Finance, Her Majesty.

According to Kellog’s, 1,000,000 that’s one million, kids don’t get breakfast in the morning. This is a statistic applicable to the States, I don’t know how it applies to other countries. I think it’s appalling. This is a country that spends millions on fighting wars, more millions on the welfare of third world countries, and yet their own people are starving, many are not getting the education they need because of a shortage of money. As for the lack of cash for health care? Well I won’t go there! I also read a report that the US is heading for a financial crash; something that really scares me because what happens in the States affects us in Canada. Hopefully that is just headline grabbing information. I am told there are many kids in Canada who don’t get breakfast either, and this is wrong for much the same reasons. What the hell we are fighting in Afghanistan etc. I really don’t know.

Queen Elizabeth spent the weekend in hospital. It appears she had gastroenteritis which in this part of the world is usually referred to as stomach flu. They took her into hospital on Friday mainly as a precaution and she returned home on Monday. Matt and I were imagining what it would be like to be her nurse or doctor etc. “yes your majesty, but would you please do what I tell you!”. I presume she went into the same hospital as her granddaughter-in-law early in her pregnancy and her husband, Prince Phillip, during the summer. I don’t know if the hospital is kept secret or not.

Don’t tell anyone, but I really don’t much like meat loaf. I very rarely make it and I don’t like to eat it even when I do make it. However, this recipe appealed to me. It is a vegan recipe so therefore does not contain any meat. I don’t know Annie’s organic ketchup, but if you are a vegan you will know what to use. If you are not, I am sure ordinary ketchup would fill the bill.

Vegetarian Garden Loaf with Maple Apricot Glaze

By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

This is my idea of comfort food. This recipe is based on a veggie loaf recipe from my pre-celiac cookbook, Recipes From a Vegetarian Goddess. In the original version, I used a combo of ground nuts and brown rice with greens. Since my multiple food allergies surfaced, I haven't attempted to recreate the recipe. Until now. This new version is vegan, nut-free, soy-free, and rice-free. And I may be slightly biased, but I think this latest incarnation is my favourite so far. You have to plan ahead a little bit -- you'll need to bake a sweet potato, and cook up some quinoa first. But then it all goes pretty quickly.

Ingredients

• 1 cup onion -- red or sweet, chopped
• 2 heaping cups Baby Bella or Cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 5 cups baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 cup gluten-free bread or waffle crumbs, toasted
• 2 tablespoons Annie's Organic Ketchup
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian Herb Mix- basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, marjoram
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 3-4  scallions (spring onions), sliced thin, white to light green section
• 1  baked sweet potato, peeled, diced; take it out before it's cooked too much, not too soft
• sea salt and ground pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a glass bread loaf pan . Or, my latest tip is to line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper that extends up above the longer sides. When the loaf has baked, and set a bit, lift out the loaf in one whole piece.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and cook the onion until it is translucent. Add the mushrooms and garlic; stir until softened. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir. Add the spinach. Season with sea salt and ground pepper. Stir and cook down until the mixture is soft -- about seven minutes or so.
3. Spoon the skillet vegetables into a food processor bowl and pulse to make a grainy mixture. Don't over-process it; you want some texture.
4. Dump the mixture into a large bowl. Add the cooked quinoa, gluten-free breadcrumbs, ketchup, molasses, and olive oil and stir to combine. Add in your dried herbs, rosemary, scallions, and mix to distribute. You want a moist mixture that sticks together when you press it with a spoon. If you need more ketchup to hold it together, add it now, maybe a tablespoon.
5. Last, add in the diced sweet potato and fold in gently.
6. Spoon the loaf mixture into the oiled loaf pan and shape it with moist fingers, pressing it tight into the pan. Smooth the top.
7. Make your glaze: 1/4 cup no-sugar apricot fruit spread
   1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
   1 tablespoon maple syrup
   A sprinkle of cinnamon and cumin
   Hot red chili flakes, to taste
8. Pour the glaze all over the top of the loaf.
9. Tent loosely with a piece of foil. Bake in the center of a preheated oven until heated through and the edges of the glaze are bubbling- about 25 to 30 minutes.
10. Allow the loaf to set for 10 minutes, tented with foil. This helps it to settle, and makes it easier to slice. Slice into portions and lift out with thin spatula. It should hold together.
11. Wrap and store leftovers in the fridge.

Have a great day