i would do anything for loaf, but i won't do that...

ever since poopie bitch blogged about her meatless meatloaf success story eons ago, i've wanted to go to vegan lunchbox's magical meatloaf studio. well, i finally did it and i had a pretty awesome experience. mr. jewbacca found the lentil loaf to be "too flavorful"-WHA?!?! nobody's perfect, so before you ride mr. jewbacca's hiney, please know he is a huge fan of my cooking and happily eats 98% of what i make. not every dish i make will be a winner with everyone, but i still liked it enough to eat most of it every other day during the week. pictured above is slice of said loaf with some steamed broccoli, mashed taters with my signature miso happy gravy.

so here's the recipe using stuff i had on hand:

jewbacca's lentil loaf

• 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds
• 2T olive oil
• one small onion minced
• one large garlic clove, minced
• 1 large carrot peeled and grated
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 c. mushrooms cleaned and chopped
• 2 c. cooked lentils
• 1 c. dry whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. vegetable broth-( i use V-8) as needed
• 1/2 c. cooked oatmeal
• 1t cumin
• 2T nooch
• 2T ketchup (plus a little more for the top of the loaf while it bakes)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 t salt

preheat oven to three-fiddy. spray loaf pan with nonstick spray.
grind the pumpkin seeds into a coarse meal using a spice mill or coffee grinder. place in a large mixing bowl and set aside. saute veggies until soft. add to the seed mix along with all the remaining ingredients. mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is NOT runny-(you may not even need to add any veggie broth at all--i didn't because the mushrooms and veggies created a nice gravy like broth with veggies.) add more bread crumbs if the loaf seems too wet.

press mixture into prepared pan, smear some ketchup on top of the loaf, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through. let the loaf cool in pan for 10-15 mins. then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. cold leftover slices of this totally kicks ass.
for now, i'm still on the hunt for the perfect loaf for mr. jewy. because i love him fiercely.