Gluten-Free Hippie Loaf
Happy Friday to you all! This week flew by for me, how about you? Let’s all do a little happy dance…
As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, I didn’t really plan on too many meals for the week. It was a busy week and Dana and I were both gone quite a bit so the only meal I really planned was for a recipe I got from a friend called Hippie Loaf. The recipe is from the Happy Herbivore and it is a vegan meatloaf made with loads of veggies obviously, quinoa, and a little ketchup and soy sauce.
I followed her recipe pretty closely except for I forgot the 3 Tablespoons of brown rice flour (I was going to use almond flour because that is what I had on hand) so I completely omitted it. It turned out great without it!
Here is her recipe!
Happy Herbivore’s Hippie Loaf
- 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used cooked black beans from dried)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 2 celery stalks, shredded
- 1 cup mushrooms, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper (this was not in the recipe)
3 Tbsp brown rice flour(I omitted)- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low-sodium)
- 2 Tbsp ketchup (Ya’ll know my love for ketchup—I used about 2 Tbsp in the loaf, and then slathered it on top of the loaf as well. I used homemade ketchup).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a standard 8-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Mash black beans in large bowl and combine all ingredients until evenly combined.
- Transfer to prepared pan and pat down firmly using hands.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes until firm and brown on the outside.
- Allow loaf to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
I really didn’t have any idea what to expect before taking my first bite. The loaf smelled fantastic as it baked in the oven, but that doesn’t always mean it’s going to taste great.
Once I took my first bite though I was very impressed. I believe my first words were, “I could be a vegan” because this loaf was stellar. I don’t necessarily want to be a vegan, but I was just saying it probably wouldn’t be the end of the world for me since I don’t love meats or cheese or milk, however I would miss eggs quite a bit. I respect vegans entirely, it’s just not something I am interested in at this point in my life.
The seasonings and ingredients in this loaf were simple and the dish was so flavorful. That’s what I love: simplicity.
It didn’t hold up quite as well as a standard meatloaf when I went to plating it, and this could have been because 1. I didn’t wait long enough for it to cool before cutting and serving it, or 2. I forgot the flour, or 3. A combination of the two factors. But it didn’t matter! I enjoyed it just as well!
There are a couple of tweaks I would like to make to this loaf recipe to better suit my taste buds and to make it “my own”, but all-in-all I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend this recipe to all. I can’t wait to make my own version of Hippie Loaf!
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Switching gears…to catch you up quickly on the rest of my week. On Wednesday I stopped over at mom and dad’s for dinner. Mom coaxed me over for her French Onion Soup. Kidding, like it takes any coaxing to get me over there. 🙂
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, her French Onion Soup is my FAVORITE soup! I’ve ordered this soup at many-a-restaurants in my time, and I have never ever found one that compares to hers. And what’s ironic about that is that my mom uses the simplest recipe for this soup. No wonder I like it! I’m a simple gal.
The soup was everything I hoped for and more and even better, I enjoyed it in the company of my wonderful parents.
I am in a GREAT mood today. I am hopeful that the sun is going to shine for a little while today. My plants need some serious sun, and I could really use a touch of Vitamin D myself! I hope you all have a glorious Friday! Keep on smiling my friends!
Question of the day: What made you smile this week?
