Confetti Couscous Loaf

     When I don't feel like cooking, I enjoy getting a meal from a local vegan restaurant (Heavenly Veggies) which is owned by Dr. Supit and his wife.  Their goal is to provided the community with healthy eating options, workshops for building healthier lifestyle choices and trying to lessen the amount of debilitating 'life style diseases' that are prominent here. While many restaurants offer some vegetarian or vegan choices, I believe this is the only completely vegan restaurant on island. One item on their menu I enjoy is the couscous loaf. Although I am not really sure how they make theirs, it intrigued me enough to try and recreate it at home. I think my version is very close in texture but I chose to flavor it with Moroccan spices and added an apricot glaze on top. I enjoyed mine with a side of veggies as a lunch entrée. The loaf needs to cool or rest for a little bit after cooking so that it binds together. If you try and take it out of the pan to soon it will fall apart but still be tasty :-) It will become firmer when cooled or place in the refrigerator and chilled. It is best served at room temperature or chilled. This is a really nice dish to make in advance or take to a pot luck.

Couscous Loaf

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup water
2 T. olive oil
1 cup couscous

1-2 T. coconut oil (or cooking oil of choice)
1 cup small dice 'confetti' vegetables (celery, bell pepper, carrots)
1/2 cup small diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced

1- 12.3 oz. carton Mori-Nu extra firm tofu
2 t. Moroccan spice blend
1/2 t. turmeric
1 T. Liquid Aminos
2 T. ground flaxseed meal

Apricot Glaze: (optional) in a small bowl stir together the following-
1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 t. Sirachi sauce
1 1/2 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. Smucker's Simply Fruit Apricot Spread

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. Cook the couscous- in a small sauce pan add the water and olive oil. Bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes

2. In a medium skillet on medium heat add 1-2 T. coconut oil. When the oil is hot add the onion and confetti vegetable mix. Sauté for about 6 minutes. When the vegetables get soft, add the garlic. Sauté for 1 more minute, then remove from the heat.

3. In a medium bowl, add the tofu. Smash well with a fork. Add the Moroccan spice mix, turmeric, Liquid Aminos and ground flaxseed meal. Mix until all the ingredients are well blended. Taste the mix and adjust seasoning to your taste.

4. In a large bowl add the cooked couscous, sautéed vegetables and blended tofu. Stir well to combine. Make sure that the tofu mixture is well distributed with the couscous. Transfer this mixture to a 6 x 9 baking dish or small sheet pan.

Bake in oven at  350°F for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the Apricot glaze on top. Return to the oven and bake another 10 minutes. If you aren't putting on the Apricot Glaze then just bake 30-35 minutes.