Shepherd's Pie - veggie style

It is finally cool and rainy here in San Francisco, and that makes me happy because we are in desperate need of every drop we can wring from the sky.

Thankfully, it is finally acting and feeling like winter, and in response to the seasonal chill I decided to make an old winter standard last night. It has been updated to fit our predominantly veggie life-style.

Shopping list:

1 cauliflower
2 large russet potatoes
1/3 cup soy or regular milk
1 tablespoon butter
olive oil
2 packages of soy fake meat
1 large yellow onion
1/2 cup port (or cream sherry)
1 cup of frozen peas
3 cloves of garlic
3 stalks of celery
2 large carrots
1 large leek
5-6 mushrooms (crimini or button)
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
colby-jack cheese, grated (substitute whatever you like)

peel potatoes then cut cauliflower and potatoes into small pieces.

boil in a large pot pot of water till the cauliflower is fork tender and the potato cubes break apart when you squeeze them between two fingers (you don't want them to smush, but to break apart smartly).

Cool them under cold water, place in bowl, with 1 tablespoon of butter and about 1/3 cup of soy or regular milk. Mash it all together well using an immersion blender till you reach your desired mashed-potato consistency. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel and roughly chop the onion, and mince the garlic. Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a large flat bottomed pan (frying pan or otherwise) over medium-high heat, place the onion into the oil. Cook till the onion in translucent. Lower heat to medium, and add the garlic, peas and the fake-ground beef cook for a few minutes, till heated through, then add 1/2 cup port. Cook till the liquid is mostly absorbed. Set aside.

Clean and prepare for chopping the celery, carrots, leek and mushrooms. Chop them all into relatively small pieces. Put some olive oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat put carrots and mushrooms into pan, cook for a few minutes then add celery and finally leeks. You don't have to cook them till they are done, just take some of the water out and

Take a casserole dish, put a thin layer (1/2 inch - 1 inch deep) of the potato/cauliflower mixture over the whole bottom and sides of the dish. Layer along the bottom the fake beef mixture. Next layer the veggie mixture, and then top with the can of diced tomato.

Take the remaining potato/cauliflower mixture and put many dollops of it on top of the tomato. Smooth the dollops together to seal the top of the casserole dish. Grate cheese on the top!

Bake in the oven (at 375) for 1.5 hours if the casserole dish is at least 3 inches deep. for ~30 minutes at 400 if you are using a 9x13 baking dish (if using this type of dish, layer potato mix only along the top of the casserole.

Any other ideas, tips?