Almost Vegan Veggie Pot Pie

James got on a kick recently, I don't know why. But every time the subject of dinner came up, he mentioned pot pie. I was having a hard time doing the regular to vegan translations (would crust work with vegan butter?) but finally I tackled it, with modest success. And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present the Almost Vegan Veggie Pot Pie:

I started this project thinking I could make two tiny individual pot pies, but I started chopping veggies and before I knew it, had enough to fill a regular size pie plate. So I made enough crust for a top and bottom. The crust actually came out okay! I used organic unbleached flour and Earth Balance vegan spread. It was a little softer than a butter crust (must because it's missing all that fat!), but it tasted great, and with a brushing of soy milk, browned up just fine.

The filling is carrots, celery, potato, green beans, Quorn naked cutlets (hence, the "almost vegan". Quorn uses some rehydrated egg whites in their faux-chicken product, but it sure is tasty!) I built a gravy out of sauteed garlic, onions and shittake mushrooms, then added flour & soy milk to make a roux and bind all the ingredients together.

Verdict: I was quite pleased with my initial attempt at this. We ate the whole thing over 3 days! It was dinner, then lunch, then dinner again and perhaps was a bit too much food, considering how poorly we get thru our leftovers. Next time, I'll make individual pasties (higher crust to filling ratio, more portable) and add peas. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing!