Lentil Loaf

I have never been able to understand peoples' obsession with "comfort food". When I hear someone referring to comfort food, I automatically think of overcooked, calorie-loaded American food. My dad loves comfort food though, and as I'm trying to win him over to veganism, I'm beginning to cook more meals I know he'll like. Example: vegan meatloaf. This meal was ridiculously good, especially when served with mashed potatoes and a salad. Feel free to top it with as much ketchup or BBQ sauce as you could possibly desire (anything in excess seems to be okay when we're talking about comfort food). I originally found the recipe here, however, I changed a few things.

Lentil Loaf

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked lentils
• 3 1/2 cups broth or water
• 1 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce

1) Preheat oven (or toaster oven!) to 350°. Lightly grease a 4 x 8-inch loaf pan.

2) Combine lentils and broth in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until lentils are very soft.

3) Blend cooked lentils in a food processor or blender for several minutes, or until there's pretty much no lumps. If by some terrible circumstance, you don't have a blender or food processor, you can do it manually by using a potato masher - but only do that in a pinch, and be sure to mash them very well. Set aside.

4) Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, or until onions are soft.

5) In a large boil, combine the onions and garlic mixture with lentils, rice, and other remaining ingredients.

6) Press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven, drizzle a little bit of ketchup or barbecue sauce on top, then bake for another 10 minutes.

7) Let cool slightly before serving.

Serves 6

VeganMoFo Day Twelve: Orange Tofu Stir-Fry

I threw this together for dinner because I was craving rice (apparently that's possible??). This was one of the first recipes I ever made as a vegan, and it's one I'll always keep. The tofu tastes best if you cook it separately the same way I explain in this recipe. I also added in 1/2 cup snap peas and 1 cup broccoli florets. In the sauce, instead of brown sugar, I used brown rice syrup and doubled the amount of the corn starch mixture; however, I think it tastes best if you stick with the brown sugar version.

RECIPE HERE 

Greek Stuffed Peppers & Tomatoes with Tomato Cream Sauce

Last month, I attended a three week-long trip to Italy and Greece with People to People Student Ambassador Program. It was an incredible trip and such an amazing opportunity. However, before I went, I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough for me to eat, as a vegan. I definitely had no reason to worry though! My lovely delegation manager (the leader/guide from the area who was basically in charge of the entire trip) always made sure to talk with the restaurants to guarantee that the two vegetarians and I had something to eat. The three of us ended up having the best variety of food! Every day was something different - risotto, veggie medley dishes, traditional salads, stuffed vegetables, roasted veggies, pasta, and more. Meanwhile, the incredibly jealous omnivores were served a mystery meat and fried potatoes for every single meal.

One of my favorite foods we were given was the stuffed tomatoes and peppers from Greece. I am not Greek and will not claim that this is a traditional Greek recipe, considering I made it up, but it tastes almost identical to the meal we had in Greece. The sauce is entirely optional, as the meal still tastes delicious without it.

Greek Stuffed Peppers & Tomatoes

• 3 tomatoes
• 3 bell peppers
• 1 cup uncooked brown or wild rice
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

2) Cook rice according to package directions.

3) Mix cooked rice with herbs, oil, salt, and pepper.

4) Cut off the tops of the peppers and tomatoes and carefully scoop out the insides.

5) Stuff the peppers and tomatoes with the rice mixture.

6) Place peppers on prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

7) Add tomatoes to baking sheet and bake for another 15 minutes, or until veggies are soft.

8) Allow veggies to cool for several minutes before transferring to plates.

Serves 3 or 6, depending on how hungry everyone is


Tomato Cream Sauce 
(I tagged this recipe as "soy-free" since the stuffed tomatoes are, but be warned, the sauce is not)

• 1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 package silken tofu (about 4 ounces)
• Handful of fresh basil

1) Blend all ingredients together.

2) Heat on stove top over med-low heat.

3) Serve drizzled on top of baked tomatoes and peppers.



View more photos here