Noah and I hosted dinner last Shabbat, and there were a few vegetarians coming, so I wanted to make something that would serve as a main dish for vegetarians but still a side dish for the meat eaters. I settled on making a lentil loaf, inspired by this recipe.

*full recipe below

I started by putting up 3 1/3 cups lentils with 4 cups water to boil and cooking for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, I shredded 2 carrots and 1 apple in a bowl and then added 1/2 cup raisins and 1 cup chopped celery:

On the stovetop, I cooked 2 small chopped onions and 4 cloves garlic in a little olive oil. Once the onion started to color, I added the veggie/fruit mixture:

I cooked for about 10 minutes and then combined in a separate bowl with the cooked lentils, 1/2 cup oats, 4 eggs, and dried thyme:

Once mixed, I put the mixture evenly in a baking pan and prepared the topping (the best part!!). Meatloaf is probably my favorite comfort food (although I hardly even eat it!), and I think the reason I like it so much is primarily because of the traditional glaze on top. For the lentil loaf, I made a glaze out of 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup honey, and 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

I cooked for 45 minutes at 350º, and it came out great!

Sweet Lentil Loaf, serves 10
Ingredients
 - 3 1/3 cups dry lentils
 - 4 cups water
 - 2 onions, chopped
 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
 - 1 apple, grated
 - 2 carrots, grated
 - 1/2 cup raisins
 - 1 cup chopped celery
 - 4 eggs, beaten
 - 1/2 cup oats
 - 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
 - 1/2 cup ketchup
 - 1/4 cup honey
 - 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Method
- combine lentils with 4 cups water and
simmer for about 45 minutes
- cook onions and garlic in a pan until
onions begin to color
- add apple, carrots, raisins, and celery
cook for 10 minutes
- remove veggie/fruit mixture from stove 
and combine with cooked lentils, oats,
thyme, and eggs
- push firmly into a baking pan
- mix ketchup, honey, and balsamic vinegar
and spread on top of lentil loaf 
- cook for 45 minutes at 350º

For the rest of the menu I made hummus-crusted chicken, avocado potato salad, and Israeli salad. Guests brought challah, wine, salatim, quinoa, a veggie side, and dessert.

The avocado potato salad was really easy and would be especially good for a summer recipe and/or bbq. I chopped and boiled 5 potatoes for about 10 minutes until soft and then set in the fridge to cool. Meanwhile, I mashed 1 avocado and combined with a cucumber, tomato, and 1/4 red onion:

I added the cooled potatoes to these ingredients along with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and served cold:

The Shabbat table all set: