Devour-it-all Veggie Pot Pie Recipe

I don't eat meat, and while my husband does I don't normally cook meat at home. It can be a hassle trying to cook two different meals, so often times I have to try to think of things that can make us both happy.

Enter the world of my vegetarian pot pie. Seriously, guys, this pot pie will make even the most carnivorous human drool. It's so good that you won't even notice there's no meat. But, if you want to add some to it simply cook up some turkey or chicken and toss it in with the veggies.

I always try to use veggies grown straight from the garden. Our onions may have grown on the smaller side, but they can still pack a punch!

Fresh thyme is always best (especially when pulled from the garden), but dried thyme does the trick, too!

Most pot pies use a pie crust, but I use puff pastry for mine. It keeps the pie moist and you don't get that "please pass the water" feeling after having a few bites. Honestly, I don't understand why ALL pot pies aren't made with puff pastry! I also add a touch of white wine to the gravy. That part is optional, but honestly I just really love the taste of the gravy with the white wine added (I swear this doesn't reflect my character, I'm honestly not a big wine fan!).

While you're welcome to follow my recipe to a T, you're also able to experiment with this recipe. Personally I always make the gravy the same exact way, but I often times change up what goes inside the pot pie. I have made it with broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, corn, pretty much anything! If I have an abundance of garden veggies I will cook them up, add the gravy, and away we go! That's the best part about cooking, right? You get to experiment. Whereas with baking, god-forbid, you forget one pinch of flour and then your entire cake is pudding. Pudding cake? Don't laugh, it's definitely unintentionally happened.

So here's my famous pot-pie recipe! Enjoy, experiment, and have fun!

My husband and I will eat an entire pie in one sitting, so its a good thing this recipe makes 2 full pies!

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Recipe

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Ingredients:

4 Medium Potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold)

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Large onion, chopped

5-6 Large carrots, peeled and diced

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 Cup flour

1/2 Cup milk (Half and Half can be used for a creamier gravy)

2 Tsp salt

2-3 Tsp thyme

1/4 Cup white wine

1 1/2 cups frozen peas (thawed)

2 Sheets puff pastry (pepperidge farm puff pastry is always my go-to)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Pierce potatoes and cook in the microwave 10-13 minutes. Allow the potatoes to cool while cooking the rest of the veggies.

3) Heat oil in a large pot. Once oil is hot add the onions and cook until caramelized. Add the carrots and cook until they are tender. **At this point if you are adding any other veggies to your pot pie, do that now and cook with the carrots and onions**

4) Remove veggies from heat, dice potatoes into 1" cubes and add potatoes and veggies to a large bowl.

5) Reduce heat to medium and add butter to the pan that you cooked the veggies in. Once butter is melted stir in flour to create a roux. Stir roux for 1 minute.

6) Slowly add milk and whisk milk and roux together. Then add vegetable broth, thyme, and salt. Continue to cook until sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir in white wine and cook for about 1 minute.

7) Add gravy mix to vegetables and fold. Add peas. Split filling between 2 pie dishes and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

8) Remove pies from oven and add puff pastry on top. Make slits into the dough to allow steam to escape. Bake until dough is puffed and brown.

Let stand for about 10 minutes.

**If you are adding meat to your recipe cook the chicken/turkey first and then fold into the veggie/sauce mix.

Autumn musings and saying goodbye to summer

[ Baby C, his pup named shango, and garden beets which were to be turned into baby food ]

Here we are, fall is fast approaching and we made it through our very first spring and summer as parents. Some days it felt like a task that even a superhero would sweat over. Others it was an effortless breeze passing C back and forth like a well coordinated dance routine. There were ups, and downs, and everything in between. He was born on a cold winter morning, and shortly after we too were born as new people. Our farm was reborn, and our home. Suddenly it felt like we too were learning the ways of the world as our tiny human was slowly figuring it all out.

He entered this world in his own way, the journey didn't start how we expected it to. But we are strong and he is stronger and what a joy it's been watching him learn his surroundings, hearing the endless babble (he has a lot to say) and now watching him discover the first tastes of food. I don't think we ever thought our hearts could expand as much as they have, and they are still growing, growing, growing!

The farm has been growing, too, and learning in its own way. We felt lost in early spring, wondering how to manage a newborn along with all the animals and overwintered beehives. My first mothers day rolled around and I gave my poor husband the impossible task of building me a garden area, complete with raised garden beds and a picket fence. I must have been crazy, I was definitely post partum, but he did it! He built me that damn garden and I just about jumped for joy when it was all done. I ran out to our local greenhouse before the frost even got to say goodbye and I filled my trunk up with more plants than it could hold. And I planted, I planted them all with a baby on my hip and I told him what each seedling was and we figured out our first big task. Growing food with a babe. By golly, we did it! And here I sit with the cold air rolling through knowing I have to cut all our hard work back, but the visions of next years garden has my heart holding strong.

[ A garden in progress and a garden in its prime ]

We figured out the rest, too. Managing our hives and animals, loving on our pups and reminding them they are still our firstborns, and making space to remind each other we are all equally loved.

Spring didn't stick around long and the nectar flow was mighty. We were able to harvest our honey early and it yielded such a vibrant product. Darker in color than we expected with a very sweet flavor. We are surrounded by wetlands where sweet pepper bush and skunk cabbage are abundant. We were able to get a 2nd honey harvest which yielded a much lighter honey with a more mild flavor! Now we will be taking the supers off for good, harvesting the last of the honey, and we will prepare our hives for the long winter ahead. It's been a struggle having to do most of our apiary work as a one-man-operation. Most times my husband entertains the baby while I happily consider being in the bee yard as my alone time, but other times I have my husband go out. The supers and deeps are heavy and I certainly cant lift them all on my own. But my husband can, and he loves being with the bees just as much as I do.

[ What they actually meant when they were talking about liquid gold ]

And here we are, baking apple crisp and letting the cool breeze enter the house through the open windows. We are trading our flip flops for warm socks. My knitting has been dusted off and I'm finding time to work in a few stitches while the baby naps. We are saying goodbye to the warm days of summer, we are feeling proud that we made it through our first seasons with a baby, and we are bracing ourselves for what's to come. Our schedules are already changing along with the hours of daylight. But we did it, and we will do it, and we will tend to it all as much as we tend to each other hearts.

Summer, you were great!

[ labelling honey with a squirming baby ]