New Mexican Shepards Pie

Can you believe that it's September 6th?  I can not.  It seems like it was just yesterday that my mom, sister and I and our combined 5 dogs were at the farm on St. Patrick's Day having a picnic and watching the dogs play in the seep ditch dreaming of what summer would hold. 

It's very chilly and windy here today in Laramie.  In the 50's with 30 mph winds.  The aspens have a rattle to their sound and there have been some stray fallen leaves blowing by.  Tonight a low of 29 degrees.  Ouch.  Hopefully we will not see a frost at the farm until October so that we can continue bringing up the rest of the vegetables.

Ricky was at the farm today and said it was howling windy down there as well.  Things are sure starting to slow down; cucumbers, green beans, etc.  Plus the grasshoppers have found us and have eaten the remaining blossoms.  We still have quite a bit of stuff and with the cooler weather the lettuces are coming back. 

We hope to see you at the markets.  Only 3 more Sept, 10th, 17th, and 24th.  Please stop down and support the other local area growers, vendors and artisans: High Horse Farm for great salad mix and mushrooms, Student Acres has had a spot for a couple of weeks, Tamale Family, Worm Wrangler, Abbey's Need More Salsa, Wags, and many others.

Thank you again for your support this summer it was a fun year!  Hopefully we will see more of you in the next year as the word spreads to support local growers and our farmers market!

New Mexican Shepard's Pie

(altered from Los Poblanos Organics in Albuquerque, NM)




Ingredients:

1 # potatoes ( I prefer the red or Yukon) boiled and mashed with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

1 Bunch Chard, chopped  (another terrific way to use chard)

3 Yellow Summer Squash, cubed

1 med. Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

5 Green Chilies ( I used roasted Poblanos but any will do) chopped to taste * You can purchase peppers at market then roast in oven or on grill watching carefully and turning to brown skin*



1 Tomato Chopped
Cheese or Macadamia Nut Cheese (see Recipe in previous blog to keep vegan)





Directions:

First bring potatoes to boil.  In a skillet, saute all the veggies except for tomatoes until they are tender but not mushy; keep adding the chard and it will begin to break down. Put the saute mix into a oven safe glass bowl. Once the potatoes are done and mashed plop them on top to cover.  Top with cheese Cover with glass top.  Bake at 350 degrees about 15 0 20 minutes until cheese is melted and to mingle flavors.  Take out and top with the chopped tomatoes.  Serve with fresh salad and enjoy.

(The original recipe on Los Poblanos Organics was a Mexican Frittata using eggs to cover which would be wonderful; however since I am vegan and we were hungry for Shepard's Pie I found the recipe online and altered it).