Manicotti

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I've been somewhat MIA because I haven't been feeling well and it's kept me out of the kitchen. I have a back problem that causes me lots of pain (especially when standing), and I also found out I have fibromyalgia. Now I have better drugs, and I'm able to stand for longer, and hopefully that will lend itself to more kitchen experiments.

Also, in terms of new news, my husband and I have decided to move out of state, so we're busy freecycling, selling, and packing things. We normally keep a well-stocked pantry, so at this point we're not grocery shopping and we're having whatever's in the pantry. It should make for some interesting recipes. I hope.

So today I found a box of manicotti noodles, and one lone box of Mori-Nu tofu. So I tried to make it not suck:


ingredients:
manicotti noodles (1 lb)
1 box Mori-Nu tofu
1 cup (roughly) cooked kale or spinach
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Put the noodles on to boil and ready the food processor. In the food processor, put the tofu, kale, nutritional yeast, spices, and lemon juice, and puree until no tofu chunks remain (you may want to puree the tofu first and then add everything else).

Put a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9"x13" glass baking dish.

When the noodles are done, rinse them with cool water so they can be handled. Using a fork, stuff some filling into each noodle. When all the noodles have been stuffed, cover the noodles with the remainder of the sauce. (Rinse the jar with a little water and add that to the pan too.)

Cover with foil. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before devouring!

Pesto Alfreda Sauce

i'm slacking with the photos here! i need to fix that.

we have a very wonderful basil plant this year, and for awhile, it was growing like crazy. when i decided to try and make a pesto, i realised i simply couldn't stomach all of the oil that usually goes into it. (won't you be glad when i can finally stop cooking low-fat and stop catering to my gall bladder?) so i decided to try my hand at an alfredo sauce with a basil twist.

ingredients:

1/4-1/2 cups Earth Balance margarine (your preference, more or less)
2 cups soymilk
1 package Extra firm tofu (Mori-nu)
a handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp onion powder
2-3 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
3 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast

directions:

melt the margarine over med-low/med heat in a medium sauce pan. while it's melting, blend the tofu in a food processor with the basil leaves and all remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy (and green). add to the melted margarine and continue to heat until thick and saucy.

this was great on pasta, but also on a "white" (or green) pizza later in the week. next time i make it, i may omit the basil, or cut it in half. it was a little powerful with tofu basil ricotta on top, and i've learned too much basil isn't always a good thing. still, it was really delicious, and it was awesome to prove that dairy is not required to make a delicious creamy sauce like this.

tooner noodle casserole

ingredients:

12 oz small noodles (i used quinoa mini shells here)
3 tbsp margarine
1/4 c flour
2 c vegetable broth
1 1/2 c soymilk
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
dash fresh black pepper
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas
2-4oz cans mushrooms (use fresh if you have them, sautee in oil)
1 1/2 c frozen peas
about 1/2 c bread crumbs (i use panko)

directions:

preheat the oven to 350f, and lightly spray a 9x13 glass baking dish (or deeper smaller casserole dish). start the pasta cooking, and start on the sauce. (when the pasta is done, just put it back in the pot and leave it until needed.)

mash the chickpeas in a large bowl with a potato masher and set aside.

in a large saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat, add the flour and stir until the flour is absorbed. add the broth and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened. turn the heat down to low, add the soymilk, lemon juice, soy sauce, spices, and nutritional yeast, and whisk. add chickpeas, peas, and mushrooms, and stir well. add the mixture to the cooked pasta and mix well.

pour into baking dish, and cover with bread crumbs (add more or less to suit your tastes), and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.


if you'd like to actually have this resemble some kind of semi-fishy taste, you could add a tablespoon or so of dried kelp or hijiki or something like that. personally, i've never been a fan of tuna, but i just love comfort food casseroles and pasta dishes, so i left out the fishiness and modified some other recipes i've found in the past to get this.