Venison Shephard's Pie, pages 32-33

Here's the spice list in the shephard's pie recipe:

coriander

cumin

fenugreek

cardamom

mustard seeds

fennel

cloves
cayenne
tumeric
cinnamon

garlic

Um, that doesn't sound like my mother's shephard's pie. Actually, I don't remember my mom ever making shephard's pie. But, you get the point. The top is sweet potatoes mostly, with a small portion white and a little bit of maple syrup added.

The meat portion is venison, onions, cream, egg, peas, corn and the spices.

I actually thought this was going to be a bust dinner. I've made mashed sweet potatoes before too wet, and thought this dish was going to be bland (before I  looked at the spice list) and wet. To my pleasant surprise, we all loved it. We stopped the boys at thirds because we had just shy of half left and if stretched, that could do for another meal. There's a good mom for you: "No worries, kids, we'll just fill up on brownies at dessert." "Oh, come on, Mom. Can we at least have toast? We're still hungry."

Toast was made. They ate it while wrestling around on the kitchen floor. Boys. And, there you have it. A mom sliding on her parenting care and growing, silly boys . . . and shephard's pie.