Hippy Holiday Roast
You don’t have to be a hemp-wearing, weed-puffing, dreadlocked dude or dudette to love this holiday feast. Even Sarah Palin, if this vegan came over for dinner, would have to admit my Hippy Holiday Roast is tastier than anything she can shoot from a helicopter and throw on a fire. And boy, I’d sure like to cook a meal for her;)
If you’ve seen Food, Inc., a fantastic film detailing where our food comes from in North America, or some of the shocking videos on YouTube of what happens at some of America’s turkey factories, you might be thinking twice about picking up your frozen Butterball for the family this holiday season. Even Martha Stewart’s going veg for Thanksgiving this year! What a world of change. Lap up the goodness!
This Hippy Holiday Roast is absolutely loaded in protein and substance, contains healing alkaline grains and is so good for you. There are a lot of similar herbs that you’d put into turkey stuffing, so no one will miss those traditional flavours. It’s always a hit, and people always ask for the recipe. So here it is! It has a lot of steps and takes awhile to prepare, but so does any holiday feast prepared with love. Enjoy!
Hippy Holiday Roast
this will feed six hungry hippies
all organic ingredients, if possible
1 cup millet
1 cup red lentils
veggie bouillon cube
4 or 5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 or 5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 red onion
splash of tamari
1 tbsp miso
1 tbsp tahini
4 slices multigrain bread
tbsp olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
quarter cup nutritional yeast
1 small bunch each fresh sage, savory, thyme, rosemary, parsley, tarragon (or pinches of dried)
half a cup each cashews, almonds and pecans or walnuts (or any combination of 2 or 3)
1 tsp sea salt
Rinse the millet and red lentils in a pan until the water runs clean. Cover the grains with about double the water or just a little more than double. We want the mixture to be moist. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a cast iron pan, sautee garlic, mushrooms and half a red onion in a little olive oil. Add a splash of tamari. When the mushrooms are cooked, turn off the heat and add tahini and miso and mix with a spoon. Set aside.
Make the garlic croutons by cutting bread into cubes and tossing them on a cookie sheet with a little olive oil and a clove of minced garlic. Bake at around 350 for about half an hour, turning them occasionally to evenly brown. Remove from the oven.
In a cuisinart or blender, toss carrot, half a red onion, celery stalk, garlic croutons, nutritional yeast, and a handful of your favourite mixed herbs. (If you can’t get fresh herbs, use dry, but go easy on these because each of these herbs is potent when dried and will strongly flavour your loaf.) Blend this mixture, then add the nuts. If there’s room in the cuisinart, add the mushroom mixture. Don’t pulverize, just pulse a few times.
By now the millet and red lentils will be cooked. Combine all ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl. The texture should be thick, like heavy cookie batter. Taste and adjust the herb and salt seasoning to your liking.
Lightly oil or place parchment paper in a loaf pan and add the mixture to the pan. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until lightly brown on all sides. Careful it doesn’t dry out. You might want to cover it with tinfoil, then take away foil for the last ten minutes.
Shiitake Mushroom Gravy
5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced
6 or 7 shiitake mushrooms, chopped finely
drizzle olive oil
2 cups water
herbs
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp mild miso
While the nut loaf is baking, sautee garlic and mushrooms in olive oil in a small cast iron pan on medium heat. Add a splash of tamari, and when mushrooms are cooked, add water. You’ll have a handful of herbs leftover from the nut loaf. Add them here, chopped finely. (Again, if you’re using dried herbs, just a pinch of each will do.) Bring to a boil for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl, add a splash of cold water to flour and mix with a spoon or fork until no lumps are left. Add to the boiling gravy.
Turn off the heat and add miso. Blend two thirds of the gravy with a hand blender, then mix it all together for a lovely chunky mushroom and herb gravy.
Pour gravy over 1-inch slices of Nut Loaf and serve with your favourite green salad.
Enjoy all the abundance of food and love that the season brings!
