Old Fashioned Meetloaf












I have never used TVP in my 6 months of vegan cooking. From what I have read, it is a processed food and not all that nutritious. One book I was reading explained the added ingredients in TVP but when I bought it in bulk at Whole Foods yesterday, the only ingredient listed was soy flour. I really wanted to make a meatloaf and some meatballs for my January menu - I was missing them! The first vegan meatloaf I made used chickpeas and gluten and it was dreadful. From what I have heard and read, TVP is very meat-like so I decided to try it. Even if it isn't the best thing for us, I figured it might satisfy the desire for meatloaf or meatballs without the meat and the ensuing migraines for my hubby. It is not an ingredient I will use often because of it's processed nature but I think I may splurge and use it every so often for such times as these! I must say, I was skeptical after my first meatloaf attempt back in June. However, I was very pleasantly surprised! It was actually really good, very meat-like and everyone enjoyed it. Definitely satisfied my meatloaf craving. Be careful not to overcook it - I think I cooked it a bit too long and there was a bit of a dry crust around the outside of the loaf so the end pieces were a bit tough in spots. I will certainly make this again and can hardly wait to try spaghetti and meatballs later this month.
Old Fashioned Meetloaf (adapted from Comfy Inside)
3 cups TVP granules
2 1/2 cups hot faux beef broth
2 T soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2 T olive oil
1 t ground pepper
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1/2 t cumin
1 cup ketchup plus extra for spreading on top
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten

Preheat oven to 350. Reconstitute TVP with broth and soy sauce. In a skillet, saute onion and garlic until browned. Mix onions into TVP and add remaining ingredients. Press mixture into loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Make sure you press hard on the dough so it holds together. Bake 20 min. Remove from oven, brush with ketchup (instead of brushing, I spelled Keith's name on the top - he thought mom was funny!). Bake another 25 min. Slice and serve with ketchup.