Crispy Shallots

3 large shallots yields about 1.5 cups

These little gems are fabulous on top of just about anything!  Use them to replace the crunch of croutons on salads, French’s Fried Onions on casseroles, onion rings on burgers or anywhere you want a savory snap to complement more supple textures. 

Yes these are fried in oil, but as there is no breading not much is absorbed.  I like to use grapeseed oil because it has a higher smoke point – the temperature at which you go from frying onions to opening doors and windows and flapping a tea towel at the smoke alarm – but you could use canola, peanut (watch for guest allergies), sesame or regular olive oil.  Each will subtly impart a different flavor, so choose accordingly.  You could also switch up the shallots with leeks or sweet onion to suit your dish and pantry. 

Whatever you choose there are three tips/tricks to doing this right:

 1) Slice them thinly and consistently.  For this a mandolin is the tool of choice to ensure uniformity – they don’t have to be expensive and you can use them to whip up all kinds of things, from salads to Quick Pickled Red Onions.  For the shallots I use about a 1/16” blade.  You could try these in a food processor, just be careful to place them in in such a way that the slices are across the shallot, and not all over the place because you want rings that are moderately even so they all get crispy at the same time.  This is also an opportunity to hone your knife skills – sharpen that knife before you start, or you’ll be swearing. 

2) Don’t crowd the pan.  Do this in batches such that there is an even layer, and the rings don’t overlap too much or they have a tendency to stick together and not cook evenly.

3) Pull them before you think they are done.  Just like fish, if you think it’s not quite done, it’s perfect.  Carryover cooking means that that golden blush in the pan = nicely crispy on the plate.  Nicely golden in the pan = charred on the plate.  So when the first golden kiss appears, start removing those shallots with a flat, slotted metal spatula, or like apparatus, and continue around the pan.

Trim the ends, peel and thinly slice

• 3 or more large shallots or other onions

Heat a heavy-bottom bottom pan on medium and add

• ~ 1 c grapseed or other oil, or until the pan has about an inch of oil

Add shallots in batches, breaking up the slices into separate rings with your hands as you do.  Once barely golden, remove to a plate with a couple layers of paper towel on it.  Continue to shallow fry in batches until all are done – adding more oil if needed.  Take care to remove any charred bits before adding more onions, but you don’t have to change the oil.  When you are done and the oil is cool, you can save it for a later use by straining it through paper towel to remove any bits and bottling it separate from the unused oil.  

Add crispy shallots to your dish and munch away!

Recipes that benefit from Crispy Shallots:  Shmeat Loaf, Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup, Decadent Scalloped Potatoes, many salads, and for a decadent touch to anything slathered in Mmmmm Mushroom Gravy.

Apple Cake

Serves 8 - 12

I must confess that I finally bought a springform pan – to make a mushroom torta.  As you may have noticed from the posts, dessert is kinda low on my radar.  But when the fresh apples come out, I find myself craving this “cake”.  Really, the apples are the star here and there is barely enough batter to hold them together.  So cake is really a misnomer if you are expecting something spongy, but I think this beats cake hands down.  I’ve tried to come up with another name for it, but I’m too busy stuffing my mouth with “samples”.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9” springform pan and cut a circle of baking parchment to fit the bottom.  Grease the bottom & sides of the pan, lay down the paper then grease it lightly too.  While you are at it, pull out a baking sheet (and line that also with parchment or a silpad if you like) for putting the springform on to catch any drips. 

