Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 2-3 large carrots, chopped
• 4 smallish potatoes, cubed
• basil, oregano, garlic powder to taste
• vegetable broth (about 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan; sauté onion,
garlic, and celery until tender.

2. Add potatoes and carrots; cook 3-5
minutes

3. Add broth, herbs, and garlic; bring
to boil, then reduce heat and simmer
20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are
soft.

4. Blend all broth and approx. 1/2
potatoes and carrots until creamy.
This ensures that there are lovely
chunks in your soup so that you can
chew on something. If you want
creamier soup, blend everything.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. I
like to add a dash of red pepper just
before blending to give the soup some
spice, but this is completely
optional.

6. Serve.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 4 cans vegetable broth
• half bag frozen corn
• 1 large onion
• 2 cans black beans
• 2-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 avacado
• cilantro
• 1 tub fresh salsa
• stale or fresh tortilla chips
• optional: peppers (red, green, yellow, whatever), more garlic,

Directions:

Sautee the onion, garlic and peppers in a bit of olive oil
and salsa. Dump veg broth, beans, corn, fresh salsa, garlic,
onion, and pepper into a pot. Bring to a boil for five
minutes, then let simmer for about an hour. Top with avacado,
cilantro, and tortilla chips.

This soup tastes better if you let it sit overnight, but it’s
good whenever.

Enjoy it! From the Old Pueblo

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: ~1.5hrs

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 bagel (any flavor)
• 3 tablespoons of Hummus
• sliced red or green pepper (or both)
• fresh spinach leaves
• sliced cucumber
• sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. slice bagel in half

2. slice vegetables on both sides of bagel

4. spread sesame seeds on hummus

5. place sliced vegetables on top of hummus

6. close the bagel and enjoy!

Serves: 1.

Preparation time: 5 min.

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 cup diced tofu or seitan or a combination of the two
• 4 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa (wild rice may be part of it)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped pecans, or a combination of these
• 3/4 cup golden raisins, plumped in hot water and then drained
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon light soy sauce or Tamari sauce
• 1/4 tablespoon pepper
• lettuce leaves
• paprika
• parsley or cilantro

Directions:

Toss ingredients, chill one hour. Arrange on lettuce leaves
and sprinkle with paprika; garnish with parsley or cilantro.

The beauty of this is that not only can it be made in
advance, but it MUST be made ahead of time.

You can also use seitan instead of, or in addition to tofu.
Use extra firm tofu. I like to marinate mine so it’s
tastier.

This recipe lends itself well to a small amount of ginger
powder or grated fresh ginger. Also, I use 2-3 t. sesame oil
& then add olive oil to make 1/3 c. You can skip the oil
and vinegar & use a soy “mayonnaise.”

Serves: 4

Source: It’s mine, but it will be published in a special
edition of the Visalia Times-Delta.

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.