Mari's Own Vegan Home Style Cooking Recipes
I love to cook and I am sharing some of my favorite vegan recipes. These are home recipes, easy to make and do not require expensive, exotic ingredients. They are made using fresh, wholesome ingredients easily found at most regular grocery stores.
BETTY'S FAVORITE BAKED WHOLE GRAIN & PEA LOAF, VEGAN - MADE WITH BLACK EYE PEAS, MY MOM'S FAVORITE, SUPER FILLING AND NUTRITIOUS!
BETTY'S BAKED GRAIN LOAF
This nutritious dish is named for my mother who instilled in me, the Joy of Cooking.
This recipe is 100% vegan. Low fat, high fiber and packed with proteins from whole grains and pea proteins. It freezes very well.
It has a very mild flavor and can be combined with lots of different recipes, from salads to pasta dishes. It has a very soft texture, moist without being chewy.
It takes a while to make but well worth the time and effort. This recipe makes one large glass baking casserole dish.
I use crock pots for part of this recipe. I highly recommend using crock pots to avoid burning the grains and to ensure that the grains and peas are thoroughly cooked. I cook both grains and peas in the separate crock pots -- at the same time. Works great for me that way.
TWO CROCK POTS FOR COOKING:
Crock Pot #1, for cooking the peas:
Add to the crock pot:
3-4 tablespoons canola or other mild flavor vegetable oil
2 cloves fresh peeled garlic cloves
1 red pepper pod
1/2 small bag black eye peas (small bag is 16 oz bag)
1/2 cup dried baby lima beans
Add water to almost the top of the crock pot and boil on high setting for 1 1/2 hours or until everything is very soft, stirring occasionally.
Crock Pot #2, for cooking the grains:
Add to the crock pot:
3-4 tablespoons canola or other mild flavor vegetable oil
2 cloves fresh peeled garlic
3-4 bay leaves
1-2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1-2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1-2 tsp dill seed
1 tsp black pepper
These are the basic dry seasonings that I use. I do not season with salt or cook with salt. I use Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for salty seasoning and I season the mixture after everything has been cooked and mixed together. This avoids overseasoning with salt and allows the natural flavors to dominate.
Add to the crock pot along with the spices:
1 cup rice (I use sushi (calrose) rice but brown rice works well also.
The whole grains can be found in a store like Sprouts Natural Markets or Whole Foods Natural Markets.
I buy Bob's Red Mills Whole Grains.
1 cup kamut whole wheat grains
1 cup hard red whole wheat berries
1/2 cup pearled barley
1/4 cup yellow mustard, like French's Yellow Mustard
Cover with water to the top of the crock pot. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours or until thoroughly cooked and very soft.
MIXING IT ALL TOGETHER:
Strain the cooked peas with a slotted spoon and put the peas in a large ceramic or metal bowl. Mash the peas and the garlic cloves.
Add the cooked grains. Stir very well.
Add to this mixture:
4 cups uncooked regular oatmeal, like Quaker Oatmeal.
Mix the uncooked oatmeal thoroughly into the baked grains/peas mixture.
Add Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for salty seasoning, or salt to taste. If you like a bit more flavor, add a little bit more of the Frenchs Yellow Mustard. Add black pepper to taste.
Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 30 - 45 minutes. The mixture should be firm, not liquidy but not dry. If there is too much liquid, add more uncooked oatmeal and mix thoroughly.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the mixture in a greased large sized casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and seal the edges well.
Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. The baked grain loaf is ready when slighly browned on the top and the liquid is baked out and fluffed up. One can test by lightly touching the top of the loaf. If it is still sticky or wet, it needs to bake a bit longer. Be sure to check and make sure that it has baked well in the middle part of the casserole dish.
Let cool thoroughly before serving.
Enjoy!