Nourishing Comfort Food

Sometimes you need a little comfort.

Maybe it’s cold. Maybe it’s wet. Maybe you’re tired.

Whatever the reason, everyone needs a little TLC sometimes. Most people have foods that they turn to when they’re looking for a little care.

Sweet or savory, this is the food you crave when you want to hang out in your pajamas.

What could be better than comfort food that actually nourishes your body while it feeds your spirit?

This tasty take on a veggie meatball is one of my new favorite cold-weather warm-up dishes.

Heat these veggie meatballs up with your favorite sauce or gravy and serve them on pasta, polenta, rice or a favorite bread or biscuit.  This recipe makes a nice amount, so you can eat some one day, freeze the rest and thaw them whenever you need a little lovin’.

They’re naturally gluten-free, vegan, and soy-free, but most of all, deliciously comforting.

For some other good-for-you, feel-good recipes, try:

• Chili Polenta Pie
• Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
• Cream of Broccoli Soup
• Two-Potato Soup

Veggie Meatballs Ready for the Oven

Veggie “Meatballs”

Makes 40

Ingredients:

2 cups soup base, vegetable broth or water
1 cup kasha (roasted buckwheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup water
6 sun-dried tomato halves, softened in hot water
8 ounces button or cremini mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
freshly ground pepper
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, smashed

Preparation:

1.  In a small saucepan, bring soup base (or broth or water) and salt to a boil.
2.  Add kasha, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Set aside.
3.  In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together flaxseed meal and water. Set aside.
4.  In a food processor, finely chop mushrooms and softened sun-dried tomatoes.
5.  Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet.  Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook until liquid released from the mushrooms is cooked down.
6.  While mushrooms are cooking, blend chickpeas and garlic into a paste.
7.  In a large bowl, mix all components together.
8.  Chill mixture in the refrigerator for half an hour.
9.  Preheat oven to 375.
10. Oil two baking sheets with remaining olive oil.
11. Roll meatball mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls.
12. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheets.
13. Bake for 30 minutes until browned.
*The meatballs will be fragile right out of the oven, but will firm up if you let them set for a few minutes.
14. Reheat meatballs gently in warm sauce or gravy.

Veggie Meatballs in Sauce

Kim Lutz is the author of Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Vegan Recipes. Kim is the co-author with Megan Hart, MS, RD, LD, of The Everything Organic Cooking for Baby and Toddler Book and The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism and the gluten-free, allergen-free, vegan website, welcomingkitchen.com.