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4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups tomato juice
1 can (28 oz.) organic diced tomatoes, undrained
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta
Shredded vegan Parmesan cheese, if desired

In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients, except pasta and cheese.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.
Stir in pasta.
Increase heat setting to High.
Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes longer or until pasta is tender.
Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Serves 4

 

 

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6 cups fresh spinach, steamed lightly and chopped
1 lb. dry orzo (or other small-shaped pasta)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced chives
1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves
2 teaspoons minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Shaved Parmesan, Romano cheese or shredded vegan cheese, optional

Place spinach in a large bowl. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Stir orzo into water. Cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain, but do not rinse. Add to the bowl of spinach. Allow to sit for 3 minutes before adding remaining ingredients. Toss well.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

Note: Can substitute fresh basil for the parsley.

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14 ounce package tofu, drained
2 cups mozzarella style vegan cheese shreds
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced (added to the marinara sauce)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 – 25 ounce jars vegan marinara sauce
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped (a mix of red, yellow and
orange is a nice presentation)
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
Cooking spray
Can add sliced mushrooms or any other chopped vegetables to the sauce.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Wrap tofu in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels and gently press out as much
liquid as possible, changing paper towels once or twice as needed.
In a medium bowl combine pressed tofu, yeast, garlic powder, if using, salt and pepper and mash with a fork.
Set tofu mixture aside. Put marinara sauce into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add peppers, minced garlic, if using (and any other chopped vegetables) and continue simmering until peppers are tender,
about 10 minutes.
Spoon enough sauce into prepared dish to cover bottom, then arrange 4
noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of tofu mixture onto noodles and sprinkle
with 1/3 of vegan cheese shreds, then spoon more sauce over the tofu
and vegan cheese shreds. Repeat the process 2 more times, ending with
sauce. Cover with foil and bake until noodles are tender, 45-60 minutes.
Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

Serves 4

Note: Can use regular lasagna noodles.

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1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3 ounce package), thawed according to package instructions
5 1/2 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
Flour, for work surface

Preheat oven to 400°F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16 x 10 inch rectangle.
Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife,
lightly score the dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using
a fork, pierce the dough inside the markings at half-inch intervals.
Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
Remove the pastry shell from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese.
Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the
tart shell; arrange in a single layer over the cheese, alternating ends and
tips of asparagus.
Brush with the oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake until the spears are tender, 20-25 minutes.

Notes:
Can use Daiya Vegan Cheese
Scoring the dough – use a sharp knife to ensure that the
edges rise evenly; pricking the center of the pastry with a
fork keeps it from puffing up too high as it bakes.

Serves 4

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2 medium large eggplants
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup homemade bread crumbs – recipe to follow
2 cups tomato sauce – homemade or canned
1 pound fresh Mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Slice the eggplant horizontally into 1/3inch slices. Sprinkle
the eggplant with salt and pepper. Heat half of the olive oil in a
saute pan and lightly brown the eggplant on both sides.
Lightly coat a cookie sheet with olive oil, starting with the 4 largest pieces of eggplant place them on the cookie sheet. Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce followed by a slice of the fresh Mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and continue to layer the eggplant slices on top of each other repeating with the sauce and cheese on each layer from largest to smallest. The final layer should be covered with the remainder of the sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
To plate it, make a small pile of bread crumbs and set one serving of
the eggplant parmesan on top. Tear some basil leaves and spread them
around the plate follow up with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of
Parmesan cheese.
Repeat procedure for the rest of the eggplant.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

4 slices day old bread of your choice
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Slice the bread into very small cubes and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown.

Serves 4

Note: Eggplants can be peeled, if desired
Substitute Daiya Vegan Cheese to make this a vegan recipe