Recipe - Vegetarian Ham (Buddhist)

1 One half cup Lentils
7/8 cup Millet
1 cup Brown rice
1 One half cup Chopped walnuts; OR
2 cup Whole chestnuts
3 sl Whole wheat toast; crumbled
One half cup Almond butter
2 cup Chopped onions
One fourth cup Olive oil
5 lg Garlic cloves; minced
2 tablespoon Fresh sage, chopped
1 teaspoon Dried celery seed
2 tablespoon Fresh rosemary leaves
chopped
2 teaspoon Salt
2 cup Chopped seitan (optional)

MUSHROOM GRAVY
20 md Mushrooms
One half cup Chopped onion
1 tablespoon Olive oil
One half teaspoon Dried oregano; OR
2 teaspoon Fresh oregano
1/3 cup Butter
One half cup Unbleached flour
2 cup Lentil liquor (from above)
1 One half cup Water
1 teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Black pepper

Cook the lentils, millet, and brown rice separately; and reserve two cups
of the lentil liquor for making Mushroom Gravy. If you are using whole
chestnuts, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse the nuts and cut a
cross about One half inch deep in the small, pointed ends. Place the nuts on a
cookie sheet and bake about 20 minutes, then cool for about 10 minutes.
Remove the shells and cut the nuts in quarters.

Mix the cooked grains and lentils with the nuts, bread crumbs, and almond
butter in a large bowl and set aside.

Saute the onions briefly in olive oil, then add the garlic, sage, celery
seed, rosemary, salt, and seitan if used. Saute 2 to 3 minutes longer,
stirring constantly, then add to the other ingredients, mix thoroughly
(mooshing with fingers works best), and put into a large oiled baking dish.
Lightly coat the top of the roast with olive oil, then bake at 350 degrees
F for 1One fourth hours. Serve with Mushroom Gravy (below) and garnish with
parsley.

MUSHROOM GRAVY: Separate the mushroom caps from the stems, then quarter the
caps and halve the stems. Saute the onion in olive oil on medium heat for 1
minute, then stir in the oregano and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring
constantly, until the mushrooms have softened and the bottom of the pan is
covered with liquid. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then stir in the flour and
cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lentil liquor and
water, and continue stirring until the mixture thickens and barely begins
to boil. Add the mushroom mixture, salt, and pepper, and continue stirring
until the gravy begins to boil. Remove from heat and serve.

* Source: Brigitte Mars in The Herb Companion, October/November 1993 *
Typos by: Karen Mintzias

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini