Meatloaf

This is an old Betty Crocker recipe I've been making for years. It is a standard in our house.

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (beef or turkey)
3/4 cup oats
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 small onion chopped small
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue (BBQ) sauce

Mix all ingredients except ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Spread mixture in loaf pan

and top with ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for one hour and about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Slice and serve.

Makes about 6-8 servings.


Veggie meatloaf: Increase salt to 1 1/2 tsp. Mix in one small green bell pepper, chopped, 1 medium carrot, shredded, and about 4-6 medium mushrooms, chopped. Omit ketchup/BBQ sauce. During the last five minutes of baking time, take it out of the oven and put tomato slices on top, then put it back in the oven to finish cooking.

Old-Fashioned Baked Beans

from the cookbook Vegan Planet, p. 292

This is a quicker version of the traditional baked bean recipe, and every bit oh, so yummy.  Serve with cornbread and some slaw.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
one 14.5 ounce can tomato puree (or tomato sauce if you can't find puree in this size can)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp tamari or other soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
salt and pepper
1 cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight then cooked OR two cans of beans drained and rinsed

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat olive oil in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in chili powder and cayenne.
• Add tomato puree, sugar, molasses, mustard, tamari and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.

• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix in beans.

• Place mixture into lightly oiled 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
• Cover and bake 20 minutes. Serve hot.

serves 4 or so

Tofu Burgers

1 package firm or medium tofu
1 onion
oil
1/2 cup wholewheat or buckwheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal or rice flour
1 Tbsp miso

• Drain and rinse tofu a few hours ahead. Squeeze as much water out of it as possible (for tofu tips, see 'A Word About Tofu' in my Dragon Bowl post).

• Chop onion and saute in a drizzle of either olive oil or veg oil in a large, flat, preferably non-stick pan.

• (Let the onion cool at least a little bit before going on to the next step.)
• Place onion in a food processor. Crumble in tofu and add remaining ingredients.

• Turn on food processor to blend. Stop when it becomes a ball of dough. This should take less than a minute.

• Take your large, flat, preferably non-stick pan and put about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of veg or canola oil in it. Turn on the heat and let it heat up for a few minutes. (You can do this step while blending the tofu mixture.)

• Scoop out the tofu mixture and form into patties, making sure they're around 1/2 inch thick. Fry in oil, about 10 minutes on each side. They will be golden brown. mmmm.....yummy.....

• Drain on a plate lined with several layers of paper towels.
• Serve with any toppings or condiments you like. We like ketchup, mayo, and sliced tomatos.

Makes about 6-8.

Mexi-Mom

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (more is OK)
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
olive oil
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup black beans, soaked overnight then cooked
      (or 1 can of canned black beans, drained and rinsed)
1 cup rice
1 Tbsp taco seasoning

Cook rice according to package directions. If there are no directions, or in other words it's just plain old rice, remember the rice cooking rule: one part rice to two parts water. Bring to a boil then simmer until the water is absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper in a drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan. When they have cooked down, add the tomatoes and beans.

When the rice is done, add it to the saute pan and mix. Season with salt and taco seasoning.

To serve: place a layer of tortilla chips on each plate. Top with above concoction. Top that with a dollop or two of sour cream and the salsa of your choice. Eat like nachos.

Pig out.

Chickpea Toss

Easy, peasy. This is a quick and easy one. Tasty, nutritious, high fiber, inexpensive, filling.
From the cookbook The Garden of Vegan, p. 147.

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, about 14 hours, in about 4 cups water

After soaking, drain and rinse chickpeas. Place in a pot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until beans are soft, but not too mushy. This will take at least an hour, probably more like 2, so do this way in advance. You can even do this a day or 2 ahead.

soft, not mushy

Drain and rinse again.

1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
cooked chickpeas
Sesame oil or olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup chopped olives of your choice (optional)

Get a large saute pan. Turn the heat to medium and add the oil. Let it heat up for a minute or so, then add the onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent.

hear the sizzle

Add chickpeas, salt, curry and olives (if using). Heat and stir.

In about 5 minutes, you're done!

Serve with rice of your choice and a vegetable. Makes enough for about 4-5 people.

Serving suggestions:
Note: you can use canned chickpeas instead of dried in this recipe. This will make it all that much quicker, BUT it will not taste as good. I find canned chickpeas to have an unfavorable taste, no matter what brand they are.

The book this recipe came from suggests serving with the following condiments. I find these work wonderfully well:

• flax oil
• Braggs Liquid Aminos
• Gomashio (see recipe below)

Also, if you have olive-lovers and olive-haters in the same household, you can leave out the olives and serve them on the side for each person to add to their own helping as they prefer.

Gomashio
1 cup raw sesame seeds
1-2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp kelp powder

In a small dry saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sesame seeds, salt and kelp, stirring continually for 3-5 minutes, until seeds start to pop and brown. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Place in food processor and grind for 3 seconds (you don't want the seeds to become powdery, just lightly ground). Store in an air-tight container. Makes 1 cup.