Rainy Day Vegetable Cobbler
First of all: it’s my father’s birthday. So, Happy Birthday, Dad!!! If we lived closer, I’d have made you something nice to eat for your birthday!
Second of all: IT WON’T STOP RAINING. It’s relentless. And really annoying because we have a pool and I spend a lot of time and money on its upkeep SO I EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO SWIM. No such luck so far. We don’t have a heater, either, so I’m very sensitive to the ambient temperature. I’m not sure it made it above sixty degrees today. I get several alerts from NOAA about storms in our county every day. Yesterday afternoon I was warned simultaneously to expect: severe thunderstorms, hail the size of pennies, gusting wind, flash floods, AND tornadoes. When I told Mark of this he asked what they’d be warning me of next: a plague of locusts? I wouldn’t have been surprised. This has been the lousiest start to summer I’ve ever seen!
Flipping through the cookbooks I checked out of the library for dinner tonight, though, I found the perfect meal: Rainy Day Vegetable Cobbler, in Lost Recipes by Marion Cunningham. Guaranteed to cure my rainy day blues, it said. Since I have those blues big time, I made the cobbler. And I share with you. It was vegan as written other than the chicken stock and butter, neither of which I even read as non-vegan because they are so easy to sub for. I did, however, healthify it for you. The original called for what seemed to be a ton of butter.
When in the World is it Going to Stop Raining So I Can Finally Go Swimming Vegetable Cobbler
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 large or 3 small potatoes, chopped
1/2 head green cabbage, cored and chopped (the original called for celery root, which I didn’t have, so I subbed cabbage, which I did)
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped, or 1 cup baby carrots, cut in half
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cups vegan ‘chicken’ broth
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 3/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose plus 3/4 cup white whole wheat; original calls for all all-purpose)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
3/4 cup vegan cream (like MimicCreme)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare all of the vegetables and place in a large baking dish or casserole.
Whisk the cornstarch into the stock. Don’t be confused that I am only showing one cup of stock here; you really want three. The original recipe called for one cup, but after getting off the phone with my father and checking the casserole’s progress, I realized it contained far too little liquid and was drying out, so I added more. Don’t make my mistake. I make all the mistakes for you!
Pour the stock/cornstarch mixture evenly the vegetables and toss with the salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour(s) and baking powder.
Add the margarine in pieces …
… and whisk or stir with a fork until crumbly.
Add the cream and combine until a messy but cohesive ball. It’s easiest to use your hands.
Roll the dough out to roughly the size and shape of the baking pan and about 1/4 inch thick.
Place on top of the vegetables.
Bake for an hour.
Serve hot.
My thoughts on this are it didn’t thicken up enough. I’d have used a roux instead of cornstarch. I wouldn’t have felt guilty either, considering I cut the margarine down by 80%. (I can’t even IMAGINE eating it with all the fat it called for! It’d have been incredibly greasy and rich!) It really should have been more pot pie-y and less soupy. When asked for his opinion, Mark said it was really good. When I countered that it was awfully soupy, he responded that the soupiness gave it a “what do you call it, a je ne sais pas”. Which I think was him being kind. Later he said he loved the crust best and the vegetables second. I’d make it again: it was quick and easy and although I don’t like making pie crust, this cobbler crust was easy, but I’d definitely make a much thicker gravy. The original did call for 1/2 stick of butter to be dotted onto the vegetables before adding the crust (which itself called for 3/4 stick of butter), but I don’t think adding all that butter would have thickened it up. It definitely needs a roux. Nonetheless, it was tasty and although it didn’t actually cure my rainy day blues (nothing but sunshine and 90 degree temperatures is going to do that), it was a filling meal.
Maybe the soupiness of this cobbler represents the soupiness of my muddy yard. Or my non-swum-in pool.
Josiane Said,
June 5, 2009 @ 12:24 am
Rainy day, soupy meal… sounds like there’s a bit too much liquid in your life! I hope that sun and warmth will come your way soon!
Ksenia Said,
June 5, 2009 @ 9:09 am
I hardly ever cook cobblers and similar dishes because all the amount of butter (in my case margarine) they call for =O I bake cakes and cookies, which also call for lots of margarine, but usually all my creations disappear in a flash, so I don’t have time to eat too much of them xD
1/2 stick of butter for the vegetables?! I think you did well to don’t put all that butter…probably they would have finished floating in all fat xD
It also rained today here, in Barcelona. A little bit strange, because yesterday it as hot, sunny and 28ºC =S
Lanet Said,
June 6, 2009 @ 6:47 am
The fat is good for you 😀
Sounds like a great recipe, except Luke won’t eat cabbage, and I can’t have wheat. I may try to make it gluten free.
renae Said,
June 6, 2009 @ 9:06 am
Lanet, you’re gluten-free again? Ugh! You can use celery root instead of cabbage as that’s what it originally called for anyway. Or tell Luke to eat his cabbage like a man.