I thought you might be looking for a healthy vegan stuffing so I experimented in the kitchen. The resulting dish is so loaded with goodies that it seems more like a casserole. As a side dish or main course, this food is full of flavor.

I wanted to use a yeast-free rye bread but settled for a sprouted whole-grain Spelt bread. This Berlin Natural Bakery Bread contains Spelt, water, honey, yeast and sea salt. They claim to use 100% Spelt with no other variety of wheat added. It is more tolerable than wheat but those with severe gluten allergies may want to avoid it.

Beware of bread with chemical additives like absorbic acid, calcium propionate, high fructose corn syrup, lactic acid, vegetable mono and diglycerides, and guar gum. Those ingredients are harmful and unnecessary. The healthier breads only contain three ingredients (ie, rye, water and sea salt).

Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients: 5-6 servings

1 loaf of bread (I used all but two slices of the 19 oz package)

3 eight ounce packs of Baby Bella or Cremini mushrooms

¼ cup olive oil

2  2×1 inch pieces Pure Seedless Tamarind paste

¾  cup water

3 cups chopped Celery

3 ½ cups chopped green pepper

2 cups chopped red onion

1 cup tomatoes

2 tsp ground Thyme

2 tsp ground Turmeric

4 Black Peppercorns

2 Cardamom pods

½ tsp minced fresh Ginger

½ tsp ground Coriander

½ tsp ground Cumin

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Slice mushrooms and add to roasting pan (minimum 9×13).

3. Add olive oil.

4. Mix tamarind paste into water until consistency is more like coffee with cream. Pour strained liquid over mushrooms.

5. Cover roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes.

6.  Chop bread into bite size squares and add to separate roasting pan. Toast in oven for 30-40 minutes. Stir bread every 10 minutes to make sure every piece is toasted.

7. Add celery and tomatoes to the pan with mushrooms, cover and continue baking for 20 minutes.

8. Add green peppers, red onions, Thyme, Turmeric, Peppercorns, Cardamom, Ginger, Coriander and Cumin cover and continue baking  20 mins.

9. Remove Cardamom pods.

10. Slowly add bread until you reach your desired consistency. Mix and mash until all bread is blended. Cover and bake for 15 minutes.