On the Globe site: When big supermarkets come downtown, fear not for the local cheesemonger. 

Wedding and Baby Showers Are Hideous Relics: Don’t Throw Them

On Rehtaeh Parsons, and why the term “rape culture” isn’t the best tool for stopping rape

I’ve been getting a produce box from Fresh City, which is super handy in the cold weather, especially since I don’t have a car. The goods are usually pristine and delicious (my only issue has been with the mangos, and this is not surprising in Toronto in the winter) and I enjoy the puzzle-solving aspect of figuring out what to do with the mix of fruit and veg that I end up with.

This week saw the delivery of a pound of cute little yams, which inspired a pseudo-South American version of shepherd’s pie: a beef mixture made up as if for Chilean empanadas (lots of aromatic spices, plus olives, raisins and hard-boiled eggs), topped with mashed yams. Forgive me for attempting to food blog, but I thought it was tasty enough to deserve a post, mainly so that I can remember how to make it again. With thanks to Leite’s Culinaria and Taste.com.au for help with the empanada bit, and Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice for confirming that mashing yams is just like mashing potatoes.

I also got three blood oranges this week that smell gorgeous. Any ideas of what to do with them are welcome.

Recipe after the cut.

Yam-Topped Shepherd’s Pie with Chilean Flavours

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. yams or sweet potatoes

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. raisins

1/4 c. dark rum

1 c. olives (I used black, but green would be good too), pitted and chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped roughly

2 tbs. butter, plus a bit more to grease the pan

2 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. whole milk or cream

1 tbs. oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cumin

pinch nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

salt and black pepper

water

A few hours ahead, or even overnight, put the raisins in a bowl and pour the rum on top. Set aside.

Put a big pot of water up to boil. Peel the yams and cut them into chunks. Boil until very soft. Mash with the butter and milk, add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a normal-sized casserole pan, I don’t know what size pans are. A normal rectangular one. Maybe a normal pie plate if you like your shepherd’s pie with a bit of depth.

Heat the olive oil in a big saucepan, and fry the onions over medium heat until very soft and starting to brown, maybe eight to ten minutes or more. Add the garlic and oregano. In about a minute or so, when they become fragrant, add the ground beef. Break it up with a spatula as it cooks until it’s no longer pink at all, five to ten minutes.

Pour the rum and raisins on top of the beef, as well as a 1/4 cup of water (because your husband has poured the beef stock you prepared down the sink in his fanatical attempts to clean while cooking is actually still happening). Add the olives and eggs and stir carefully, keeping the egg yolks as intact as possible. Add all of the spices – the paprika, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon – plus a few grinds of salt and black pepper, and stir carefully again. Cook for a minute or two, then taste and add more salt or pepper if you like.

Spread the beef mixture into the prepared casserole dish, then carefully spoon the mashed yams on top. Smooth them out with a spatula, then use a fork to make grooves if you like (I believe this is purely fashion, not function). Bake for 30 minutes. Let sit for five minutes before serving.

Four to six servings.

In the Grid, some thoughts on the latest batch of over here/over there plays, which are funny, thought-provoking and packing the theatres (including Pomme is French for Apple, pictured at right and starting a run at the Young Centre tonight, February 28).