Cook: Shepherd’s Pie

The weather hasn’t been too dreary, but yesterday at work I was mostly cold. Shepherd’s pie is one of those dishes I can pretty much cook from memory, but just to be sure I glanced at the recipes for it in Martha Stewart’s website and Epicurious. Yep, that’s right: a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, but no recipe called for celery or brandy or Old Bay or even a bay leaf, so those were my additions.                              

But yeah when you don’t feel like a Greek adventure with ground lamb, Shepherd’s pie is a reliably delicious go-to.          

And since we can no longer harvest flowers from our garden, nor potatoes—I bought both at the store.                   

And these smaller bouquets are why I make bud vases.