In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients with a whisk or fork:

• 1.5 c brown rice flour, or neutral GF flour
• 1.5 t baking powder
• 1 t xanthan gum
• 1 T freshly ground spices, such as cinnamon, allspice, star anise, nutmeg or ginger (I use ½ a stick of Mexican cinnamon, 11 allspice berries & 1 whole star anise)
• Pinch of salt

Melt and cool

• ½ c unsalted butter (1 stick) or substitute oil

Cut in half and remove the cores of

• 6-7 medium apples (~8 c), a mix is nice – Swiss Gourmet are a favorite - cut into quarters then ½” pieces

In a large bowl whisk until foamy

• 4 eggs

Then whisk in

• ½ c unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 c agave syrup
• ¼ c dark rum, brandy or apple brandy
• 1 t vanilla extract

Whisk in half the flour mixture until incorporated, then half the butter, then the remaining flour, then remaining butter, mixing well after each addition to get a smooth batter.  This will be rather thick.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the apples until they are well coated.  Scrap the batter into the pan prodding with the spatula to get it roughly even.

Bake in the center of the oven for 45-60 min, or until the top is golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5-10 min, then run a butter knife around the edges to loosen.  Unsnap and remove the springform and let the cake cool to room temp (or slightly warmer).  Then place a plate upside down on top of the cake and quickly invert everything so the pan bottom is facing up.  If the bottom is loose, simply remove it and the parchment and then place another plate (or cutting board) on the cake bottom and flip back over.  Otherwise, slide a metal spatula between the parchment and the pan bottom to loosen and then flip upright again.  Cut into wedges and serve.  For an extra decadent touch, serve with barely sweetened freshly whipped cream or ice cream.

Very Good Food for the Holidays: Side Dishes Reconsidered

Cooking for a diverse crowd these days often involves a little head scratching as how to make an impressive vegetarian main dish besides pasta, or a “dressing-like” side that is gluten-free, or what to do about that guest who doesn’t eat dairy.  Well, it’s not as hard as it seems as when you are looking through a disparate assemblage of cookbooks.

Consider first that many of the traditional side dishes are already VGF, or easily made that way.  Most roasted sweet potato/yam dishes already hit the mark (but ditch the marshmallows, which insult the sweet potato anyway).  If you just can’t imagine making Brussels sprouts without real bacon and breadcrumbs, consider at least adding a nice platter of mixed roasted vegetables.  The bounty available this time of year such as carrots, beets, fennel, leeks, and mushrooms are fantastic dressed simply with some olive oil, salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and roasted at 425 degrees F until fork tender, about 40 mins.  You can take it to the next level with some truffled crème fraiche – truly decadent but deceptively easy.

Below are some ideas on how to substitute minor ingredients in these classic side dishes (in progression of intensity of substitution):

Mashed Spuds
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Sometimes made indiscriminately with chicken stock	Veg stock, or (non)dairy milk of your choice – unsweetened, unflavored of course [1]	Scalloped potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Breadcrumbs
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Well, the bacon and breadcrumbs!	Smoked paprika for the bacon, and either parmesan crumbs or quinoa flake for the bread crumbs  if you can't find GF crumbs– the quinoa will add a distinct nutty flavor to the dish.	Roasted Brussels with truffle crème fraiche…………mmmmm tasty!  Though I don’t knock adding some smoked paprika also to put it over the top.
Sweet Potato/Yam Casserole with Marshmallows
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Most commercial marshmallows contain gelatin, which is made from animal hooves & hides, and thus not vegetarian	Look for vegetarian marshmallows that use agar or egg whites instead, or vegan versions. Make your own with Alton Brown’s recipe subbing agar for the gelatin he calls for.  Or check out some other gelatin alternatives.	These tubers are pretty sweet all by themselves – try pricking them with a fork and roasting them whole in a 425o oven until tender, about 40 min.  Remove from the skin and mash with a little butter, salt & pepper.  If you really need sweet, add a drizzle of maple syrup or some crushed candied pecans, or make Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes from eatingwell.com
Green Bean Casserole
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Traditionally made with chicken stock, a can of mushroom soup, and French’s fried onions, however all is not lost for this perennial favorite	Use a hearty veggie stock (such as Wolfgang Puck or homemade), VGF mushroom soup (bought or homemade with this recipe [2]) and a tablespoon of veggie starch (such as potato, corn or tapioca) and make Crispy Shallots for the topping.	Steamed green beans with 1 T grainy mustard, 1 T rice wine vinegar, 1 t agave nectar, a generous sprinkling of smoked paprika if you wish and salt & pepper – top with Crispy Shallots if you want/need/love the crunchy onions.
Gravy
Problem	Substitute	Or try…
Usually made from pan drippings and thickened with a wheat flour slurry	Mmmm Mushroom Gravy, which uses an unctuous onion base for depth of flavor and is thickened with veggie starch of your choice (potato, tapioca or corn).	Mmmm Gravy sans the mushrooms? You gotta have gravy!

