Good evening!
Wow what a day…a hot, hot, hot day in the bakery! I even had the A/C on and I was still hot and flustered all day long. The thermometer read 37C at the peak of the day today. I was like a worried mother watching over her child whenever I thought about my dear Basil plant in this sweltering heat. I made sure to water it at lunch! So far so good.
I want to give a huge shout-out to my early morning run for keeping me energized all day long! I think I am going to be hooked on AM workouts again. I felt so great today.
For tonight’s dinner I dreamed up this fun veggie pie. I don’t think I have ever made a veggie pie before so I thought it would be fun to combine two of my favourite things- In A Jiffy Spelt Veggie Burgers and my spelt pie crust.
This is just a first trial version and I am open to your ideas/modifications/suggestions below!
First things first, I have transitioned to Iced Green Tea during this heat wave!
I made a huge pot of green tea last night (when I prepped my VOO!) and then I chilled it in the fridge overnight. This morning I simply poured my green tea into a glass, added 1 Mighty Leaf Spring Jasmine tea bag, and ice, ice baby. So refreshing!
I added this tea bag to add more flavour because the ice waters the tea down and you know how strong I like my green tea!
This Mighty Leaf Organic Spring Jasmine tea is EXCELLENT! The jasmine flavour and aroma is truly relaxation in a cup. Mmmm.
In A Jiffy Spelt Veggie Pie
Spelt Crust:
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 2 tbsp cold-pressed sunflower oil (or EVOO)
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Directions: preheat oven to 400F. Grease a pie crust with oil. Whisk the spelt flour and ground flax in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix the oil, milk, salt, dried parsley, and tomato paste together. Add the wet to the dry and mix well, using hands if necessary. Roll into a ball and then roll out with a rolling pin or simply use your hands to flatten into a pie crust. Pinch the edges with your forefinger and thumb.
Roll into a ball…
Roll it out or simply press into pie pan with fingers.
Pinch edges with thumb and forefinger..
The tomato paste gave the crust a beautiful shade!
For the pie filling, I used the In A Jiffy Spelt Veggie Burgers. For the recipe, see here. I dumped the entire batch into the pie crust like so…
and I sprinkled it with paprika…LOL.
I also made an oat-based crust using 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup flax, 1/4 cup sunflower oil, and 1/2 tsp sea salt– processed in a blender until smooth.
I took a muffin pan and shaped little tarts with the crust (about 1 heaping tbsp per muffin) and then topped them with more veggie burger mixture.
I baked the veggie pie and tarts in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F.
I actually baked the pie for 30 minutes and it was way too long. I browned it a bit too much and it dried out as a result. Next time I will stick to 20 minutes and possibly incorporate some of the changes below…
Ways to make the pie more moist/less dry:
- Possibly adding oil/water/milk to the veggie burger mixture to thin it out a bit and give it some moisture
- For non-vegans you could try adding an egg
- Add chopped tomato to the veggie mixture
- Adding a layer of tomato sauce on top and a layer of hummus on bottom
- Any other ideas?
Both turned out great tasting, although they were dry and need some tweaks!
I tried ketchup and pasta sauce and they were both pretty good.
However, I added a thick layer of hummus on top and I liked the hummus the best by far! It made the whole veggie pie come alive. It could be really delicious to spread a layer of hummus on the bottom of the pie before baking! The possibilities are endless.
All I craved for dessert was dried fruit…
Did you know dried apricots are really high in iron? They are a great way for anyone, especially women, vegetarians, and vegans to get a boost!
Here is a handy iron guide that I found the other day:
[source]
I also devoured this dried fruit bar from Trader Joe’s…
I think my body was telling me something!
Tonight’s questions: Do you pay attention to what vitamins you need/obtain from food or do you just try to eat balanced and not worry much about it? Do you take vitamin supplements?
Generally, I don’t worry much about tracking my vitamin intake, however I do supplement with B12 (once a week), calcium/magnesium (daily), and vitamin D (in the winter) just for peace of mind. I also believe that our bodies will crave certain foods based on what it needs. I have my vitamin levels assessed yearly at my doctor’s office and I have yet to be told that I am low in anything, so I figure the variety of plant-based foods I am eating must be keeping me on track. My iron is actually higher now than when I was an occasional meat-eater (I used to be anemic for a while in university). My doctor always says, ‘Keep doing whatever you are doing!’
