Just Like Mom's Chicken Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1 container vegan chicken-style seitan
  • 1 box vegan chicken-free broth (Imagine foods is best) **Make sure this is a “Chicken” style–not veggie–broth, or the soup will taste wrong
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 2-3 medium to large carrots
  • orzo or other pastina (as much as you like/want – about 3/4 cup uncooked)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • small amount of white onion
  • water as needed
  • salt, pepper, parsley, and other seasonings (as desired) to taste
  • olive oil
Directions: 

In a large pot, use a small amount of olive oil to brown the seitan (conserve the liquid and save for later) with the garlic and oil. Seitan should be slightly brown on at least one side and most, if not all, of the liquid should have evaporated off and out of it.
Pour into the pot the seitan liquid and the chicken-free broth. Stir and bring to boil.
Add the Orzo to the mixture and stir. Chop the two celery stalks into half moons (along the radius) and add to mixture. Chop the carrots into either half-moons or rings, depending on the size of the carrot. Add the carrots to the mixture.
Add salt, pepper, parsley and any other seasonings you desire to the broth. Allow to boil and cover.
Allow the mixture to boil return it to a simmer. Cover, checking and stirring occasionally. If liquid decreases, add water until the broth is the way you like it. Continue to season if necessary.
Allow to simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until carrots, celery and orzo are tender, but not mushy, and all seasonings have blended and mellowed. Serve with warm vegan bread and feel better.
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Barley Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1 med to large butternut squash
  • 1 cup pearl barley, uncooked
  • 2 1/4 cups apple juice, unsweetened
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin, light)
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks Celery, chopped
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons each – dried tarragon & sage
  • dash of garlic powder, as desired
  • dash of salt, as desired
  • black pepper, as desired
  • 1/2 cup brown vegan sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
  • additional brown vegan sugar, to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 deg.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring apple juice to boil; add barley; cover and reduce heat to low; simmer until liquid is absorbed and barley is cooked, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Spray cut sides and a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray; put squash cut side down into baking dish. Roast for approx. 1 hour, or until they feel soft when pushed down with finger. Let squash sit until able to handle comfortably. Increase oven temp to 400 degrees.
4. While squash if cooling, put olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes; add celery and saute for about 2 minutes; add walnuts and saute until onion is translucent and walnut are a bit toasted. Reduce heat to low.
5. Scoop out pulp from squash halves, leaving shells intact. Add squash to onion mixture and mix well; add spices and mix well. Add applesauce and brown sugar, stirring until well mixed (over low heat). Stir in cooked barley till mixed.
6. Put mixture in squash shells. Sprinkle with additional brown sugar, if desired; put in oven and cook until heated through.
This recipe can be used as a main dish for 2 people. Round out with a salad and some vegan bread. Or use as a side dish for 4 to 6 people, where the squash shells are used as a “serving dish”. The spices used mix together surprisingly well. A flavor that needs to be tasted to fully appreciate. Enjoy!
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Manicotti of Doom Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 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.
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Vegan Stuffed Shells Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 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.
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Destiny Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 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!
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Kasha Varnishkas Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1 box farfalle (bow tie noodles)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 cup kasha (buckwheat groats. You can find them in the Kosher foods section)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups vegetable broth/bullion
Directions: 

Cook pasta as directed on package. Soak kasha in 1/3 to 1/2 cup fluid. Saut� onions in olive oil until tender. Add kasha and stir to blend until kernels separate. Add broth/bullion and bring to boil. Turn to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Blend with pasta and serve with veggies or eat alone. This is truly fantastic as leftovers.
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