Please, please, please comment, facebook &/or email with questions, comments & suggestions for other holiday side dishes that need reforming, and I will brainstorm as best I can to help everyone have a very good food side dish!  

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[1] For this I will recommend Silk brand (soy or almond) and Almond Breeze (almond) – be sure to buy UNSWEETENED & UNFLAVORED. Vanilla is great for shakes but not so well received in gravy

[2] While I do not advocate microwaving, here is an easy diy recipe for condensed mushroom soup.  If this recipe weirds you out a little – consider what you are actually eating with “regular” cream of mushroom soup.

Truffle Crème Fraiche

This is a direct rip-off of a Garbriel Rucker recipe that was ever so graciously given to me by our good friend Carol.  Rucker is famous for his restaurant here in Portland, Le Pigeon, along with being a James Beard Rising Star award winner - and you can see why with this simple but fabulous sauce!  It is so easy that I have even taken it camping, oh yah.  It is a fantastic accompaniment to any roasted veggie, and we plan to slather it on for Thanksgiving.

Enough for 6-8 side dishes

In a bowl whisk together

• ¾ cup crème fraiche
• 1.5 T truffle oil – see note below
• The juice of one lemon
• Salt to taste

If you are really splurging add

• 1 T chopped fresh truffle – a heavenly fall fungus!

Place a pan on low heat, add any roasted veggies if you want, such as 1.5 lb baby carrots that were originally featured in this recipe, and add the truffle crème fraiche.  Heat until the crème is reduced by half.  Remove from the heat and finish with

• 1 T flat-leaved parsley, chopped

Otherwise just use as a sauce and pour it on.  Ohhh yah!

Truffle oil can be found in higher-end grocery stored, international food sotres, and even some well-stocked farmers markets such as the big one on the PSU campus downtown.  It is spendy, but a little goes a long way and it is a phenomenal treat on poached eggs, risotto, and roasted veggies, not to mention Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup.  

A Lovely Lunch

We were recently blessed to have a lovely lunch with Carol – she and JJ got to do what they do best (talk shop) while I got to do what I am learning to do best (cook and take pictures).  Having a friend over for a meal is always a chance for me to pull out a great recipe and hone it (or in my case, actually take notes about what I did!) and get some critical feedback. 

Cooking is an art my friends, and some days you’ll have better mojo than others, but every time you have a chance to refine your art, try something new, or both.  It’s great that Carol came over, because otherwise lunch wouldn’t have been nearly as well thought out.  But that’s the magic in connecting with those you adore - and it gets you to vacuum. 

Chopped Celeriac

Here is a lovely lunch (or brunch) that you can whip up, much of it ahead of time, to serve during this ramp up to the holiday season.  I would also recommend making a batch of soup and some tartlets just for you and treating yourself to some fabulous fall flavors – you deserve it!

Menu

Sunchoke &Celeriac Soup

Served with a Delight-Fall Salad with Tarragon Caper Vinaigrette

& Ricotta Tartlets

Suggested pairing:

A fruit-forward Chardonnay, dry Riesling, or bubbles (they go with everything!)

Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup

You’re making soup, why not make a batch!

