Tomato Glaze-Crusted “Meat”loaf Casserole

Post by Megan Stulberg

I’ve been working like a crazy person lately, hence the delay in writing up recipe posts. But hey, a girl’s got to eat! If there’s a silver lining from this, it’s just that I have tons of recipes up my sleeve for y’all in the near future.

This was my Christmas day feast, yum yum. Being the only vegan in a family of carnivores is both good and bad. The bad is that they don’t want to eat the food I make, the good is…more for me! I ended up eating leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Boxing Day. Not a single regret.

I paired this dish with my sweet potato mash that’s already up on Vegan Girlfriend here, as well as some roasted asparagus! I also paired it with a gravy/stuffing hybrid that I’ve nicknamed “gruffing” that was oh-so-good but honestly was an accident so I don’t have a write-up for that.

Ingredients…

For the loaf: 

• 1 1/4 cup gluten-free vegetable broth
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup canned lentils
• 1/4 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup roasted nuts of your choice (I chose walnut)
• 1/4 cup 100% maple syrup
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 3 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp basil
• Cracked pepper and sea salt, to taste

For the glaze: 

• 1/2 cup organic ketchup (or tomato paste)
• 1/4 cup 100% maple syrup
• Pinch of sea salt

Directions…

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Rinse canned lentils. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Once oil begins to sizzle, add garlic and onion. Sauté 5 minutes until brown, then add carrot, celery and mushrooms. Add broth at this point.
4. Use a high-speed blender or food processor to chop toasted nuts into small pieces.
5. Add sautéed veggies to blender, along with rice flour, flax, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, thyme, basil, sea salt, pepper and of course, the lentils! Pulse until coarsely combined. If the mixture needs to be thickened, add additional brown rice flour by the tbsp and combine by hand. Be careful not to over-process, you want some chunks of veggies and stuff to stay intact for texture.
6. Coat casserole dish with olive oil to prevent sticking. Use large spoon to transfer mixture from food processor to casserole dish, then flatten out.
7. Bake casserole dish in oven for a total of 40 minutes.
8. During this time, make the glaze! Simply whisk organic ketchup, maple syrup and sea salt together in bowl.
9. Remove casserole dish from oven after 15 minutes, add glaze in a thin layer on top, then place back in oven covered and let bake for remaining 30 minutes.
10. Wait for dish to cool, then slice and serve with side dishes accordingly.

Dig in! Serve warm, makes 4-6 servings.

Asparagus and lemon-roasted eggplant fusilli with garlic bread

Post by Megan Stulberg

Having Celiac disease, it’s pretty rare that I’ll find myself wanting to eat a chewy alternative to wheat-heavy products. But catch me after discovering a gluten-free baguette that a) tastes like a “real” one and b) doesn’t use egg as a binding agent, then you’re going to see me suddenly go carb crazy.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE PASTA…

• 2 jumbo lemons
• 1 bunch asparagus, rinsed and chopped into smaller pieces
• 3 cups unsweetened soy or almond milk
• 2 cups gluten-free fusilli (I prefer corn-based)
• 1 cup chopped eggplant
• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (I use brown rice-based) or tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper

FOR THE GARLIC BREAD…

• 1 Aidan’s baguette (Sold at grocers in the GTA, or can be ordered for delivery anywhere in Ontario)
• 4 heaping tbsp vegan butter-style spread
•  2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS…

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In large bowl, coat asparagus evenly with olive oil and lemon juice.
3. Line baking sheet with aluminium foil. Drizzle sheet with olive oil and evenly spread asparagus out.
4. Bake asparagus for 15-20 minutes until browned, flipping halfway. Set aside, but leave oven on.
5. On stovetop, bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta, then let cook covered 15 minutes or until water is mostly gone. Pasta should be tender when tested with fork. Drain, then set aside in same pot.
6. Sauté onion and garlic with dash of olive oil in saucepan on medium heat until golden. Add eggplant and additional olive oil if desired to pan. Continue cooking for 5-7 minutes. Add eggplant and asparagus to pot with pasta in it.
7. In high-speed blender combine soy milk, rice flour, nutritional yeast, sage, salt and pepper to make sauce. If consistency is too thick, slowly add tablespoons of water and pulse blender again. Add sauce to pot and mix all ingredients together.
8. Line baking sheet with clean piece of aluminum foil. Slice baguette in half length-wise. Mix together vegan butter, garlic powder and sage in bowl. Spread butter mixture on both baguette halves. If you think it needs more butter or garlic, add more! Go wild. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and another dash of olive oil.
9. On baking sheet, place baguette halves in oven and toast for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy.
10. While garlic bread is cooling, relight element on stove and heat pasta covered on medium-low for 5 minutes. A dash more almond milk may be necessary to mix in. Slice bread and serve immediately.

Serve hot! Makes 4 servings.