This weekend I decided I needed some comfort food. It’s been a trying few weeks, and something warm and filling seemed just the ticket. So, Saturday and Sunday were filled with lovely things like Chili, mac and cheese and shepherd’s pie. I wanted to share the shepherd’s pie recipe with you here.

I have a mild obsession with vegetarian shepherd’s pie. This is the second version I have experimented with. I loved it. The only downside was that it took over 2 hours to prepare, but it was delectable.

I got this recipe here. And made it with some of the suggested substitutions – mostly because I detest mushrooms. My final recipe looked more like this:

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash 1/4 cup olive oil (60 ml) 2 cups bread crumbs (500 ml) 1 cup milk (250 ml) 2 eggs, beaten 1½ t dried basil 1½ t dried thyme 2 t dried parsley 6 potatoes, boiled 1/4 cup melted butter (60 ml) 1/2 cup smooth goat cheese (125 ml) 6 cups zucchini 1 medium onion, chopped 4 carrots, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 4 cloves garlic cloves, minced 1 can chickpeas Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150 °C). First, cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 ½ hours. As an alternative, place on a plate and cook in the microwave on high for about 20 minutes. (I baked it in the oven, but that gave me time to prep all the other ingredients. It timed almost perfectly.)

In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Mix in the eggs and herbs. Put aside.

Boil and mash the potatoes with the butter and goat cheese (you can add some milk to make them nice and smooth if necessary.) Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and sauté the onions, carrots and celery over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and or zucchini and continue cooking until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the chickpeas and the bread mixture. Stir and put aside.

Remove the spaghetti squash flesh with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn up the oven to 450 °F (230 °C).

In an 9x12 baking dish spoon the vegetable mixture onto the bottom. Layer with the spaghetti squash, then the potatoes and smooth them down. Cook in oven for 30 minutes or so until top is slightly browned.

I served this with a fruit salad. I can’t eat apples, pears or any other autumn tree fruit, so I make my fruit salads a bit tropical.

Mix together:

1 handful of grapes, quartered

1 Banana , halved and sliced

1 orange, chopped

1 can crushed pineapple

1 handful of shredded coconut

1 handful of slivered almonds

It’s really quite good, and made a lovely compliment to the shepherd’s pie. Add a glass of wine, and this is one comforting meal. Bon appetit!

Experience

This word is interesting to me. Especially recently, I have been ruminating on it’s dual meaning. Experience can either be something physical that happens to you, or the knowledge gained from things that happen to you. Its duality seems to mirror our recent trials with Urban – the physical and the cognitive. We are in the throws of dealing with “asynchronous development.” Never heard of it? Neither had we until recently. It’s a fun little addition to a gifted kid’s personality. It’s what happens when your five-year-old comprehends the world like a 10 or 11-year-old, socializes like an adult but is emotionally still 5 or maybe only 3. Asynchronous.

On Monday, we started a new school. It’s a special school geared toward gifted kids. They enroll children ages 2-3 rd grade and use a combination of Montessori and traditional teaching techniques to challenge and enrich kids who can sometimes fall through the cracks, getmislabeled as “problem” kids or simply aren’t getting their needs met at a traditional school. It’s called Cyprus Academy in Burnsville, MN.

Although the decision to move Urban did not come easy to us, we knew something had to change. He had started up a virtual fallout siren screaming for someone to help him. The hardest part was making the choice to leave a school where we were having such a good experience. The teachers are kind and understanding. They were so willing to help in anyway and only wanted what was best for Urban. It was amazing. With the antics he was pulling, it could have easily been a much different experience.

So, we started Cyprus. The first two days were incredible. I wondered if I had even brought the right child home. He enjoyed telling us about all the things hewas learning and showing us the work he had done. He was interested in reading the new books he was bringing home and he loved the homework. He was clearly challenged, but wanted desperately to succeed. It was a miracle.

Then Wednesday happened, and we thought, “Back to square one.” Urban had not been at school an hour and he had an outburst. I got a call to come pick him up, and I was asked to come in and meet with the teacher after work. I was nervous. I felt like, “here we go again…”

But, then, I was surprised. Very surprised. When Brett and I arrived at the school I expected the tired, dejected faces that generally greet us at these meetings – the “he’s so smart, but we just don’t know how to control him” desperation. But that’s not what we got. We were met by his teacher and the director of the school, and all they said was, “Tell us more about Urban.” That’s all. They wanted to know who he is. Is this normal behavior? What works? What doesn’t?

It was so nice to hear their observations even after only 2 days. They saw immediately that being called out in front of his peers escalates his behaviors. They saw that he embarrasses easily and is very perfectionistic. He doesn’t like to admit he’s done wrong, but he’s very hard on himself when he does. They came up with some ideas for how to give him options for structure within free-play time. (That’s his hardest time. Chaos is not his friend.) And then they said, “How would you feel about us moving him up to elementary?”

…

“Um, yes.” Brett and I were surprised but relieved. Yes, that would probably be good. He’s better with older kids, he needs to be engaged and challenged. I think he would really like it.

They suggested that we take him back to finish the IQ testing that he gave up on a year and a half ago to determine where he really falls on the spectrum. And once they have a better understanding of where he is, they can place him accordingly. All of their classes are arranged by ability and not by age. A revelation.

Suddenly we were talking to people who have a lot of experience dealing with kids just like ours. Kids who can rattle off the planets and their moons and add and subtract before age 5, but who still melt into puddles of hysterical toddler tears when faced with too much stimulation.

Experience. Suddenly the word has so much meaning. And I look forward to an amazing experience with people who have plenty of specialized experience.

Beringer:Translated

Any parent of a toddler knows the pride of listening to that burgeoning vocabulary. You beam as your precious little baby starts uttering those first words and phrases. You look expectantly at the adults around waiting for their adulation on your little linguistic genius. Then, you realize… No one but you has any idea what he’s saying.

So, for all of you just dancing with anticipation of your first conversation with Beringer – as I know you ALL are – here is a basic tutorial in Beringerese.

Ba, n. – pacifier, shortened from brother’s version “popper”

Kee, n. – Blanket, shortened version of “blankie”

Ah-joosh, phrase – “I want juice.” This could also mean milk or water. Clarification and follow-up questions always required.

Mine Braw, n. – Urban or “my brother”

Coke, n. – coat

Ga-Mo, n. – Grandma

Shuck, n. – truck

Cee-o, n. – Cereal or any food you eat in the morning.

Tahntah, n. – SANTA!!

Keetee, n. – kitty

And, likely the most important:

PEEP, n. – can also be used as verb, “peeping,” this means he needs an immediate change because he has both peed and pooped his pants. Generally the question, “Do you stink?” will be answered with a deep nod and “AWFUL BUTT!”

One thing you can always guarantee, however, is that yes and no questions will be clearly answered with vigorous head shaking. It makes the clarification process so much simpler!