"Meatloaf" With Mashed Potatoes and Gravy - Skinny Bitch (118)

“Meatloaf” Recipe (All Recipes are Courtesy of Above Referenced Book)

1 TBL. refined coconut oil
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 onion, diced
3 oz. cremini, shiitake, or portobello mushrooms, diced (about 2 cups) [I used a combination of baby bellas and white mushrooms]
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 slices vegan whole wheat bread [Be on the lookout for a “You’ve Got Options” post on Vegan-Friendly Breads]
1 c. toasted walnuts [Mine were raw, so I just toasted them in a pan over the stovetop for a bit]
2 14-oz. packages of Gimme Lean Ground Beef

½ c. rolled oats
½ c. ketchup
2 TBL. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1) Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 10 x 4 x 3 in. loaf pan and set aside.
2) In an 8 to 10 in. skillet, heat the oil on medium heat. Saute carrot and celery for about 2 minutes. Add onion, sauté for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper, sauté for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a little.
3) In a food processor, process bread and toasted walnuts to form a coarse meal. Transfer the coarse meal to a large bowl, add the “beef,” oats, ketchup, parsley, and veggie mixture. Use your hands to mix well. Transfer mixture to the loaf pan, spread it in an even layer, then bake for 45 minutes. The bitches (ahem, the skinny ones) recommend letting the loaf sit for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Boil water and a bit o’ salt in a large pot over high heat. Add approximately 2.25 pounds of peeled and cubed russet potatoes [I guesstimated the weight using approximately a little less than half of a five pound bag of potatoes.] Cook the potatoes for about 15 or 20 minutes, or until they are very tender. Drain the water, add the soy milk, a scoop of vegan butter, and salt and pepper to your hearts desire, then mash ‘em up, using a whisk. Or, if you have fancy (uni-tasking) kitchen gadgets a la Williams Sonoma, you can press the potatoes through a potato ricer.

Brown Gravy Recipe

¼ c. refined coconut oil
½ c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 c. veggie broth
4 TBL. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or 8 tsp. tamari or soy sauce

1) Heat the coconut oil in a 2 to 3 (small) quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook and stir constantly, until the mixture is browned and smells nutty (about 5 minutes). Add in the veggie broth, a little at a time, continuing to stir. Remove from heat, and whisk in the Bragg’s/ soy/ tamari.

Thoughts

This was an excellent recipe, I'd say that my fellow B+ vegans (or C vegans), haha, agree.  Cooking with the coconut oil imparted a slightly sweet taste to both the meatloaf and the brown gravy, which was unique but pleasant.  MO brought a nice Merlot which went well with the "meatloaf" and MD prepared a delicious vegan broccoli rabe dish.   The meal was finished with a tasty sweet treat - Newman-O's, which, in my opinion are 110 % better than its non-vegan counterpart, i.e. Oreo brand cookies.

As far as the blogging format, there are some exciting changes on the horizon.  JL suggested that I make use of these so-called jump breaks for my blog posts.  I couldn't agree more - now its just a matter of sitting down and figuring out how to properly insert them.  Ultimately, I envision each post containing just photos, then the readers (all 3 of you, haha) will click the pictures, which will contain a live link that redirects you to a new page that shows the recipe.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to do this (ahem, SW!) please, comments are appreciated.

 

Potato “Cheese” Perogies – How It All Vegan: Irresistible Recipes For An Animal Free Diet By Tayna Barnard and Sarah Kramer – p. 113.

Filling:
2 medium or large potatoes, cubed [I used golden potatoes, and peeled them first]
1.5 c. soy cheese, grated [I used cheddar]
1 TBSP. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried dill [I used thyme because I did not have dill]
Dash of pepper

Dough:
1.5 c. flour
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Egg replacer equal to 2 eggs
4 TBSP. margarine or veggie shortening
Sour cream for garnish [I used Tofutti brand “Better than Sour Cream” ... quite possibly a new obsession]
1)In a medium pot of water, boil the potatoes until they can be pierced easily with a fork. Drain. In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, cheese, lemon juice, mustard, dill [or thyme in this case], and pepper. Mash well with a potato masher or fork [A fork works fine]. Set aside.
2)In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, and egg replacer. Cut the margarine into the flour until well blended. If necessary, add water if the dough is dry. Divide the dough into 16 balls and roll each ball into 3-inch circles. Put 1.5 TBL. Of potato mixture in each center. Fold dough over and press edges down with a fork.
3)In a large pot of boiling water, add 3 or 4 perogies at a time and cook for 5 minutes on low boil. Remove perogies with a slotted spoon and serve with “Sour Cream”. Alternatively, fry the perogies [I used a little olive oil] in a frying pan until crispy.

Commentary to come at another time (i.e. after laundry and bill paying, welcome the real world, ladies and gents)

So these perogies were pretty good save the dough. The dough recipe is not one I would ever repeat because the dough was tough and chewy. It really wasn't pleasantly textured at all. Also, the recipe did not yield enough dough for the amount of filling made.

On the other hand, the potato filling was delicious. I picked up a brick of vegan cheddar cheese (Unfortunately, I forgot the brand and the wrapper is long gone in the garbage!) The potato cheese filling got deliciously melty after cooking. In fact, at a later date, I made the potato cheese filling in a larger quantity and served it as mashed potatoes, that were well-received by my guests.

The boiling method vs. the frying method...I had no real preference. Though, the fried ones are more photgenic, methinks. EL, we will have to make perogies together sometime!