Makes 36 cups (9 quarts) – about 12 sides or 7 mains

Freeze the extra or this recipe can easily be halved

A fabulous soup to celebrate some of the Fall’s lesser know veg – delicate, velvety, with a je ne sais quoi about it.  Fabulous with many Provencal flavors like artichoke, fennel, tarragon, lavender and parsley, this soup can be paired with a light salad for a lovely lunch, or served as a starter to a larger meal.  I recently accompanied it with Ricotta Tartlets and a Delight-Fall Salad that would make a fabulous brunch too.

All of the body comes from pureed vegetables - so this is a wonderfully filling yet light soup at the same time, and really lets these subtle flavors shine.  If you are worried about acceptance of weird things like sunchokes and celeriac, use the larger amount of potatoes listed to "dilute" these new flavors.  Otherwise, use less potato and really get to know these ethereal fall flavors!

Place a large stock pot over medium high heat.  Add olive oil to coat the bottom and sauté:

• 2 large sweet onions (such as Walla walla) or 4 medium boiler onions, diced

Once sweated and translucent add

• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (you don't want this to overwhelm the delicate flavors)

Stir to prevent the garlic from burning and cook until fragrant and softened, about 2 mins.  Then add

• 2 large celeriac (~4 lb), peeled and diced (see What to do with a Celeriac for help)
• 2 lb sunchokes, diced (peeling is optional but fussy)
• 1 – 1.5 lb thin-skinned potatoes, diced
• 2 - 32 oz containers (64 oz total) vegetable stock, such as Wolfgang Puck or homemade
• 1 c dry white white, such as pinot grigio/pinot gris or chardonnay (easy on the oak)
• Pinch of salt

Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes, or until the veggies are well cooked and soft enough to puree. 

Remove lid and take the pot off the burner to let it cool until you can safely handle the contents – 20 min or so, more is great too.  Then puree with a stick blender or food processor until smooth.  Alternatively, drain off and reserve some of the liquid, then mash by hand and reintroduce the liquid until incorporated.  If you want really silky smooth soup you probably own a chinoise[1] and know how to use it, otherwise, you have a fabulous soup - just proceed to the next step.

Bring back up to a simmer, add a healthy pinch of kosher salt and a bunch of black pepper, and heat on the stove for at least 10-15 min, then cover and reduce to low.  This lets the flavors blend and is important – do not skip this part. 

This soup is thick and tends to separate a little if left on the stove (which is great for flavor development, so don’t worry), so be sure to give it a good stir before serving.  Give it a healthy squeeze of lemon (I’m thinking a least one whole one) just as you ladle it out – or top each bowl.  For a fancy touch, top with white truffle oil, otherwise give it a healthy dose of black pepper.  This soup freezes well too, so make lots and enjoy later.

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[1] A chinoise (sometimes chinois) is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh. It is used to strain custards, purees, soups, and sauces, producing a very smooth texture. It can also be used to dust pastry with a fine layer of powdered sugar. Source: Wikipedia.

What to do with Celeriac

Celeriac seen from the stem end

For most people, celeriac falls firmly into the “What the F#$!” category of vegetables.  While not much to look at, this is a fabulous fall-winter vegetable that is really under appreciated.  Beneath the funky, turnip-meets-octopus-tentacle exterior lies a crisp white mild interior. It is also called celery root - so you might guess that it tastes like celery, and you’d be right.  Celeriac is actually from a different subspecies, grown especially for its swollen starchy stem base (for you plant geeks, it is technically a corm).  The celery-like stems can also be used, but they are more bitter than common celery.  Celeriac has a pleasant, mild celery taste and can be used raw, sautéed, roasted, baked or pickled.

Showing removed rootlets on the left

To prepare celeriac, cut off the stems close to the base and cut the roots where most of them start to separate from the base and form “fingers”,  if they are not both trimmed already.  Use a sturdy vegetable peeler or just a knife to peel the outer skin.  If you are not cooking it immediately, prepare a bowl of acidulated water[1] to keep the while flesh from browning. 

If cooking, don't worry too much about the remaining areas around the rootlets, you can trim them out as you slice & dice.

