Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8 x 8 baking pan.

Put 3 1/2 cups of the water and the lentils in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce the heat andsimmer until the water is absorbed, 50 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the tofu, the remaining 1 cup water, the oats, soy sauce and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the parsley, basil, thyme, and sage and pulse just to mix. Transfer to a large bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, and garlic and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add to the tofu mixture.

Add the cooked lentils to the tofu-vegetable mixure, and stir to mix. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan, and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the almonds, yeast flakes and soy sauce in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and pulse to coarsely chop.

Sprinkle the topping over the top of the lentil loaf and bake for 15 minutes more. Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve with the Mushroom Miso Sauce on the side.

Mushroom Miso Sauce:

Put the flour in a small dry frying pan over medium heat and toast, stirring often, until it has darkened evenly to a light brown. Transfer the flour to a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, stir the nutritonal yeast, miso and hot water together.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the 2 cups water to the browned flour and whisk until combined.

Whisk the flour mixture into the mushrooms, and simmer, whisking often, until the mixture is thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the nutritional yeast and miso mixture. Bring just to a simmer, and remove from the heat. Serve hot.

From Deeanne's recipe files