V(ictory) Loaf (1943)

 Cooking on a Ration: Food is Still Fun Marjorie Mills, 1943 

V Loaf 

2 cups cooked rice 

½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

½ cup chopped nut meats 

1 cup cooked tomatoes 

1 egg

1 small onion, chopped 

½ teaspoon salt 

⅛ teaspoon black pepper 

2 tablespoons chopped green pepper

4 tablespoons melted butter or margarine 

Mix all together to form loaf. Bake in greased loaf pan in moderate oven (350 degrees) 30 minutes.  Cover with mashed potatoes; put back in oven to brown. Serve with Tomato Sauce. Serves 6. This defies detection as a substitute meat loaf and is very good. 

Ever since the apple Brown Betty recipe, we keep a breadcrumb bag in the freezer

Weirdly meatloaf colored?  

Cover your sins with mashed potatoes! 

Verdict:  Much better than expected, actually?? Visually, it’s pretty spot-on. Texturally, also reasonably close, but mushier. Reminds me of porcupine meatballs.  All agreed that if someone whose meatloaf they weren’t familiar with served them this meatloaf, the first thought upon tasting wouldn’t be “this isn’t meat” but rather “this person does not make very good meatloaf.”  When I told my husband it was Victory Loaf and he asked what it was made of, I told him victory.  The person who guessed the most ingredients was promised a prize. The prize was another helping. 

If you are one of those vegetarians who swears that black bean burgers, tofu, and seitan are just like meat, you will be blown away by this recipe. It’s very bland, but hey, it’s the 1940s!  The cuisine of the 1940s is not known for seasoning. With some more seasoning, this could go from “Huh.  Okay.” to “Well that’s kind of neat!” 75% of those polled agreed they would rather have this than just rice, walnuts, a piece of bread, part of an egg, a potato, etc.  and would rather have this than a tv dinner meatloaf.  100% rated it “inoffensive” and remained emotionally resilient. One child finished off seconds (because she was hungry, she hastens to add, not because it was that good).