More St. Patrick's Day: Colcannon; Pease Porridge...Vegan

When I posted two days ago, I clicked the wrong thing at the wrong time, and published the post before I was ready to. Duh, right? So this evening, I'm going to post two more recipes, both of which are from the same site: http://vegparidise.com/cookingwith83.html.

Before I do, tho, I want to tell you that I made the Vegetarian "Beef" and Guinness Stew last night, and that I loved it. It was really good, and I'm going to have it for supper again tonight. What really amazed me about it was the seitan, it was sooooo good prepared the way the recipe says to do, and I fully intend to do cook seitan that way again. It was fantastic, and after all the unkind things I'd said about seitan before, it shocked me, lol. Anyway...here's the first recipe.

Two-Tone Colcannon

2lbs. boiling potatoes(Yukon Gold, white, or red rose)
4C finely shredded purple cabbage
3C finely shredded green cabbage
1/4C water
2tsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4-1/C soymilk
1-1 1/2Tbs. nutritional yeast flakes(optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 green onions, sliced

1. Scrub potatoes, don't peel, and cut into quarters or eighths if they are very large. Put in 4-qt. saucepan, and cover with water by 1 inch. Cover pan and bring to boil over high heat. Lower to medium-high, and boil gently for about 8-10 minutes, or until fork tender.

2. Meanwhile, put 3 cups purple cabbage and all of the green cabbage and the waater into a large, deep skillet, cover, and steam over high heat about 5-7 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

3. Remove cover, add olive oil, and cook and stir 1-2 minutes, or until cabbage is thoroughly softened. Set aside.

4. Transfer cooked and drained potatoes to large bowl and mash with enought soymilk to creat a smooth, creamy texture. Season with the yeast flakes if using, along with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes to the cabbage along with half the green onions and mix together.

5. Transfer the colcannon to an attractive serving bowl or platter and garnish with the remaining green onions. Finish by garnishing the perimeter of bowl or platter with the remaining purple cabbage. Makes five to six servings.

Pease Porridge
2C water, and 1C green split peas[I would prefer yellow, but can't find them around here...or at least not in Kroger)
2tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4-3/4tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1/4tsp. pepper

Combine water and peas in 2-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to medium-low, partially cover pan, and cook for 45 minutes, or until peas are soft enought to mash and the water is absorbed. Check the water content occasionally during the cooking and add more if needed. The mixture will be very thick.

Transfer peas to processor and add the olive oil, soy sauce, and pepper. Process until very smooth and fullypureed. Transfer peas to an attractive serving bowl, or spoon onto a serving platter and shape into a shamrock. Makes four servings.

Ok, that's it for now, it's time to turn on my oven so I can bake some biscuits to go with my "beef" stew this evening. It's raining and chilly and damp and the perfect night for a good, hot soup...and buttered biscuits!!!

Until next time, Happy Eating!