Yogi Pie

I has been a funny old week and to be honest I am glad that its Friday. The last two and a half years have been full of upheaval for us as a couple. We finished a project in Germany and were set to move back to London when we were informed that Alex would need to spend at least 7 months of the year in Germany. I moved to London and Alex visited. A few months in and I was in Germany for the weekend when we found out I was pregnant after years of trying. We went to bed overwhelmed with joy but the next morning I had to be at the airport. A week after announcing that I was pregnant we realized that we couldn’t spend 7 months apart each year with a new born and that would mean giving up my beloved London and us all moving together to a new city in Germany. We planned all this whilst on holiday in LA. We also got married whilst we were there. We flew back together and then alex flew back to Germany the next day. Those weeks in LA was the longest period that we had together whilst I was pregnant. We picked a flat in a city we didn’t know from separate countries. We met in Munich for one weekend in order to find a doctor willing to deliver the baby (you have to book early in Germany) and to secure a hospital place. I got here 6 weeks before the baby arrived (2 weeks late) and we have been a family here ever since.

The thing is though, we miss London and yet we daren’t say it. To the outside world we have all that we could ever hope for. We have the most amazing daughter, we are healthy and we are financially stable. But life is about connections. Its walking down streets that make you look up from your phone and smile. Its customs and traditions that you understand, that you recognize. It is a way of life.It is the white van driver that waves you across the road and the corner shop that lets you pay tomorrow. Life is fuller with your tribe and your community. I miss my city. I miss the city that made me who I am. I miss my family and my friends and most of all I miss that they don’t see the baby every week. But most of all I miss my husband. He isn’t the same here. Not as happy, not as inspired, not as relaxed. I miss his jokes and his cheekiness, I miss his drive and his selflessness. We never thought it possible but he misses London more than I do.

This week was a week when he felt it and there was nothing much I could do except hug him and watch from the sidelines. I think its time to book a little trip, to have a day or too eating sushi, walking the streets of soho and showing the baby our favorite haunts. But for today I will make this yogi pie, because nothing seems more British than a pie. This yogi pie follows the same base as a cottage or shepherds pie but replaces meat for lentils. I used cooked red lentils but you could use any colour or a mix of all. If your little one is just starting out on food, then simply puree the veggies and lentils and then serve with a little spoon of mashed potato. This is warm, autumn food. Serve with a green salad tossed with vinaigrette and a side of love. Happy weekend x

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 large mashing potatoes
1 tbsp milk
1 large tin red lentils drained (400g)
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 courgette
1/2 yellow pepper finely chopped
1/2 red pepper finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tomatoes
1 tsp tumeric

Method
Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks and boil until soft
Preheat the oven to 180C
Whilst the potatoes are boiling, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add in the onion, carrots and courgette
Allow the vegetables to soften and then add in the ginger, peppers and tumeric
Cook for a few minutes and then add in the chopped tomatoes and the lentils
Cook for another few minutes and then transfer to a baking safe dish
Take the cooked potatoes, add in some milk and mash till smooth
Top the lentil mix with the potatoes leaving peaks
Sprinkle on some cheese if you fancy and then bake for 25mins