Vegetarian Meatballs in Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce

If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.
If you are reading this at Blogspot.com already, just ignore.

I developed this recipe when various members of my family, especially Ari, became vegetarians for a few years. Keeping a kosher kitchen, where meat and dairy ingredients cannot be used together in any dish, nor in any meal, nor even be cooked in the same pots and pans or appear on the same dishes, I like the flexibility that I have in planning a meal with these tasty and healthful “meat” balls as the entreé. They contain no artificially-created meat-like product with long and complicated manufacturing processes and possible artificial binders. The texture is chunky enough to be toothsome without my having to fear that they will fall apart during the cooking process. Raw, they are quite easy to handle and form, and having cooked somewhat without being disturbed, they are quite sturdy in maintaining their shape.

I would recommend using a heavy-bottomed pot and keeping the heat just high enough to simmer them to prevent scorching the sauce on the bottom. Also, make sure that the ginger snaps and cranberry sauce are well-dissolved before adding the meatballs to further prevent scorching.

Vegetarian Meatballs

• 1/2 large sweet onion
• 1 cup unshelled pecans
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 4 large raw eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 jar Paul Newman’s Sockarooni marinara sauce
• 1 bottle Heinz chili sauce
• 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
• 2 cans water
• 18 gingersnaps

Chop onion fine in food processor. Add pecans and pulse until finely chopped. Add hard-boiled eggs and pulse until finely chopped also.

Transfer mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in wheat germ, bread crumbs, and raw eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pour marinara sauce, chili sauce, cranberry sauce, water (you can use the water to clean out the jars), and gingersnaps into a six to eight quart, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a simmer over medium low heat, stirring frequently to break up cranberry sauce and gingersnaps until the sauce is completely homogenized.

When sauce has begun to bubble and simmer, scoop mixture with a small scoop into wet hands and form lightly into balls. Drop balls carefully into simmering sauce.

Simmer gently (sauce should just be bubbling) for one hour, uncovered, rotating the pot back and forth from time to time to roll the balls around in the sauce. Balls may be served immediately or removed carefully into a baking tray in a single layer and covered with sauce to be frozen and rewarmed in oven or microwave.

Makes 40 to 45 small meatballs.