I’m off to relax outdoors with Eric…Stay COOL out there! :cool:
I’m always a bit suspicious of vitamin supplements ala Michael Pollan, but I have been thinking about taking some for whatever small value they might add. I generally focus on getting a wide variety of produce and doing the “whole rainbow” – and my body definitely craves when I haven’t gotten enough variety.
Right now I’m craving that veggie pie! :-) But I do have another Angela recipe for breakfast – I tried making your waffles earlier this week and they are awesome!
I always check food labels to see what vitamins/minerals a certain food offers. Sometimes (juice, apple sauce etc.) I’ve been surprised to see there is really no nutritional value to what I’m consuming! As long as a food contains a good amount of something good for my body though, I am happy :).
Another great recipe! (I’m so hooked on your blog, tried making some of your pesto yesterday and it was a hit). I think my vegan loafs are kind of like veggie pies sans the crust though. I have been wondering what to call them, maybe veggie loaf suits it. :)
I take a daily vitamin that has all my B’s plus folic acid and Vitamin C. I was advised by a gyno a few years ago that birth control pills tend to take B-6 and B-12 out of your system, C is useful in preventing UTI’s (which used to be a problem for me) and that women of child bearing age should always take Folic acid in case you become inadvertently pregnant to help prevent your child from having Spina Bifida. So that’s what I take. Otherwise I don’t worry about it b/c I eat lots of good things. I also think that the vitamins we get from food are processed and utilized by our bodies much better than any pill I can take.
Oh, I do take an airborne when I’m feeling sick. I think it’s total balony, but in this case the placebo effect works for me so I’ll take advantage of that!
Ok Angela! I was thinking, while reading, that those oatmeal little pies you made could easily be turned into a healthy dessert. It’s a horrible thing, I know, but my sweet tooth really does rule my brain. So I was thinking, couldn’t you use oats, some type of oil, cinnamon and a sweetener, honey, or something like that to make the pie crust and then fill it with some cinnamon sweet goodness? Like a cinnamon roll? Oh heavens, now I’M drooling :) You always get my brain rolling!
Oh and I forgot :) I used to take a multi but now that I’m eating more natural foods I don’t think I need them, plus I already have to take medicine for my thyroid and I don’t like to think of myself as a pill popper ;) One pill is good enough for me!
I take Juice Plus!!! It is an all natural supplement that gives you 17 fruits and vegetables in a capsule! It is an amazing product with tons of research to back it up!
i love this blog and your attitude SO MUCH!
my cat is ALWAYS plotting.
my husb and i feel like it’s her
whirled, we are just lucky to live in it ; )
i have stopped with the scalre years ago but
i have been counting calories or something
on and off
for like…17 YEARS? ughghghg…
so gross to think about.
my life is happy, my body is healthy and strong.
and i am active.
i just worry that if i stop counting counting –
i will eat too much.
how did you get over that?
just want to LET GO!
thanks for all you do.
you a rockstar.
xo
whoops! i meant to post this under
the BELIEVE post
as it makes zero sense here.
so…there you go.
THAT kind of day! ; )
How do you supplement vitamin B12?? I have always heard that synthetic B12 is ineffective as B12 only comes from animals sources. I’ve been a vegetarian for about a decade but I have never known how to supplement this critical vitamin.
Veggie pie looks delish! Have you ever tried using shredded zucchini or potato as the crust mixed with egg white and maybe a little cheese? It’s fab. I love the idea of adding tomato paste in the crust! This post definitely makes me in the mood to make a veggie pie/quiche sorta thing :)
I’ve had chronically low iron for a while, and I’m not vegetarian but don’t eat a lot of meat – I love my lentils, etc! Ever since I started making green monsters, I think it’s helped my iron levels!!
I know this post is way too old, but I came across it looking for veggie pies and saw that you were using cold pressed sunflower oil. Well I recently bought a large container of organic unrefined sunflower oil thinking it would be tasteless, but it has an intense sunflower taste and smell. Do you have any suggestions what to use it for? I don’t want to risk using it in desserts and stuff cause the flavour might be too strong.