Veggie Pot Pie

Holy crap, people. I made this like two weeks ago and am just now getting around to posting. My tardiness is no reflection on this dish, however, it is simply delicious. Comfort food at it's best, which is extremely necessary now that it's winter. I think that I must have seasonal confusion disorder (yeah, I made that up). It's officially winter now - in June. And there's no Christmas? And my July birthday is now a winter event? I keep forgetting birthdays and other yearly occurrences that I have come to associate with seasons. How could it be Father's Day already? Isn't that in June...wait.

So while it 'tis the season for sweaters, and a few extra pounds could come in handy to fight the chill, I have my upcoming wedding in the first days of spring, so... yeah. I'm hungry and I forgot your birthday. Sorry. Don't worry though, I'll make it up to you at one of my three (repeat three) receptions.

As I mentioned, I made this a few weeks ago and now all I can do is dream about it. All of that flaky, buttery goodness isn't going to look so hot on my bridal ass. Oh hell, maybe I'll make it with just the top crust.

Veggie Pot Pie

• All butter crust, made partly with wheat flour
• 1 T. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  
• 1 carrot, sliced thin and cubed
  
• big handful of mushrooms, sliced (I browned these on the side, but it isn't necessary)
  
• 1 large potato, cubed
• (Peas or corn would be great also - I ran out of room)
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• Salt (about 1/2 t. depending on saltiness of stock) & pepper to taste
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. soy sauce

The crust was a bit tricky - I substituted 1/2 c. of white flour with wheat flour and almost lost it all. You'll definitely want to sift the wheat flour or use pastry wheat flour if it's available to you. It takes more than double the amount of ice water - just keep adding until it sticks together enough to wrap. I had to let it warm up slightly to roll out - and it wasn't pretty, but it did work. Although it was troublesome, I'd do it again because it adds an extra layer of crunchy to the crust. Use more salt than sugar for the crust of this savory pie.

Melt butter over med heat and add onions and garlic, cook a few minutes before adding additional veggies. I don't have a proper pie plate so this is all that I could get in, but you could definitely add other veggies. Add a bit of olive oil to pan if needed - saute until the veggies start to get soft (about 5 minutes). Add stock and seasonings, bring to a boil then drop to a simmer. Dissolve cornstarch into soy sauce (add a drop of water or stock if necessary) and then stir into pot - cook another few minutes until mixture thickens.

Add mixture to pastry lined pie pan and cover with top crust, seal edges. Bake on high heat - 205C (400F) for 30 minutes. Rotate half way through cooking time. Mmm..super tasty TV dinner.