Green Lentil Loaf

I've been trying to type an introduction to this recipe for almost half an hour. Here's what you really need to know, without all the fluff:

- It's delicious.

Yeah, just try this. Don't be turned off by its vegetarianness. Some people may even tell you it's "healthier". It's moist and loaf-y, and great with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. And ketchup. Just like meatloaf.

You will need:

2 C cooked green lentils (They just about double in volume - so I use 1 cup plus a little more, and have more lentils than I need. Make sure your lentils are well cooked, otherwise you have a crumbly loaf - still tasty, but not the same.)

2 T tomato paste

6 slices bread, torn into small pieces (white, wheat, sourdough, whatever...no cinnamon raisin, please)

3 eggs

1 C vegetable broth

1/2 t dried basil

1/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t black pepper

1 t dried parsley

1 T olive oil

1/2 - 1 packet dry onion soup mix (That's right, dry soup mix. More soup mix = more onion flavour, but also more salt. I find that 3/4 is actually about right.)

"Loaf Glaze" (You know, that stuff you put on meatloaf. Take about 1/4 C of ketchup and add vinegar and brown sugar to it. Start with a T of each and go up from there. When it's reached the level of sweet 'n' tangy you like, you're good. Don't like sweet, tangy glazes? What's you problem? Okay, you can skip it, or you can use plain ketchup.)

Now do this stuff:

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Grease up a 9x5 loaf pan. (My grease of choice is butter. Because it's butter.)

In a large bowl, combine the cooked lentils, bread, eggs, broth, tomato paste, basil, garlic powder, black pepper, parsley, olive oil and soup mix. Stir, stir, stir, then dump it into your greasy pan.

Bake the loaf for 40 minutes. Remove loaf, cover top with glaze and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until the top is nice and gooey. Let it sit about 10 minutes before serving, or you wind up with a sloppy plate.