Tea and Sympatico

Today's mash post is one of Matt's. This was made to accompany some Fry's Pepper Steak pies. Wow, these pies are a revelation! They didn't look that exciting in the box, a little shallow and a lot more expensive than that other more widely available vegan meaty pie but they are so worth it. The sides are roasted parsnips, steamed spinach and leeks. The mash is swirled with caramelised onions and complemented the pies beautifully. I've never thought of putting onions into mash before, in gravy yes but mash no. It's a winner!

I am a massive sweet potato fan but I must admit I usually have them roasted or as fries or wedges. This idea for a sweet potato mash is great though and comes from The Great American Detox Diet . This is the book that chef Alex Jamieson wrote that contains the recipes for the food she made for boyfriend Morgan Spurlock after his MacDonalds Supersize Me expereince. The sweet potatoes are boiled and then get a mashing with some flax oil and maple syrup. I served them with veggie sausages, caramelised onion gravy and topped with toasted almonds.

This amazing trio of mash is Matt's creation. To accompany our vegetable bourguignon we had not one, not two but three different types of mash with root vegetables as the stars of the show. On the left we have a mash blend of carrot and swede and on the right we have a mash blend of potato and parsnip. The mash in the middle is a blend of these two, hence the Venn diagram of mash!

Anyone with a copy of Appetite For Reduction will be familiar with Caulipots , a tasty yet lower calorie version of mashed potato. It's basically potato and cauliflower boiled and mashed together and flavoured with your choice of seasoning. I made some to accompany some leftover Chicken Supreme and added olive oil, salt, pepper, stock, nooch and some garlic chives to the Cauilpots alongside a serving of peas. Mmm, total comfort food.

Hello and welcome to the week of mash! Whilst I've had people make me gorgeous veggie Shepherds Pie with beans or lentils when it comes to making it myself I'm a mince girl all the way. And for some reason I can't seem to cook veggie mince without putting red wine in it. Here's the way I make Shepherds Pie Serves 4 Ingredients 1 large onion chopped small 2 cloves of crushed garlic 1 tablespoon of olive oil 2 carrots diced small 1 carton or tin of chopped organic tomatoes 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs 1 teaspoon of yeast extract 1 teaspoon of veggie Worcestershire sauce or Hendersons Relish 1 tablespoon of tomato puree 1 cup of red wine 454g bag of frozen veggie mince 1 cup of frozen peas 4 large potatoes heaped tablespoon of vitalite margarine unsweetened soya milk 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast salt and pepper Heat the oil and cook the onions, garlic and carrots in the olive oil until soft. Next add everything down to and including...

This weekend was the weekend of the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. Just like lasy year I seemed to be drawn towards the food related items! Here's 2 of my favourites. Holly Levell creates pictures and soft sculptures based on food, condiments and confectionary. Louise Dawn Wilson creates fabulous wire sculptures including a collection of brooches based on biscuits. I've been wanting a light by Jane Bleese for ages and as I recently got a bonus from work I took the plunge and put it towards ordering one. I choose this design as a tablelamp in turquoise, red, yellow and brown shades with pale ash for the wood. It'll be ready in a few weeks, I can't wait!

Here we have a special guest post from Matt who can be found playing and recording music under the name Quiet Loner . Here's a short film about his upcoming album release. You can spot the Cake Protest March that I made for the live recording event around the 1 minute mark. This dish started out as a text conversation earlier this week. Matt : I've got leeks, broccoli and potatoes, what should I make for my tea? Me : Dunno, how about some sort of creamy veg pie, maybe with a hotpot potato type topping? However, what was to be created was far more exciting. Here's a clue.... Have you guessed what it is yet? Over to you Matt. Chicken Supreme This was a school dinner favourite so I thought I'd have a go at recreating it. Unfortunately I never measure stuff out when I'm improvising in the Kitchen so these are guesstimates at quantity. Ingredients 1 onion - finely diced 1 large clove of garlic chopped 1 leek sliced Handful of button mushroo...