month's No Croutons Required (NCR). NCR is a monthly vegetarian food blogging event, where readers are challenged to create either a soup or salad incorporating a specified ingredient. NCR is alternately hosted between the Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, who is this months host. The ingredients for March are whole aduki or mung beans.

Aduki and Mung Bean Brown Rice Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
55g dried aduki beans, soaked overnight in 1 pints of cold water
55g dried mung beans, soaked overnight in 1 pint of cold water
275ml brown Basmati rice
2 celery stalks, finely chopped

4 - 6 spring onions, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing
120ml olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
Method
Begin by putting the soaked beans in two separate medium sized pans, together with the soaking water, bring to the boil, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain any excess water if necessary.
In the meantime, place the rice in another pan with a little salt and add 1 pint of water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed. Next, put all the ingredients for the dressing in a salad bowl and whisk together. Then while the cooked rice and the drained beans, empty them into the salad bowl and mix all the remaining vegetables together gently. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Adapted from Delia's Vegetarian Collection.

Parsnip Loaf Roast

Before you think 'err parsnip loaf' and skip this recipe,
please - I encourage you to read on.