Some ways to use celeriac

Hanging out in acidulated water (with lemon)

• Wonderful grated (or julienned) and then marinated for a salad
• Saute with like veggies, such as baby artichoke, fennel and celery for a wonderful hash
• Roast with any of the veggies above, or with potato and carrot for a fabulous side
• Boil with white potatoes to spice up your mash
• Use with your favorite picking blend, or try it with Quick Pickled Onions & Friends

Recipes that feature celeriac: Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup

Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup - a fall favorite

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[1] Water to which acid has been added to keep food from browning.  Generally ~1/2 a lemon or lime, 1.5 tablespoons vinegar or 1/2 cup white wine with 1 quart of water.  Adding too much acid can impart its flavor to the food, so think about the type of acid that would work best with your flavors.

Ricotta Tartlets

Makes 12

This recipe is adapted from one in the Canadian Living Vegetarian Collection[1], a great veggie cookbook that was given to me by my sister-in-law.  This was the first one I made out of the book because it intrigued me immensely, and has since become a huge hit with many of my friends and family.  I love to serve them as an accompaniment to Nicoise-Inspired salads, or as a clever and tasty protein boost to a green salad or simple soup.  You can change the herbs to suit the rest of your meal, or choose something mild like chives, parsley or thyme to keep them more compatible with anything you might dream up.  They keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days, but I bet they will be long gone before that!  I only have one muffin pan, but if you have two this recipe could easily be doubled. You could also halve the recipe if you have a mini-muffin tin and make fun canapés.

Start by finely grating

• 5 oz (~1 cup) parmesan cheese, or other hard dry cheese (you can cube it and run it through a mini or full size food processor to speed this up)

You are looking for something close to parmesan “dust” to coat the muffin tin (see below), but the remainder of the cheese can just be grated.  Don’t sweat it too much – cooking should be fun!

Grease a muffin tin with oil (using a pastry brush or wax paper can help with this).  Using about ¼ cup of the grated parmesan, sprinkle evenly amongst the muffin cups.   Shake and tilt the pan to encourage some cheese to stick to the sides of each cup until all sections are evenly coated and set aside.  This makes a nice crust on the outsides of the tartlets hand helps make the pan “non stick”.[2] 

Preheat the oven to 350^oF.  In a large bowl beat together the following until smooth:

• 15 oz part-skim ricotta (1 small container, about 2.5 cups)
• 2 egg whites
• remaining parmesan
• 2 T vegetable starch (potato, tapioca or corn)
• 1 T neutral tasting GF flour (brown rice, white rice, sorghum or almond meal)
• 1 t baking powder
• ~2 T fresh, or ~2 t dried herbs of your choice (can use more if mild or less if strong

Good choices for herbs are thyme, rosemary, chives, tarragon, parsley, herb du Provence, and/or lavender (used in combination with another milder herb). I like to use 1 T fresh chives with either 1 T of fresh tarragon or fresh thyme.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, dividing equally amongst the cups (about 1 T in each -the cups won’t be full).  Bake in the center of the oven until puffed and golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.  Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time if you have any hotspots in your oven.  Let the pan cool on a rack for 5 – 10 minutes before running a butter knife gently around the edges to loosen.  Serve hot, warm or cold – all are delicious!  These are deceptively filling, so serve one to two per person depending on what they are accompanying, to save yourself from demolishing them all!

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[1] Kent, Alison & the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.  2010. The Vegetarian Collection: Creative meat-free dishes that nourish and inspire. Transcontinental Books: Montreal, QC. 288 pp.

[2] If you want to cut down on the cheese, you could try making these with paper or silicone baking cups – let me know how it works out!

