Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• A couple of handfuls of small spiral pasta
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 Birdseye red chilli
• Couple of teaspoons of lemon grass
• Couple of teaspoons of lime juice
• 2 or 3 marinated artichoke hearts
• 4 slices button mushrooms
• Half an onion
• Good grind of sea salt
• Good grind of black pepper
• Olive oil
• And a pint of virgin’s blood (just kidding!)

Directions:

You read the name right. I concocted this recipe when I was
REALLY hungry one day after not taking enough for lunch,
wondering what I could cook for dinner when I got home. I
did the old Chinese method of “toss things in the pot and
see how it tastes” and came up with this yummy treat…

1. Set the water for the pasta to boil.

2. In a shallow wok, heat a couple of centimeters of olive
oil. There should be enough so that when the sauce is
cooked you can toss it through the pasta.

3. SLICE (do not dice, or mince) the garlic cloves. Slice
the onion into rings. You won’t really need the whole half
unless you LOVE onion and this recipe is just for one.

4. Toss them in the wok and cook them up.

5. When they have fried for a few minutes, add the lemon
grass and continue to stir.

6. Slice the chilli and add. You will only need one, these
chillies are HOT.

7. When all this has stir-fried for a few moments, slice
the artichoke hearts and toss in. Mix.

8. Then, slice the mushrooms, throw in, reduce heat.

9. Add a large squirt of lime juice and the sea salt and
allow to simmer for a few minutes until cooked.

10. Of course, you should have tossed the pasta in the water
as soon as it began to boil. Drain it once al dente, then
pour the sauce over it, tossing right through.

11. Grind black pepper over the finished product and
enjoy… pasta with a nice Thai-flavour!

Of course, you can mix any pasta you like… I envision
linguini working well. However, the emphasis is on the
sauce… so you don’t want a heavy pasta that will weigh
down the flavours of the sauce.

Serves: 1

Preparation time: Half hour

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1/2 lb penne, ziti, mostaccioli, rigatoni, or other pasta
• 12 oz soft silken tofu
• 2 cup spaghetti sauce
• basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili flakes, nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 (F). Boil water for pasta. Crumble the
tofu with a fork or hand mixer until it’s the consistency of
cottage or ricotta cheese. Add spices to taste.
Refrigerate until the pasta is done.

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until just
done. Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce and tofu. Put
the whole mixture into a casserole and bake, covered, for
about 30-45 minutes or until it’s hot.

This is a great alternative to classic baked ziti. Lots
less fat, and just as satisfying! Serve with a big salad
and crusty vegan bread.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 1.5 hr

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• one dozen manicotti shells
• two packages of firm tofu (minus one half cup)
• one packet of Italian seasoning (or use your own blend)
• one cup of vegan cheeze sauce (see notes below)
• two large cans of crushed tomato
• one can of tomato paste
• Italian seasonings (garlic, oregano, basil, etc)
• one can black olives, chopped coarsely
• one can green olives, chopped coarsely
• or any other veggies you like to add into tomato sauces

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Boil lots of water for the
manicotti shells, so that the filling can be made while
they’re cooking.

Filling:

Plop the two bricks of tofu into a bowl and mash with a
potato masher or a fork until it looks like Ricotta cheese.
Add in as much of the Italian seasoning packet as you want,
or season it with your own special blend of herbs and spices
like oregano, garlic, basil, and I like to throw in a bit of
cumin for interest. Use your imagination. Pour in the vegan
cheeze sauce and mix well.

For the cheeze sauce, I usually use a recipe from Joanne
Stepaniak’s “UnCheese Cookbook” like Meunster (minus the
agar). But for this purpose (because of copyright laws and
because experimentation is fun) here is my modification. Mix
in a blender the following things: tofu, raw cashews,
tahini, nutritional yeast, seasonings (like garlic, onion
powder and salt) and a little water and the juice of one
lemon (these should all add up to about two cups or so,
maybe a little more). Once everything is blended up nice,
and you like the flavor, it’s ready to go. Note: if it
tastes bland, add in more lemon juice. I found that this is
crucial, and vinegar doesn’t really cut it in fake cheeze
recipes.

Tomato Sauce:

Plop the canned tomato goods into a pot, add a
tomato-paste-can full of water and heat and stir. Season
with garlic powder or fresh garlic (I love a lot of garlic)
and herbs. Add in chopped olives and other veggies if
desired. Simmer until the flavors meld to your satisfaction.

Drain the manicotti and place in a pot of cold water. Line
your baking dishes with a bit of the tomato sauce. Fill each
shell with the seasoned tofu filling and place very close
together in the baking pan. Cover with sauce so that no
noodle bits are showing. Cover pan(s) with foil. Bake in 350
degree (F) oven for approx. 30 minutes, or until the sauce
is nice and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Serves: 5-6

Preparation time: 30 min

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 container extra-firm tofu
• 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• dash of nutmeg
• vidalia onion (or other sweet onion), chopped
• 2 boxes of frozen spinach, or the fresh equivalent
• 3 cloves garlic, 4 if you like garlic
• at least 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large jar spaghetti sauce or fresh made
• 1 box pasta jumbo shells
• salt
• pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

Place 3/4 of the Tofu in a Food Processor or Blender and
add 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil, a pinch of Nutmeg,
nutritional yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Blend
until smooth. Mash the remaining Tofu into the Blended
mixture that resembles Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese.
Set aside.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Sauté the onion in a little Olive Oil till it becomes
translucent, but not browned then add the garlic and sauté
for just a minute more. If using frozen spinach just
defrost the spinach do not cook. If using fresh spinach
steam until the spinach is wilted about 2 minutes in
boiling water. Make sure in both instances to squeeze out
all of the excess liquid. Add the spinach, onion and
seasonings to the Ricotta mixture and set aside. Can be
made ahead and refrigerated up to 24 hours.

In a large pot boil the Shells as directed on the
package. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool off
enough to handle them. Place enough spaghetti sauce on the
bottom of an 8 X 12 baking dish just to cover. Stuff the
shells with the Ricotta mixture. When you are done
stuffing the shells place the rest of the spaghetti sauce
over the shells. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serves: 4 to 5

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 box lasagna
• 2 jars Newman’s Sockarooni (or your favorite sauce)
• 1 can black olives, drained & sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds firm tofu, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Soymage vegan parmesan
• 1/2 cup Spectrum Spread (non-hydrogenated vegan margarine)
• 1/2 cup rice milk
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained & chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil pasta
according to box. Drain & set aside. Mix the olives into
the Sockarooni sauce & set aside. For cheezy filling,
combine remaining ingredients, except for artichokes, in a
food processor. Blend until smooth, scraping often. Fold
in artichokes. In the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan, spread a
little tomato sauce. Cover with about four noodles.
Spread some cheezy filling over them. Then cover with some
Sockarooni. Continue layering noodles*cheeze*sauce until
gone. End with sauce so the top doesn’t get rock-hard.
Pan will be FULL. Bake for 1 hour. Let rest for about 20
minutes before serving so it can set up a little. Enjoy!

Serves: 12

Preparation time: 1/2 hour?