It Looks Like Meat Loaf

Serves 8
Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

3 cups boiling water
pinch of sea salt
2 cups spelt cous**
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large leek or onion, sliced (2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 carrots, sliced thin or diced (1 1/2 cups)
1-3 stalks celery and leaves sliced thin or diced (1 cup)
2 teaspoons dried thyme or 2 tablespoons fresh
2 teaspoons dried sage or 2 tablespoons fresh
6 tablespoons barley miso or 1-2 umeboshi apricots or plums*
Choose: 1 cup walnuts, finely ground
OR 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup walnuts, finely ground
OR Use a combination of nuts, nut flours and seeds (1 cup) such as sunflower seeds, pistachios, and walnuts
1 cup spelt flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and salt in a large stock pot. Add spelt cous. Simmer a few minutes, till water's absorbed. Transfer hot grain to a large bowl to cool.

Heat wok or heavy skillet. Add sesame oil. Saute garlic and leeks for 2 minutes; add carrots and celery. Saute for 2 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Add thyme and sage, and mash in the miso. * Remove the pit before grinding the umeboshi plum up with the nuts.

Mix in ground up walnuts and sunflower seeds. Mix the spelt flour into the cooked spelt cous. Then add the cooked vegetable mixture to the spelt cous. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if desired.

Lightly oil a 1 quart loaf pan and press the mixture into the pan. Bake, covered for 50-60 minutes. Let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Serve loaf with vegetable side dishes such as Juicy Greens Sauteed with Garlic, Stir Fry Kale with Tahini Garlic Sauce, steamed vegetables or leafy green salads. Try the loaf topped with a vegetable sauce, such as Mushroom Leek Sauce or your favorite Vegetable Gravy.

** Substitute bulgar for spelt cous and use 4 cups of water.

From Leslie Cerier's cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen (2005, Square One Publishers)