This is definitely comfort food. Vegan Meatloaf, Garlic Broccoli and Mashed Potatos with White Country Gravy. This meal easily feeds a few people (meat-eaters included, as always).

Below you'll find my meatloaf and white country gravy recipes. The meatloaf is really delicious, but it pales in comparison to this gravy. I believe it has the capacity to do great things to your tastebuds. Be prepared.

Whenever I think of "vegan meatloaf", I am reminded of 70's veganism. You know, when hippies made it out of nuts and tofu. While I love both of those things, they don't really belong in meatloaf (not mine anyways). My mom used to make great meatloaf when I was still living at home; of course, this was in my pregan (read: before I was vegan) days. I just had to veganize her recipe. I gave it a try about a year ago and it's exactly the way I remember. This meatloaf, like all vegan food, is cholesterol free.

VEGAN MEATLOAF

MEATLOAF INGREDIENTS

• 2 T Oil, to saute veggies
• 2 "tubes" Lightlife brand "Beef Style"
• 1/2 Onion, finely diced
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper, finely diced
• 1/3 c Ketchup
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 Ener-G egg replacer "egg"
• 10 Saltine Crumbs, or Japanese breadcrumbs (like panko)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, lightly oil a baking dish.
2. Saute veggies in a shallow pan in 2 Tablespoons oil until soft and clear.
3. Mix everything except salt and pepper in a bowl.
4. Add salt and pepper to the same bowl.
5. Shape mixture into a "loaf".
6. Place loaf into prepared baking dish.
7. Cover all visible sides with more ketchup (it's comfort food, not health food).
8. Bake at 400 F for 40 minutes, with the top covered with foil.
9. After 40 minutes, remove foil and bake for 5 minutes more.

WHITE COUNTRY GRAVY

We have tried so many vegan white gravy recipes. They all end up very weird, grainy or like some sort of jello mold. I know, that sounds gross; but that's why we moved on.

This is a mix of a few non vegan recipes that we found online and veganized. It's perfectly creamy, savory gravy. It's the kind of gravy you can cover anything in and it's totally understandable. My boyfriend and I always make the gravy first, because while making everything else, we taste the gravy to make sure it's good (over and over again). It always is. It doesn't take a twenty tastes to know that. We just can't stop. Also, this is perfect for biscuits & gravy!

WHITE COUNTRY GRAVY INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 c Vegetable Oil
• 3/4 c Flour
• 1 3/4 t Salt
• 2 t Black Pepper
• 4 c UNsweetened soy milk (if you only have sweetened soymilk, you may want to increase the seasonings a tiny bit to counteract the sweetness of regular soy milk)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat Oil in a large skillet over MED-HI heat.
2. Shortly after, whisk-in Flour, Salt and Pepper.
3. Cook and stir over MED-HI heat until completely mixed.
4. Gradually whisk in soymilk, and bring heat to HIGH heat.
5. It will seem too liquid, but keep stirring and it will become thick after a few minutes.
6. Once it's thick, remove it from heat and keep stirring until it's creamy.
7. If gravy is too thick, DO NOT add water. You can slowly add more soy milk.