This is a recipe I grew up with. It’s one of my comfort foods. I have a vivid childhood memory of this being the very first recipe I ever made by myself (with Mom’s supervision, of course) when I was about fourth grade. As I recall, I forgot the oil and the loaf turned out just fine. Jack isn’t as fond of Lentil Loaf as I am. He did not grow up vegetarian and his mother made meatloaf for dinner whenever she couldn’t think of anything else to make.  He has a hard time eating anything that resembles meatloaf.  One thing I have done with this recipe is to slice it the next day and warm the slices in a skillet. It almost resembles a patty which he can eat. This loaf is also good sliced and put into a sandwich.

 

Lentil Loaf
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Dilled Green Beans
Garden Salad w/ Ranch Dressing
Vegan Pumpkin Cake Bars

 

Pre-Sabbath Prep:
   Lentil Loaf: The lentils can be cooked any day of the week in preparation for this dish. Make the loaf and bake it. Freezes well if you want to make it ahead.
   Potatoes: Cook and mash the potatoes.
Gravy: Make the gravy and then strain it. It removes any lumps that would make the gravy lumpy when reheated.
   Salad: Make the salad. Make Ranch dressing, or dressing of choice.
   Vegetable: Prepare the green beans

Sabbath Prep:
   Lentil Loaf, Potatoes, Green Beans, Gravy: Place in oven. I place my food in my propane oven after breakfast with the pilot light on and then turn the heat up to around 300° to 350°F. about an hour before I plan on serving. If you have a time-bake feature on your oven, this is a good time to use it.
   Salad & Dressing: Set out the salad and the dressing. My grandmother always dressed the salad before putting on the table. Nowadays I serve the dressing and let each person dress their own salad.

 

Lentil Loaf (1/2 recipe)
1 Egg replacer (1/2 Tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer, or 1/2T flaxseed meal + 1 1/2 tablespoons water)
1/2 medium onion
3/4 cup cornflakes, crushed
1/2 large can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk  [3/8 cup cashews blended in 3/8 to 1/2 cup water = 2/3 c. milk]
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped fine
1 cup cooked lentils
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat the egg replacer with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons water in a large bowl. Blend the milk and the onion in blender until fine. Add to eggs (egg replacer). Add remaining ingredients and pour into a greased 1-quart baking dish. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes or until done. Serve plain or with gravy and cranberry sauce.
Serves 4.

Mashed Potatoes
Boil 4-5 potatoes. Drain and reserve the potato water for later use (bread making, gravy making, etc.)
Mash the potatoes, adding salt to taste, plain unsweetened milk, maybe some Tofutti Sour Cream, and some Earth Balance Buttery Spread.
Serves 4.

Dilled Green Beans
2 cups cooked green beans
1 tablespoon margarine
½ teaspoon dill seed, or 1 head fresh dill
1/8 teaspoon onion Powder
Dash of garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt

Cook the green beans. Mash or grind the dill seed. [I have never mashed or ground the seed. I leave the seeds whole or I use dill weed]
Add margarine to hot beans. Add dill seed to combine with melted margarine. Add other seasonings and stir. Simmer 2 or 3 minutes or immediately place in casserole dish.
Yield: 4 ½-cup servings.

Gravy  (1/2 recipe)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce [I used Bragg’s Liquid Aminos]
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice

Add the oil to a saucepan and when it’s hot, whisk in the flour and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until it starts to golden brown, whisking frequently.
Add the spices (garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, thyme, and pepper) and whisk again.
Add the tamari or soy sauce and whisk one more time.
Slowly whisk in the vegetable stock and the milk until no clumps remain.
Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until thickens, whisking frequently.
Serve immediately.
Serves 2-4.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake Bars [full recipe]
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
5 tablespoons water
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cups melted coconut oil [or other vegetable oil of choice]
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
[I replaced the cinnamon and nutmeg with 2 ½ t. pumpkin pie spice]
1 t. salt

Frosting
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) vegan butter, softened (or vegan cream cheese)
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice (omit if using cream cheese)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a jelly roll pan (15 x 10 inches). Set aside.
Mix the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside to make your flax eggs.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, sugar and flax eggs until smooth.
Now add the flour to the wet ingredients. Sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt on top of the flour and mix with a large spoon until just combined.
Pour into the prepared pan and smooth out evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

Make the Frosting: Using a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter (or cream cheese) for about 2 minutes until creamy, then add the powdered sugar, lemon juice (if using) and vanilla and beat everything together until smooth and creamy, adding a tablespoon of non-dairy milk at a time as needed. If you add too much milk and it gets runny, you will need to add more powdered sugar.
Once the cake is cooled completely, frost the cake, cut into bars and serve. Enjoy!