"Great pate, Mom, but I gotta motor..."

There are TONS of Vegan MoFo bloggers out there this month, and Random Mofo is a great way to tour them. I've visited so many cool sites and signed up to follow quite a few all ready!

There are also lots of fun MoFo themes going on, and one of my favorites is the Dinner & a Movie riff.  So, in that vein, I bring you Walnut-Mushroom-Lentil pate:

which you should eat a.) while watching Heathers and/or b.) while playing a game of cutthroat croquet in the backyard.

Lick it up, baby! Lick. It. Up.

 Walnut-Mushroom-Lentil Pate

Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
12-16 oz. pkg mushrooms (I just used Baby Bellos), sliced
1. Tbsp olive oil or Earth Balance
1/2 cup dried green or brown lentils
2 cups water + 1 tsp veggie bouillon (use your fave)
dried herbs of your choice - thyme, oregano, herbes de provence recommended
3/4 to 1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
Juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Bring water to boil in small saucepan.  Stir in bouillon, then add lentils. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 20-30 minutes, until lentils are soft.  Drain and reserve any excess broth.  Set both aside.
2.  Toast the walnuts in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5-8 minutes.  Remove and set aside.
3.  Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add olive oil or Earth Balance.  Saute onions for about five minutes or until translucent and soft.  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for about 8-10 minutes.  You want to get the mushrooms nice and brown and soft.  You can add the herbs of your choice to the mushroom-onion mixture close to the end of the cooking time; not more than 1/2 to 1 tsp. of each.
4.  Throw everything except for the reserved broth into the food processor and whiz it up!  If it seems too thick, add a little broth and whiz again.  You want it to have a little body and thickness, though, so don't get carried away.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crackers & carrots sticks.