Delight-fall Salad with Tarragon Caper Vinaigrette

Makes 4 side salads or 2 dinner salads

Fall salads usually conjure up images of roasted squash and assorted root veggies, but this season still has some crunch left in it.  I love squash and sweet potato as much as anyone - besides JJ of course – but you can make a lovely chop salad with autumnal bounty with nary a starchy root veg in sight (well, okay I did use a carrot – but you could leave that out).  This is also a great time of year to add apples to salads.  Unfamiliar with Pink Ladies, Rubinettes or Swiss Gourmets?  Most stores will happily cut samples for you to try.  I was recently rewarded with one such tasting and am delighted to report that it greatly influenced this dish.  I encourage you to celebrate the beautiful diversity of fresh apples available now and open your kitchen to inspiration! 

Chopped salads are great, crunchy companions to silky soups such as Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup, for which this particular salad was dreamed up.  Try it with the tarragon dressing, or change up the herbs to take this out of Provence and into Latin America with cilantro and chilis, or to Eastern Europe with dill and caraway.  As a bonus, because there aren’t any leafy greens, this salad keeps well for a day or two in the fridge after its dressed.  And see below for ways to make this salad into a satisfying meal all itself!

Orange Pippen has wonderful information about hundreds apple varieties, as well as listings for orchards in parts of North America, Europe and India. http://www.orangepippin.com/

Tarragon Caper Vinaigrette

The vinaigrette benefits from being made ahead to let the flavors from the fresh herbs infuse into the vinaigrette, so start with this.  You can chop the herbs by hand and shake them together with the other ingredients, or this is a great place to use a mini food chopper if you have one – they often come as an attachment to stick blenders.

• 2 heaping tablespoons of tarragon, finely diced by hand or chopped to fit in the processor
• 2 heaping tablespoons of flat-leaf parsley, finely diced by hand or chopped to fit in the processor
• 4 T of low sodium & sugar rice wine vinegar (adjust the quantity of agave and capers accordingly if you use another version with more/less salt & sugar)
• 2 T flax oil or other good vegetable oil
• 1 t agave nectar
• 1 t stone ground mustard or similar (not French’s)
• 1 heaping t capers
• coarse black pepper

Whir in the mini-chopper or combine in a jar with a tight-fitting lid & shake.  Taste & adjust seasoning as necessary.  Let sit for a while – 20 mins is awesome but any time is good (or even make it the night before).  Whir/shake again just before dressing the salad to re-emulsify.

Delight-fall Salad

Combine in a large bowl the following: 

• 1 small tart-sweet apple (such as rubinette or gala), cut into matchsticks
• 1 bunch radishes, quartered, sliced or matchsticks depending on size & preference
• 1 large endive, leaves removed and cut lengthwise into strips similar size to the apple
• 1 long carrot, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler or matchsticks if you aren’t tired of chopping(!)
• ½ a bunch of flat-leaved parsley, stems removed and larger leaves torn or chopped roughly

Depending on your vegetable peeler you'll have thinner or thicker carrot  strips

Toss until everything is evenly distributed, then pour on the dressing & toss again.  Divide amongst four salad plates or make it a meal with the suggestions below.

Make it a Meal: 

Toss in a cup of cooked quinoa and a handful of golden raisins (or other dried fruit) and toss to distribute.  Serve on top of a handful of greens of your choice – swiss chard, spinach, arugula or watercress would be nice – and top with a handful of sliced almonds on each plate. Mmmmm.

A Craving for Meatloaf

One of, if not the favorite dish of my husband’s is meatloaf.  I hated it as a kid.  But out of love I am constantly on the hunt for something using Very Good Food that can be made into loaf form and satisfy us both.  When I made this version, I knew we were onto something… and that the craving for meatloaf is more common than I thought. 

JJ took leftovers to work one day (actually, I think leftover meatloaf is his favorite) and once reheated, the smell wafted over to a the desk of a new colleague.  Sniffing around, she tracked it to its source and proclaimed that it smelled just like her mom’s meatloaf.  She insisted on learning how to make it and so a dinner was planned.  Over the course of the evening stories were shared, wine was imbibed, meatloaf was made (eventually), and a friendship was born. 

