Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 lb. whole wheat ziti, cooked and drained
• Ricotta:
• 1 pkg. firm or extra firm regular tofu
• appx. 1/2 cup shredded vegan mozzarella
• 1/4 cup parsley, rinsed and chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Sauce:
• 1 jar vegan tomato sauce (about 3 cups if using your own)
• 3/4 cup vegan ground “beef” (optional)
• 1 small onion
• Topping:
• 1/4 vegan breadcrumbs, optional
• 1/4 cup shredded vegan mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the ziti according to directions;
drain well and return to cooking pot.

“Ricotta”:

Blend tofu in a blender or food
processor until completely smooth;
remove to large mixing bowl. Add
parsley, salt, and 1/2 cup of the
shredded cheese. Mix well with a
spoon.

Sauce:

Meanwhile, chop the onion and sautee
in a deep pan (if you’re using some
vegan ground beef, add it now and
allow to brown slightly; I prefer
Gimme Lean). Add jar of sauce and
simmer for a few minutes, just to let
the flavors combine, and to allow the
ground beef to break up, if you’re
using it.

Once it’s warmed through, add about
1/3 of the sauce to the ziti, and then
mix in the tofu “ricotta.” Stir it in
well — the ziti should be coated with
the tofu mixture, and kind of “pink”
from the sauce. Place ziti in a
casserole dish, top with the remaining
sauce & shredded cheese. If you like,
you can top it all off with some
italian breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs mixed
with a tiny bit of oregano, basil, and
garlic powder). If you have a lid for
your casserole dish, put it on;
otherwise, use a little aluminum foil
over the top. Bake for about 35-45
minutes, until bubbly; then remove the
lid or tin foil and bake for an extra
5-10 minutes, until the vegan cheese /
breadcrumb topping is nice and golden
brown.

Serve with a salad of wilted
bitter greens and some crusty vegan bread.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 1 hr.

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• two tablespoon rasberry vinegar
• one tablespoon yellow vegan mustard seeds
• six ripe nectarines
• bunch of fresh corriander
• half a red onion
• optional: sesame oil

Directions:

Let the mustard seeds soak in the vinegar of 30 minutes.
Chop up all the other ingredients (coarsely) and mix.
Eat with tortilla chips

Preparation time: half hour

Serves:

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon vegan Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• fresh ground pepper 2 taste

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together, toss with green salad and voila!

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 1 minute

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 quart of spring water
• a sprig or 1/2 of Thyme
• 1 and 1/2 cup of long-grain brown/red or yellow rice
• 1/2 pound of Black-eyed peas presoaked overnight
• sea salt or kelp to taste

Directions:

Rinse and sort beans. Boil 4 quarts of spring/distilled or
filtered water. Stir in peas and thyme. cover, then lower
heart and cook until peas are tender about 30 minutes.

In a separate port, bring 3 cups of spring/distilled or
filtered water to boil. Stir in rice, then cover, lower
heat and cook until rice is tender about 40 minutes.

Combine rice and peas and season to taste.

This is a traditional African-American dish for New’s
Years’ Day since enslavement. Hoppin’ John may have a few
African sources. Jon is a Senegalese word meaning dignified
and repectable. John is the Anglicized word for Shango the
West African diety who resurrects after death. He is also
the perfect son. And he rules over dance and music.

Serves: 6

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1/2 cup Quaker Oats
• 3 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 tablespoon vegan maple syrup

Directions:

Put oatmeal in a small kettle with 1 C. water and boil
until desired consistancy. Meanwhile place peanut butter
and Maple syrup in a cereal bowl. When oatmeal is done
simply pour into bowl and stir.

Serves: 1

Preparation time: 5 min