Lentil Loaf (vegan)

This was much better than I expected.  The thought of lentil loaf made even me a little skeptical, but this is GOOD! Not really the prettiest thing ever, but I'm sure adjustments could be made. 

Okay, for this I used:
1/4 red onion
1/4 orange, yellow, and red peppers
about 1.5 cups of lentils (I think)
about 1 cup of water
coriander, sage, dry mustard
1/2 cup of ground oatmeal
2 tbsp ketchup (for glaze -mix with worcestershire sauce and it's better!)

Firstly, I soaked my lentils.  Usually I just give them an hour or so, but this time I got distracted and they soaked overnight.  Oh well! So just keep in mind that you will need more water and a much longer cooking time if you are using dry lentils. 

Okay, so put the lentils in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil, then let them simmer.  In my case I only needed about 5-7 minutes, but if your lentils are dry you will need to give them about 20 minutes.  They should be soft enough to mush.  Speaking of which, you can give them a little mush while they are in the pan to make everything come together a little easier. 

While the lentils are cooking, saute the onions and peppers in a bit of olive oil.  Add about a table spoon of coriander, and about half a tbsp of sage and dry mustard.  ish.  Again, my amounts are approximate.  I do like to use heavy seasoning, and here you want enough to flavor the entire loaf, not just your peppers.  Heating the spices in the oil really makes them come alive! You could also season with the ever popular cumin/paprika/chili powder mix, or even with some basic meatloaf seasonings...this can work with a couple of different spins on it. 

Add the cooked lentils and the seasoned peppers and onion to a mixing bowl.  To make the oatmeal a little more binding, I ground it in a food mill.  The amount of oatmeal you need will depend on how much water is left in the lentils.  If you are not sure if the mixture needs more oatmeal, let it sit for a couple of minutes - the oatmeal will absorb a bunch of liquid.  Form into a loaf shape, and place on a baking sheet.  I forgot to grease mine, and it still came out okay.  Or use a loaf pan if you like. 

Slather the top of the loaf with ketchup, or if you like whisk some worcestershire sauce into the ketchup.  This will make a yummy crust around the loaf when you cook it.  My loaf only needed about ten minutes at 350 to heat through.  Everything is already cooked, so really heating is all that is really necessary. 

This was definitely a success, even Nick devoured it!!