the best vegetarian loaf ever

i'm going to say it... i hate those nasty nut and lentil loaves that people think vegetarians like to eat. really? i mean, they're gross and they have strange textures. who wants to eat that? and when i was a kid, i hated meatloaf, too. my mom's was dry and bland. she just put plain tomato paste on top after she baked it! ew... but my mom is not a very good cook--she knows this.

i was flipping through my joy of cooking looking for some home-style dinner inspiration. it was a rough week last week, and i just wanted comfort food. i found it! it's phenomenal! and it's a loaf. i changed the recipe a bit, as usual. it called for store bought baked, smoked tofu and i could not find this. other options were not gluten free. so we made our own smoked tofu out on our grill with our grill smoker. it was great :) i wish i had a better picture. but this thing was so delicious we had eaten half of it before i remembered to take a picture!


smokey tofu vegetable loaf (inspired by the joy of cooking's smoked tofu burgers)

7 oz. smoked tofu
5 oz. sliced button mushrooms
1 c chopped broccoli
1/3 c chopped orange bell pepper
1/4 c sliced scallions
2 tsp peeled and minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c cooked rice (you can use any kind on hand. we happened to have leftover sushi rice, so that's what i used. i might use brown rice next time if i plan ahead.)
2/3 c bread crumbs (i made crumbs from 2 slices of pamela's bread mix bread)
2 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp soy sauce
plenty of the following spices: black pepper, salt, paprika
pinch of chipotle

1. we had to grill and smoke our tofu.
2. preheat oven to 375 and oil a loaf pan.
3. saute mushrooms in olive oil. when they start to release their liquid, add broccoli, bell pepper and scallions. cook until slightly soft, then add ginger, garlic and spices. add rice, stir around and remove from heat.
4. put veggies and rice into food processor. our food processor is small, so we had to do all this in a couple batches.
5. run smoked tofu through the food processor. mix together the rice/veggie mixture, tofu, breadcrumbs, eggs and soy sauce.
6. the mixture should be pretty uniform, but you should be able to see little veggie pieces and whatnot. it should not look like a "custard."
7. press into loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until nice and browned on top.

we had this with dilled mashed potatoes and gravy and buttered carrots. it was comfort on a plate. and the loaf makes fantastic leftovers. i kept imagining tofu loaf sandwiches this winter. i can't wait to eat this again.