I can't believe it's not .... Meat Balls!????

This is a good one! A vegetable (vegan) "meat" Ball that is packed with so much flavor you will never eat a meat ball ever again!  This is also a terrific recipe for your non-vegetarian/vegan friends, too!  They will truly be amazed by the flavor and texture of these vegetable balls. I especially love the texture - as this is so essential to my food eating enjoyment! The veggie balls have a much better texture, I think, then meat balls - they are a bit softer but keep together and have such a great, flavorful bite! I eat these just as they are (heated or cold) or serve them with a simple vegan sauce (like a "creamy" (tofu) green onion sauce or tomato sauce).  I usually make a batch that I eat as snacks or as a quick meal and I freeze the others for later dinner quickies.  

I am grateful for finding this recipe in a cookbook I purchased at a yard sale.  The cookbook was published in 1990 and is called Vegan Delights by Jeanne Marie Martin.  Her recipes are terrific in this book --- best I have seen and tried yet ... and I always put my own variation on these recipes.  Thank you Jeanne Marie! 

Madge's Simply Satisfying Menu Idea of the Day
"Dinner with Friends"  
Be sure to keep appetizers to a bare minimum as your main course will be filling & hearty! 
For your starter course: 
Freshly tossed, peppery arugula or mixed baby green salad with a lemon or mustard vinaigrette 
(get those digestive juices flowing!) 
Main Course:
Fettuccine & "Meat" Ball main course with a nice Cream or Tomato sauce (comforting and filling). 
Rest for a bit before your final course! (play a round of cribbage or sip some wine) 
*As a lighter alternative - skip the pasta and serve wrapped in lettuce or with steamed veg that's
topped with your favorite sauce! 

Dessert: 
Lemon or basil sorbet!   
Check out the recipe below! 
Another great way to serve these to your heavy-duty meat eater friends would be as "Meat" Ball Grinders (sub sandwiches) with a good o'l New England Italian Gravy Sauce!  - and make sure it's TOASTED!

Brown Rice Vegetable Balls

Note: You can use Millet, Quinoa or Short Grain Brown Rice.  Make sure your Brown rice is cooked with a little extra water for extra tenderness (I use my rice cooker as per instructions and this was perfect) and if you use Quinoa make sure it is actually a bit less tender than normal (1 and 1/8 cup quinoa to 2 cups water) - I haven't tried the Quinoa yet but this is the recommendation in Jeanne Marie's cookbook.  

ALSO - I HIGHLY recommend the use of a food processor to process the vegetables for this recipe - it is best that each vegetable is pulsed to a small size (chopping would take a long time) and it makes things go quickly - IF YOU DON"T have a food processor - try grating the vegetables on a large grate setting (except the onions).

• 2 Cups cooked Short Grain Brown Rice
  
• 1/2 cup hazelnut flour OR 1/2 cup ground almonds (I used ground almonds - ground in my processor)
  
• 2 TBSP arrowroot powder OR unbleached white or kamut flour
  

Note Below - I pulsed each veg separately in my food processor

• Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F. 
• 2-3 TBSP natural oil (grapeseed, etc)
  
• 1 Cup chopped Onion
  
• 1 Cup chopped Carrots
  
• 1 Cup chopped Broccoli 
  
• 1 Cup chopped Celery
  
• 1/2 Cup chopped Kalamata or Black Olives (I use Kalamata)
  
• 2 Cloves minced Garlic (I use about 1 tsp of Hing)
  
• 2 minced Green Onions (all parts)
  
• 3 TBSP minced/chopped Cilantro
  
• 2 Vegetable Bouillon cubes (you can use low sodium - but be sure to use high quality bouillon)
  
• 2 tsp Miso paste (I used a chick pea miso paste that was totally delicious)
  
• Dash of Soy sauce
• 1 tsp dried dill weed
  
• 1 tsp paprika
  
• 1/2 dried thyme
  

Optional - 1/2 cup chopped nuts of choice.... I did not use nuts and found that these "meat" balls great texture!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the first three ingredients separately.  
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and saute' the onions, broccoli and carrots until semi-tender.  Add the other vegetables and saute' 1-2 minutes (if you are lazy just plunk all your veggies and olives into your preheated, lightly oiled pan and saute' until tender). 
3. Add remaining ingredients (spices, bouillon, etc.) and mix thoroughly (break up that bouillon! and be sure to mix in the miso paste)) and saute' for another couple of minutes until the flavors all blend - DO NOT SALT - those bouillons and miso paste should be more than enough!  
4. Remove the saute' from the heat and mix it well with the brown rice & flour mixture. I use a hard paddle spoon and "cut" in the ingredients, you want to make sure you maintain the integrity of the cooked rice grain.  Roll into small balls (about 1/8th of a cup).  Bake balls at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes... don't move them - the bottoms will brown nicely - just leave it at that and don't mess with a great thing:)

Remove when done and serve as desired... I just plunk a couple on a plate with a nice salad and have lunch right then and there... I then save the rest for later or for a dinner party (see my storage of them below)!  ENJOY these as much as I do!