Field Roast Meatloaf Review

I got a big order of fun stuff from Vegan Essentials last week and I included a Field Roast vegan meatloaf in the box. According to an email I got from Field Roast, this item will be more widely available in grocery stores soon.

This was a super easy dinner. The meatloaf went into the oven slathered in ketchup and covered in foil for about 30 minutes and then I added more ketchup and cooked another 15. I made some mashed potatoes and broccoli while it was in the oven.



The flavor of the meatloaf is terrific. Field Roast always seems to get things right and I haven't tried any of their products that I don't like. The only thing we didn't quite like about it was that the meatloaf has a spongy texture to it. After a few bites, we decided we liked it anyway. If my local Whole Foods gets this in, I see it becoming a regular item in our house. The loaf is small and is at most 4 servings. The leftovers make great sandwiches.

I also think that it would make a great pizza... meatloaf crumbled on the pizza along with some carmelized onions and maybe some toasted broccoli. Yum!

Please stop with the Zucchini already Stuffed Zucchini

I don't hate zucchini. I usually look forward to the first zucchini in the spring. But after I've had that one or two of the first zucchini's of the season, I'm pretty much done with zucchini for the year. So, now it is November and I've had 20 weeks of CSA zucchini. I can't make any more zucchini bread or zucchini muffins and even my co-workers have had enough of my extra zucchini. How is my CSA still putting zucchini in my box? It's snowing outside for pete's sake. Anyway, this week I got 8 small zucchini's. We used 2 in a stir fry which left 6.

I really really did not want to cook this zucchini, but I stuffed them and they came out amazingly well. I have a theory that putting Field Roast sausage into anything makes it taste great. I got the idea when I saw Sheree at Life on the Vegan Highway post about her stuffed zucchini boats. She didn't post a recipe so I made this one up. I did follow her idea to use field roast and brown rice. I used french fried onions as a topping because I had them, but vegan parm would work well here too. We did actually like the crunch of the french fried onions on top.

Here is my version of stuffed zucchini boats. They'll take the zucchini hate right out of you.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 sm onion, diced
1 sm bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-4 Tbsp white wine
2-3 cups spinach, destemmed, rinsed well, and roughly chopped
2 field roast italian sausages, crumbled
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp water
6 small-med zucchini (prep below)
salt
1/2 c french fried onions in a can, or vegan parm
Preheat oven to 375. Oil a 9x13 casserole dish.

Make the Filling:
In a non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Cook for about a minute. Deglaze with white wine. Add the spinach and sausage to the pan and a little water if the spinach is pretty dry. Cover and cook for about a minute until the spinach is wilted. Add the soy sauce, tomato paste, and brown rice. Stir to combine. Add about 2 Tbsp water to loosen up the tomato paste and make a sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the boats:
Slice the ends off of the zucchinis. Slice in half lengthwise. Use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds and make room for filling. Place them on a plate, sprinkle very lightly with salt, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. You may need to do this in a couple of batches. They should now have a slight give to them. Place them in the casserole.

Fill the boats:
Fill each zucchini half with as much filling as will go in them. Any remaining filling can just go into the dish around the zucchini. Top with crushed french fried onions or vegan parm.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, uncovered.

This filling & technique would also work really well with stuffed bell peppers.

A new twist on the old pot pie - White Bean, Butternut, "Sausage" & Sage Pot Pie

This recipe has been developing in my head for a few weeks and I finally got around to making it Sunday night. It is full of Fall stuff. The crust is from Candle Cafe's cookbook. I love it's hearty wheat and herbiness and really can't improve on the Candle Cafe version. We really really really liked this and it seemed to get even better as leftovers.

White Bean, Butternut, Sausage & Sage Pot Pie

Ingredients:
2 16 oz cans white beans (cannallini or northern)
1 butternut squash
2 Field Roast Apple Sage Sausages (or italian flavor), chopped into 1/2 in pieces **
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped sage
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup water
2 cups soy milk, warmed for a minute in the microwave
1 Tbsp margarine
1-2 Tbsp Olive oil
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
lots of pepper

Crust Ingredients:
1 tsp fresh thyme*
1 tsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp rosemary, minced
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup-ish water

Directions:
Prepare the Butternut (this can be done ahead of time):
Preheat oven to 425 F. Peel with a vegetable peeler, seed, and dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Place on one or two baking sheets lined with parchment or nonstick foil. Pour enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 45-50 minutes (stirring every 20 minutes and rotating pans if using 2 pans) until tender. Set aside. Note that you will only use about 2 cups of the butternut. Reserve the rest for a side dish for another meal.

