Little Bo Peep Pot Pie

First, if you haven't already, maybe you can stop by redcross.org and donate relief funds for the victims of the Japanese disaster. I'm asking because it's good to help. Plus Japan is a place where I spent some very happy years of my childhood, so I know firsthand that it is wonderful place.


On the scale of kid eaters, Walt falls somewhere between PERFECT CHILD WHO WILL EVEN EAT DANDELION GREENS and CHILD VERGING ON A RAGING EATING DISORDER. Which is to say that he eats enough fruit (everything except citrus) and vegetables (red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, peas, corn and green beans) to keep me happy. Well, as happy as a parent whose kid insists on pulling teeny-tiny flecks of eggplant out of the pasta sauce can be.

Getting him to try anything out of his comfort zone is tough. He pretty much freaks over anything leafy green. Even basil, although pesto is one of his favorite sauces! The logic of a 3 year old boy is...have you ever had one tell you a story? It begins "Once upon a time there was a princess" and ends with him having his toy dinosaurs eat one another while he asks for a yogurt.

A favorite bedtime story is "DW The Picky Eater", part of the Arthur series by Marc Brown. In the story, a little mouse girl named DW refuses to try anything new and especially hates spinach. But one day at a restaurant she reluctantly orders the "Little Bo Peep Pot Pie." She tries it, loves it, then finds out it's filled with "Lots and lots of spinach!" At which point Fred, Walt and I yell out, "You Got PUNK'D! because our tribe calls 'em like we see 'em.

He loves this story so much that I excitedly thought I could pass this recipe off as Little Bo Peep Pot Pie. Not only would I get him to eat spinach, but there's also crumbled veggie burger, mushrooms and beans! So I went to town.


I browned chopped mushrooms, onion, jalapeno pepper (seeds removed) until soft, then added the crumbled veggie burger.



I swirled together spinach, a can of black beans, jack cheese, egg and a little cream.




I put pie crust in a deep dish plate and layered the veggie burger mixture over it.



Followed by the green spinach mixture. Then I put another can of black beans over that.




Top it off. Brush with an egg wash. Bake.

Boom!

It looks kinda ugly, but it's DELISH. The original recipe calls for sausage instead of veggie burgers, and for black eyed peas. But as you just saw, you can mix and match the beans and meat part.

So...did he eat it?

Well, I forgot I had to work my Food Coop shift that evening. On those nights Fred gives Walt dinner and puts him to bed. When I get home around 8:45 or so Fred and I eat together. So rather than cook the pie early, risk Walt hating it, then having Fred and I eat cold pie, we gave him ravioli instead. So in true Walt fashion, he never even tried it. Though in all fairness not because his own 3-year-old control issues.

Another time, another chance to PUNK my kid.



Little Bo Peep Pot Pie
Ingredients:
1 uncooked pie crust
12 white mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz. of charbroiled veggie burger, crumbled
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
3 cups of raw spinach
2 15 oz. cans of black-eyed peas (or 3 cups)
6 oz. of Monterrey jack cheese
2 TBL fresh, chopped cilantro
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of cream
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Cooking Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Saute mushrooms and onion over medium-high heat. When onion is soft and the water has evaporated from the mushrooms, add the veggie burger and jalapeno. Lower the heat and let the flavors meld for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, break out the Cuisinart again and combine the spinach, 1 can of beans (or 1/2 of the 3 cups), cheese, cilantro, 1 egg, cream and cayenne pepper. Run the motor until the mixture becomes a strange but delectable green paste, about 30 seconds.

Roll out 1 disc of pie dough on a floured surface and fit in your pie pan. Add all of the mushroom/onion/veggie burger mixture. Then cover that with the spinach mixture. Add the rest of the beans on top. Then roll out the other disc and cover the pie, making sure to cut vents in the top crust. Beat the other egg with about a tablespoon of water, then brush the egg wash over the pie. Bake for an hour, then let cool for 1/2 hour.