Then came my poor period. I ate tons (perhaps literally) of wild asparagus I gathered by the road's edge near my house. I ate horse meat (cheaper than beef) bought at the grocery store and legal in Colorado in 1972. I ate lots of huffa puffa bread, that white spongy bread with more absorbency power than a roll of paper towel. And the ultimate treat in those days was to go out to 'dinner', ordering 1 taco at Taco Bell.
That's when my true hippy self stepped in and I became a gardener. Finally, I had ingredients to learn how to cook. I had ingredients that inspired me to experiment.
I bought a couple vegetarian cookbooks 'back in the day' and I began then writing in them. I have notes of 'try this', 'Joan likes', 'Russ says it's a keeper'. I cross out ingredients I don't like and add ones I prefer. If I am in a period where I am cooking the same things over and over I will get out a cookbook and look at the notes. It happened this week. I have made this loaf since my gardening days began and the note on the page says 'this makes great sandwiches'. There are ingredients crossed out and others added. So here you have a nut loaf… quite yummy. First it is dinner with a sauce and then the left-overs become sandwich fixings.
This is meatloaf without meat. I actually had someone say “Ummmm. What’s the meat?”
1 ½ cups rice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped cashews
small onion finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
½ cup chopped mushrooms
some parsley, thyme, marjoram, and sage
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup grated cheese… whatever kind you have. I like cheddar or gruyere
Preheat oven to 350
Cook rice… if I know I will be making this I just make extra rice for dinner a day or two before.
Roast nuts… if this is more spur of the moment I don’t do this, but it does add a nice flavor.
Saute onions. Add garlic, mushrooms, herbs.
Now combine this to rice. Add nuts, eggs, cottage cheese and cheese.
Season with salt and pepper if you’d like.
Spray a loaf pan or line with parchment paper.
Fill pan. Bake until top golden-about an 1 to 1 ¼ hours. It should be firm when you giggle it.
Cool about 10 min. before slicing.
This is good with a mushroom sauce or a cheese sauce or for that matter any sauce you particularly enjoy.