Anyhow, anyhow…

My daughter was coming home for the weekend on Friday and I was wondering what I could cook that she might like. I saw a packet of potatoes – I don’t know when my missus bought them but they were already sprouting roots…

…and I did see somebody sharing something on Facebook about it being bad to consume potatoes in this condition. The thing is this was not the first time I’ve used potatoes like that…and knowing my missus, it would not be the last…despite my telling her again and again that if she has no intention of using or cooking, don’t buy!

Well, I peeled the potatoes first, removing all the roots and the eyes and cutting away any discoloured parts after which I sliced them thinly and boiled them till soft. To check, just poke a fork into the potatoes…

– it should slide in easily and when you lift it up, the potatoes should slip off instantly. That should be an indication that it is sufficiently cooked and would be soft enough.

Drain away all the water and add a spoonful of butter and some cheddar cheese slices, cut into tiny bits…

…and mash away. I think true vegans who do not take dairy products would have to do away with these and just add a bit of salt and pepper perhaps. Normally, I would add a bit of milk too but seeing that the texture was already soft and smooth enough…

…I decided to do without it.

I bought these mushrooms…

…but I can’t remember how much that was. I’m quite sure it was RM2.00 a packet and I bought two (but I only used one that day) but my missus insisted that I must have heard wrongly as they do not come so cheap. Ah well!!! Whatever it is, these are the locally-grown mushrooms that are easily available any time of year and are definitely more affordable than those that they import from elsewhere in the country of from places overseas.

I sliced the mushrooms thinly, cut the cherry tomatoes growing wild in our garden into halves and chopped some of the spring onions that we’ve planted ourselves as well. I chopped up some garlic and I cut two slices of ginger for use…

– when we cook mushrooms, we usually use ginger to counter the smell. I guess you can use Bombay onions or shallots instead of the garlic and ginger, should you feel thus inclined. I was not following any recipe and was just doing it anyhow, following my instincts or playing it by ear, so to speak.

I fried the ginger slices in a bit of oil (I used butter) till brown…and then, I removed them and threw them away before adding the chopped garlic and frying that till golden brown after which, I threw in everything that I had prepared. I added a bit of our traditional Foochow red wine and a pinch of salt and pepper…

…and once it was done, I divided that equally into the aluminium foil pie/tart cups…

Next, I divided the mashed potatoes equally as well and used that as my pie cover as in the making of shepherd pies – instead of any of those pastry pie crusts…and I used a fork to make those lines and patterns on top…

…and put them all into the oven to bake till they turned slightly golden in colour…

So, was it any good? I know self-praise is no praise but I thought it was very nice and I wouldn’t mind cooking it like this again or maybe I might vary a bit here and there and add a few more ingredients to come out with a non-vegetarian version. We’ll see…the next time I get into the mood for some pies. Hehehehehehe!!!!!