A Night of Poetry and Love

Today Scots celebrate Burns Night and the Welsh celebrate St. Dwynwen's Day. The first is all about poetry and the second is all about love.

Robert Burns was a poet and Scots celebrate his birthday by hosting Burns Night suppers and reciting his poetry. The traditional food served is haggis.

Vegan Haggis with Whiskey Sauce

1/2 cup steelcut oatmeal
2/3 cup lentils
One onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil
1/4 t. ginger
1/8 t. cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cayenne
1 T. soy sauce
One can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the oatmeal in a bowl and cover it with boiling water. Let it soak while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Add lentils to 4 c. boiling water and boil 20 minutes. When the lentils are soft, drain in a colander and set aside.
In a large pan, sauté the onion, celery, carrots and garlic in the olive oil until they are soft. Add the spices, the soy sauce, the lentils, the beans and the drained oatmeal. Stir to mix thoroughly and remove from heat.
Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and bake, uncovered, at 375 for 30 minutes.

Whiskey Sauce

1 c. whiskey
3/4 c. rice milk
1/4 c. agave syrup
Dash of salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, simmer the whiskey. Add the milk and agave, stirring and simmering until it thickens up a bit. Add your salt and pepper.

Tatties and Neeps

A giggleworthy name for mashed potatoes and turnips. Boil cut up potatoes and turnips while the haggis is baking. When soft, add vegan milk and butter and mash.

Scoop some of the tatties and neeps on your plate, top with the haggis and drizzle some of the whiskey sauce over the whole thing! Superb!

St. Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers. It is the Welsh equivalent of Valentine's Day.

Red Hot Popcorn

One bag of microwave popcorn, popped
One bag of red hot cinnamon candies
1/2 c. vegan butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 t. vanilla
dash of baking soda

Pop the popcorn and pour into a big bowl.
Mix the candies, butter and corn syrup in a microwave safe bowl and cook for two minutes. Stir, cook two minutes more. Mix in the vanilla and baking soda and mix well. Pour this (it's hot!) over the popcorn and stir, stir, stir until well coated. Let cool and eat.

Warning - it is addictive!