Hearty family pie

I have been a bit quiet lately. Things have been going down at home- child number 3, Henry, has proven to be intolerant to many preservatives, and nasty additives (such as msg). So, our house has had a big haul out of the pantry, and everything has been replaced with "safe" foods. 

These things are pretty nasty, for anyone, and so, when we experimented with H (who has had issues for a while now, but we couldn't figure out why/what) we also decided to experiment with the other kids. Who knew that my daughter, 5, Rosie, would immediately stop her daily oppositional, monstrous, defiant tantrums, and turn into a beautiful, caring, polite and compliant angel? Who knew that Georg, 4, who only seemed to know the language of whinging, and was always tired, to the point where he would beg (yes, beg) to go to bed at 5pm, suddenly become ummm, 'normal'? 

So, the benefits are amazing, and now friends are also experimenting with their kids, and noticing similar changes, they are more polite, they can play for longer periods, houses are quieter, families are happier... And so on. 

Our kitchen has been turned upside down, and so now I have had to change how I cook (no more fake meats), and what I cook with. Slowly I am figuring it out, and luckily tonight I cooked something that was a hit with the family. The ingredients that I list are all "additive free", which is really just a term for nasty additive free. There are about 60 or so to avoid, if you want some more information, please feel free to email me at Leesa@Cosentino.com.au.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 small/ medium onions, diced

Dash of olive oil

A cup of mushroom, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 smallish eggplant diced 

About 3 tablespoons of Kikkoman naturally brewed soy sauce

About 1 tablespoon of homemade veg stock paste (if you don't have this, then just add a little more of the other sauces/flavours)

About 1 cup of Cambell's liquid vegetable stock

About 1 tablespoon of Masterfood's traditional BBQ sauce

2 cans of kidney beans, drained and mashed

2 sheets of Pampas Puff Pastry

Method:

Heat oven to 180'c.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan ( I use my Dutch oven), and sautée the onion and garlic until just soft, then add the mushrooms, continuing to sautée, and the add the eggplant, carrot, and soy sauce until eggplant becomes mushy. When the mixture becomes dry add the BBQ sauce, and homemade veg stock, and a couple of dashes of the liquid stock. Stir until the mixture dries out again, and then add some more stock. Repeat this process until the veges are soft and cooked. The amount of liquid stock you use is up to you, I used about a cup. 

Turn off the heat, and add the mashed kidney beans, and stir to combine. 

Line a pie dish with the pastry, pop in the mixture and add another sheet of party to make a pie. Using a knife cut a big V (for vegan if course!) into the centre of the pie to allow any steam to escape, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crispy and golden. 

This pie should be hearty, and very tasty, with a meaty flavour. 

Enjoy.