Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 4 bell peppers (red or yellow are best)
• polenta mix
• can of black beans (or other kind if desired)
• salsa
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• can of corn
• hot peppers (if desired)
• vegan cheddar cheese
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• chili powder to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Follow instructions on polenta mix. If necessary,
bake for a while, but make sure the mix is still
liquidy.

Chop onion and garlic and saute till brown.
Mix onion, garlic, corn, beans, hot peppers,
vegan cheddar cheese and chopped tomato into polenta
mix (plus whatever leftover veggies you have if
you want). Add salt, pepper and chili powder to
taste.

Cut tops off of peppers, leaving stem intact.
Remove seed core from peppers. Fill with polenta
mix. Bake until peppers are soft and polenta is
completely cooked.

Serve with vegan sour cream and/or guacamole.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: approx. 30 min

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 2 medium acorn squash
• 1/2 cup dry lentils
• 1/4 cup rice (any kind but instant)
• 1 medium apple OR 1 medium pear
• 1 medium onion
• 1 stalk celery
• pumpkin pie spice OR apple pie spice OR cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger
• (optional) molasses OR vegan brown sugar OR vegan maple syrup
• (optional) mushrooms, peppers, other veggies

Directions:

I came up with this recipe when I was looking for
something to make for myself for Thanksgiving
dinner when my family was eating turkey. It’s
great any time of year, but especially in the fall
when squash and apples/pears are cheap

Wash the squash and pierce it a few times with a
knife (be sure to get the knife good and deep into
the flesh so that it doesn’t explode). Place the
squash into a baking dish and bake at 375 F for
30-45 minutes, or until it’s somewhat soft.

While the squash is baking, put the rice, lentils,
spices, and 1 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer with a
cover on for about 40 minutes or until the water
is absorbed and the rice and lentils are soft.
Take it off the heat.

Dice the onion and apple or pear (and
mushrooms/peppers/other veggies, if using) and
slice the celery. Spray a frying pan with
nonstick cooking spray and saute the veggies and
apple or pear until everything is pretty soft and
smelling yummy. Add the veggies to the
rice/lentil mixture, and add sweetener if you want
(taste it first — if the apple/pear is sweet
enough, you might not need any sweetener!).

Remove the squash from the oven and reduce heat to
350 F. Slice the squash in half lengthwise (be
careful — it’ll be HOT) and remove the seeds and
membrane with a spoon (save them for roasted
squash seeds — yum!). Place the
rice/lentil/veggie mixture into the hollow in each
squash half (don’t be afraid to pile it up pretty
high) and place the squash back into the baking
pan. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for
another 45-55 minutes, or until the squash is soft
and everything is heated through. You can drizzle
a little sweetener on during the last 10 minutes of
baking for a special treat if you want. Eat and
enjoy!

The filling above makes enough to stuff at least 2
medium sized acorn squash. It’s also really yummy
by itself. Pretty much any kind of apple or pear
will work here. If you like the apples to come
out really soft and sauce-like, choose a softer,
juicier apple like McIntosh or Red Delicious; for
firmer, more noticeable apples, use a good crispy
tart apple like Macoun, Granny Smith, or Jonagold.
You can also try it with other kinds of winter
squash.

1/2 half medium squash with 1/4 of filling has
about 300 calories, virtually no fat, and lots of
fiber (especially if you eat the skin of the
squash) and vitamin A.

Serves: 3-4

Preparation time: 2 hr

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 200 grams button mushrooms
• 3 bunches fresh spinach
• 1 cup dry chickpeas (soak it overnight)
• 2 medium sized onions
• 8 garlic cloves (more or less to your taste)
• 1 cup rice (i used basmati)
• half cup tomato puree
• ground black pepper
• water
• 2-3 tablespoon oil
• salt

Directions:

Make sure you soak the dry chickpeas overnight otherwise
they will not cook well and become soft and nice like they
should be. In the states you have the canned ones so you
can just use that instead.

If you are using dry chickpeas, after it was soaked drain
the water and put them in a pot with fresh water, put some
salt in and some pepper and boil it, then reduce flame and
let it cook until the chickpeas are soft. Drain them and
keep aside.

Dice the onions and start frying them on medium heat.
Meanwhile peel the garlic and crush it. When the onion is
golden brown add the garlic and watch it, don’t brown the
garlic it will become bitter. Wipe the mushrooms clean and
slice them, add them to the onion garlic thing and fry them
for a few minutes until they get soft. Wash the spinach and
cut it (no need to bother too much here), drain it and add
it to the mushrooms. Cover and keep cooking on low flame a
few minutes until the spinach shrinks and gets soft.

To this mixture, add the chickpeas and mix well. then add
the cup of rice, mix well again. Add two cups water (or a
little less if you like your rice less soft and mushy) and
half a cup tomato puree. Add about 3/4 tsp salt and 1/3 tsp
pepper. Bring to boil, reduce flame and cover. Cook for
about 20 minutes until rice is done.

This stuffing is really really tasty without any added
spices, but of course you can always add if you feel like
it. You can put it in capsicums/onions/tomatoes/anything and
then bake in the oven for half an hour to make the rice on
top a bit crunchy. Warmly recommended.

Serves: hmm 4

Preparation time: approximately 2 hours

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• Meuslix greens or assorted prepackaged organic lettuce
• fresh organic tomatoes
• canned kidney beans
• diced firm tofu (optional)
• seasonings / herbs
• fat-free organic dressing or balsamic vinaigrette
• cucumbers
• fresh artichokes (in vinegar)
• red onions

Directions:

First, open prepackaged lettuce mix of your choice. Add all
of your cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions. Also you can mix
the seasoning in as you prepare the appetizer instead of
waiting until it is done.

You can add sauted tofu as an extra if you’d like; dice
tofu into small pieces, add a little extra virgin olive oil
and herbs to add flavor. whala!!!

Drain canned kidney beans to remove all of the salt and
vegan sugars. You can add beans with sauted tofu too – I prefer
to just add the beans to my salad.

Next, take your artichokes- make sure they are peeled,
tender and have been soaking in vinegar. I usually buy the
ones that are already prepared in the jar. I add these to
my salad mix.

Afterwards, all ingredients should be mixed well.

I serve with toasted 100% whole wheat vegan pita bread w/ soy
margarine and sauted tofu on the side. This is one of my
favorite treats, hope you enjoy it too.

Serves: 10

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 roasted red pepper, skin, stem & seeds removed
• 1 1/2 cups roasted cashews
• 1-7 ounce can jalapenos, drained
• 2/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons low sodium tamari sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (for color)
• dash of hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

Throw all the ingredients into a blender and blend until
creamy. I didn’t have success with this in my food
processor. It didn’t grind the seeds up very well.

Warm sauce gently (don’t boil!) over low heat and pour over
corn chips. Or drizzle it over chips and bake them,
covered, for 10-15 minutes in a 375*F oven. You don’t want
to dry out your lovely sauce. It also makes a good cheezy
burrito filling with tempeh taco meat and seasoned black
beans.

Serves: 3-4

Preparation time: 10 minutes