Vegetarian Pasties

Since my wife likes veggies, I have taken a Pasty recipe and omitted the meat. So, for all you pasty purists out there, please forgive me for taking liberties with the recipe; and for those of you who are vegetarians, you can now have the same great taste, but without the meat. So, without further ado…

What you need:

Stuff you need

Pasty Crust
3 Cups Flour
1 ½ sticks of cold margarine, butter, or shortening (you choose)
1 tsp Salt
1 Pastry cutter
1 Cup Cold Water


Pasty Filling
1 Onion, diced
5 potatoes, diced
4-5 Carrots, diced
1-2 Turnips (1 large or 2 small), diced
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper


Putting it Together:

• Take 3 cups of flour and add to a large bowl
• Add 1 tsp of salt and mix into flour

Flour with salt added

• Take the margarine and cut it up into slices (about 6-8 slices. The number of slices does not matter. It just makes it easier to cut into the flour)

Sliced butter

• Add a few of the slices into the flour and using the pastry cutter, cut into the flour until crumbly

Butter added to flour prior mixing

• Add a few more slices of the margarine into the flour and repeat until all the margarine is added
• Continue cutting margarine into the flour, until thoroughly incorporated
• Take the cold water and add about ¼ cup to the dough and mix with fork
• Continue to add water a little at a time until dough comes together and forms a ball

Completed dough ready to rest

• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator while you prep the veggies
• Take the onion and dice into small pieces and add to a large bowl
• Peel and dice the potatoes into small pieces and add to bowl
• Peel and dice the carrots into small pieces and add to bowl
• Peel and dice the turnip into small pieces and add to bowl
• Add the salt and pepper to the veggies and toss with your hands to coat them.

The diced and salted veggies

• Take the dough and divide into 4 equal parts (for large pasties) or 6 equal parts for smaller ones
• Roll each dough portion into a ball and set aside
• Take 1 ball of dough and roll it out into a circle (think about it like making mini pie crusts)
• Take 2/3 cup of the veggies and add to the middle of the dough
• If there is room on the dough, you can add more
• Just make sure that you have enough room to fold the dough and enclose the veggies
• Add 1-2 tsp (does not need to be precise. This is just to add moisture to the pasty as it bakes) of margarine to the top of the veggies
• Wet the edge of one side of the dough with water (the other half of the dough will be dry)
• The water that you used to moisten one half of the pasty crust will act as a sealant to the other half and thus seal the entire pasty

Filled pasty. Wet the bottom half of the dough and bring both
bottom and top together and crimp

• Take both halves of the dough and join them at the top of the pasty and crimp to seal
• Seal entire pasty in this manner
• Place on baking sheet and pierce a few times with a knife (to vent)
• Repeat with remaining pastries

Filled and folded pasties

• Set oven to 425⁰
• Bake for 45 - 50 Minutes or until pasties are golden brown

Fresh out of the oven

For any leftover veggies:

• Place in an oven-safe bowl
• Add a few dollops of margarine
• Cover with foil
• Bake in the oven

Cabbage Soup

This soup is great for weight loss. My wife has been eating this for suppers for the past few months and she has lost over 20 pounds. It is a very filling soup and can also provide a "cleanse" to the digestive system (your results may vary). Even if you don't use this soup to lose weight, it is very good and makes a great comfort meal. This goes well with Naan Bread or a roll. You can also add crumbled sausage (which defeats the weight-loss portion), tofu, or any other type of veggie you may wish to add. Be warned, this recipe makes a HUGE portion, so you will need a large stockpot or two.  

Ingredients for Cabbage Soup

 What you need:

• 1 Large head of cabbage (shredded) (or 2 small heads of different colors)
• 8 Carrots (peeled and diced) 
• 4 Onions (diced) 

Slow Cooker Farina (Cream of Wheat)

This farina recipe will make anywhere between 5-10 servings, depending on how large a breakfast you like :)  Once cooked, you can place into portion-sized containers, take to work, and then heat in the microwave. Making this on the weekend can save you valuable time during the week.

Ingredients for slow cooker farina

What You Need:

• 2 Cups- farina
• 1/2 Cup brown sugar or honey (cinnamon sugar is perfect just omit the 1-tsp of cinnamon) 
• 1/2 Cup White sugar (if you think this might be too sweet for you, reduce to 1/4 cup) 
• 1 can of pumpkin (optional)
• 2-tsp pumpkin pie spice OR 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp cloves