Make the filling:
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium with 1 tbsp olive oil. When hot, add the vegan sausage and cook for a minute or so until it starts to brown. Add the sage and cook for a minute. Add the spinach and some water to steam it. Cover with a lid for 1 minute. Stir and add 2 cups of the squash and white beans. Stir to combine and set aside.

Make the sauce (a typical bechemel):
Heat margarine and 1 Tbsp olive oil in a saucier or similar round bottom pot over medium heat. When melted, add 3 Tbsp flour. If it looks too dry, add another tablespoon of olive oil (I eyeballed this part). Slowly add the warmed soy milk while stirring constantly with a wisk. Stir until it thickens. Add salt and pepper.

Add the sauce to the vegetables. Set aside.

Make the crust:
Put Whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour and herbs and a pinch of kosher salt into a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the oil and pulse a few times to combine. Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and pulse to combine. You want to add enough water so that the dough sticks together.

Divide the dough in half and roll out the first half of the dough until it will cover the pie plate. Place it in the pie plate and trim the excess. Pour the filling into the pie plate. Roll out the other half of the dough and place it over the top of the pie. Roll the bottom edge over the top edge and pinch together. Cut for or five slits in the top with a serrated knife.

Cook for 30-40 minutes at 350 till lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes and then serve.

* If your store sells an herb mix called Poultry Mix (poorly named, I know), it will contain a mix of most of the herbs you need and will cost a whole lot less than buying the herbs separately. It usually contains sage, rosemary, and thyme. Don't substitute dried herbs in this.

** Don't bother replacing this with any other kind of sausage. The Field Roast really made this dish.

Here is a picture of the filling before I added the bechemel sauce:



And a picture of the pot pie before I cut into it:

The flecks you see in the crust are fresh herbs.

This was the perfect dinner to eat after hanging around the top of Snowbird in on Sunday morning (sad that they wouldn't let me snowboard down):

Squashage Pasta

I'd heard how good the Field Roast vegan sausages were and I'd been dying to try them. Unfortunately the Whole Foods in Framingham doesn't carry them. I stopped at the Whole Foods in Cambridge last week and grabbbed some Italian style Field Roast Sausages while I was there. Once I got them, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with them. Last night after a mid-day BVA meeting (around 4:30), I didn't know what we were having for dinner and I still needed to go to the grocery but there wasn't much time left in the day. So, in the car on the way back from Boston, I concocted this recipe for Squash-age Pasta in my head for a quick cooking dinner later in the evening. The Field Roast sausages ARE the best vegan sausages I've had. They were yummy!



Squashage Pasta
Serves 5

1 med sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced into 1/2 in cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 pinch crushed red pepper
3 Tbsp (or more) pine nuts
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
2 Field Roast vegan sausages, quartered lengthwise and then sliced (or other brand of vegan sausages ~ 6 oz).
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp+ white wine or mirin
5 oz baby spinach
16 oz whole wheat penne

Preheat oven to 385. Place the butternut squash on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick foil. Add enough olive oil to generously coat the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the squash and add the garlic, pinenuts, sage, and crushed red pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, stir and then cook for another 15 minutes (total time of 40 minutes). Pine nuts and garlic should lightly brown. If they are cooking too fast, push the squash and other ingedients together in one end of the cookie sheet to protect the squash and pine nuts with the moisture from the squash.

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile (in the last 5 minutes or so of the squash cooking in the oven), in a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and cook till lightly browned. Add the vegan sausage and cook for about a minute till heated through. Add a couple of tablespoons of white wine to deglaze. Then add the spinach, cover and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir and then cook for another 15 seconds. You want the spinach to just wilt. Add the squash mixture and stir to combine. Here is how it looks in the skillet at this point:



Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot. Add the squash/sausage/spinach mixture to the pasta and toss to combine.