Such is the power of food to bring people together and turn acquaintances into friends.  To this day Tricia inspires me to keep track of what I’m cooking so I can learn from mistakes, and more importantly, share it with others.  It also helps to right things down when the champagne is flowing and the mind gets a little foggy! 

This recipe was inspired by one entitled ‘Yogi Steak’ in Food as Medicine by Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.[1]  He recommends it as a potent anti-cancer food due to its richness in antioxidants and cruciferous vegetables (those in the broccoli family).  Besides that, this is a great veggie version of meatloaf - which even I really like.  It’s a fabulous gateway dish to facilitate not only conversion to the VGF side, but great comradery. 

We recently had a fabulous time making this dish at Tricia & Russ’s house, everyone pitching in and giving their two cents as we tried to nail down the quantities.

Menu

Shmeat Loaf

served with mashed potatoes

smothered in mushroom gravy

topped with crispy shallots

accompanied by a fresh tossed salad

You can freely substitute the mashed spud with sweet potatoes, yams, mashed roasted cauliflower, squash, or the lovely veg of your choosing.  The crispy shallots aren’t essential, but are delectable.

Shmeat Loaf

A note on loaf pans:  usually they are referred to by the poundage of the dough they will contain e.g. 1 lb, 1.5 lb, 2 lb.  1.5 lb pans are usually 8.5” by 4.5”.  I only posses 1 lb loaf pans which are 7.5” by 3.5”.  While this recipe will all fit into either one 1lb pan or one 1.5 lb pan, I prefer to split it between two 1 lb pans to reduce the cooking time and facilitate portioning and sharing of the final product.  You could do the same with two 1.5 lb loaf pans, but will have to increase the cooking time if you use one loaf pan of either size.

Preheat the oven to 375^oF.  Grease one or two loaf pans and set aside (see note about pans above).  If you are really worried about sticking, line the bottom of the pan with baking parchment.

Grate, chop, or pulse in a food processor, the following vegetables until finely diced but not pureed:

• 1 c broccoli florets
• 1 c brussels sprouts
• 1/2 sweet onion
• ½ c flat leaf parsley
• 1.5 c unctuous onion base, about 4 or 5 boiler onions worth (you will need the same about for Mushroom Gravy if you choose to make it) click here for how to make unctuous onion base

Transfer to a large bowl and stir in

• 2 T freshly grated ginger root

In a medium-large bowl mix together the dry ingredients:

• 1 c yellow cornmeal
• 1 c brown rice, soy or other mild tasting GF flour
• 2 T poppy seeds
• ½ t cayenne pepper
• 2 T Hungarian/sweet paprika
• 1 T garlic powder
• Salt & pepper to taste

In a measuring cup or medium bowl mix together the wet ingredients:

• ¼ c grainy mustard
• ½ can tomato paste
• ¼ c tamari
• ½ c water
• 3 t agave nectar or honey 

Pour the wet ingredients into the veggie and mix thoroughly (hands are the easiest).  Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly (again, hands are the easiest).  Knead together and, if using two pans, divide into two equal balls.  Transfer to greased pan(s), smoothing the tops with a silicone spatula. 

Bake in the oven for 45 min or until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean.  Add time if making one loaf.  Remove from the oven and let rest 10 min.  Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan to dislodge and turnout on a cutting board.  Slice into ½ slices and serve 1-2 slices if you made a single loaf or 3-4 slices if you made two loaves.  Serve with mmmmm mushroom gravy or the condiments of your choice.

Bonus Recipe: Shmeat Loaf Sammies

Take two pieces of leftover shmeat loaf and toast or pan fry briefly until crisped and warmed through.  Slather on the condiments of choice, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions, and a fried egg, cheese or the protein of your choice, top with the other slice.  Ta-da!  A shmeat loaf sammie where the shmeat is the star…you may never make one with bread again!

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[1] Khalsa, Dharma Singh. 2003. Food as Medicine: How to use diet, vitamins, juices and herbs for a healthier, happier and longer life.  Atria Books: New York, NY.  358 pp.