1 bunch kale
2 onions
1/2 head of garlic, (about 10 cloves) peeled
4 celery ribs
3 bay leaves
7 c water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 25 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
3 T olive oil
Steps
Coarsely chop kale onions and celery. Bring chopped kale, onions, celery, garlic cloves, bay leaves and water to a boil in a large covered pot or Dutch oven. The kale should be at the bottom of the pot and the bay leaves submerged.
Reduce heat to high simmer and stir in bouillon cube. Cook covered.
Stir occasionally during cooking. When vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes after boiling, remove from the flame.
Add garbanzo beans and olive oil. Mix well and serve hot.
When purchasing BBQ sauces, read the label. Make sure that it does not have any additives and that it has less than 6g of sugar for 2 tablespoons.
Tofu comes ready to eat out of the package. Therefore if you are really in a pinch and cannot wait 40 minutes for the tofu, bake it for as long as you can. Less baking wil give you a softer dish.
Ingredients
16 oz. firm tofu
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Steps
Slice tofu about 1/2 " thick. Place in shallow baking pan and coat both top and bottom of tofu with barbecue sauce.
Place in 400° F oven, no convection. Bake 40 minutes until tofu is hard and glazed with barbecue sauce.
BBQ tofu, wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with brown rice and beans, This burrito is delicious, filling and easy to make.
Ease:
super quick
Type:
entree
Prep Time:
15
Total Time:
15
Yield:
serves 4
Cook's notes
When purchasing refried beans, check the label. The ingredients should be beans and nothing else.
Whole wheat tortillas can be purchased at any health food store. Check the ingredient label. They should contain water, whole wheat flour, maybe some sort of vegetable oil, salt and that's it.
Make sure that you purchase only BBQ sauce with less than 6g sugars per serving and no additives.
Tofu comes ready to eat out of the package. Therefore if you are really in a pinch and cannot wait 40 minutes for the tofu, bake it for as long as you can. Less baking wil give you a softer dish.
Ingredients
16 oz Tofu
BBQ Sauce
Whole Wheat Tortilla
4 c cooked brown rice
3 c canned refried beans
Steps
Slice tofu about 1/2 " thick. Place in shallow baking pan and coat both top and bottom of tofu with barbecue sauce.
Place in 400° F oven, no convection. Bake 40 minutes until tofu is hard and glazed with barbecue sauce.
On each tortilla smear 3/4 c refried beans, spread 1 c brown rice and 4 oz. BBQ tofu. Roll up the tortilla to make a burrito.
Tacos filled with BBQ tofu, lettuce and baked potato or brown rice.
Ease:
super quick
Type:
entree
Prep Time:
15
Total Time:
15
Yield:
4 servings
Cook's notes
Bearitos make organic taco shells with low sodium and low oil and circle U Kosher. They are available at any health food store.
Make sure that your BBQ sauce does not contain additives or more than 6g sugar per serving.
Tofu comes ready to eat out of the package. Therefore if you are really in a pinch and cannot wait 40 minutes for the tofu, bake it for as long as you can. Less baking wil give you a softer dish.
Ingredients
16 oz tofu
BBQ sauce
Taco Shells
4 c cut and washed lettuce
sliced avocado
4 baked potatoes cut in cubes or 4 c Brown rice
Steps
Slice tofu about 1/2 " thick. Place in shallow baking pan and coat both top and bottom of tofu with barbecue sauce.
Place in 400° F oven, no convection. Bake 40 minutes until tofu is hard and glazed with barbecue sauce.
Warm the taco shells as per package instructions. Stuff as desired with the avoc ado, lettuce, potato and BBQ tofu. Serve hot.
A delicious, satisfying meal that can be prepared in no time. Millet is a dry, mild flavored grain. It goes well with the asian flavorings of this dish.
Ease:
super quick
Type:
entree
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Total Time:
20 minutes
Yield:
4 - 6 servings
Cook's notes
There are wonderful baked tofus on the market and I encourage you to try them. For this recipe, Chinese five spice, Thai, honey sesame or any other asian flavor will work best.
If you have a few more minutes, the sauce will taste better if you make it with 1 T fresh minced ginger. I used ground ginger in this recipe to make it quickly. Using the fresh ginger will add about 7-10 minutes to the prep time.
Ingredients
2 cups of millet
5 c water
24 oz Baked Tofu
4 small sweet potatoes
Sesame Ginger Sauce:
3T+ 1/2 t tamari or soy sauce
1T + 2 t honey
3/4 t ground ginger, heaping
2 T sesame butter, tahini
4 T water
1T + 1t brown rice vinegar or cider vinegar
Steps
Place millet in large pot with the water over high heat. When it boils, lower the flame to keep a low boil going. Millet is finished in about 15 minutes when it is fluffy and soft.
Meanwhile, cut the tofu and sweet potato into 1" cubes.
Prepare sesame ginger sauce by adding all of the ingredients to a container and shaking vigerously to mix well.
When millet is finished, add tofu and sweet potaot and stir over a low flame just enough to heat and mix thoroughly.
To serve, drizzle sesame ginger sauce over tofu,millet, sweet potato mixture. Serve hot.
This is a hearty soup that is warming and comforting. It is also very good to help you feel better when you have a cold.
Ease:
super quick
Type:
soup, entree
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Total Time:
20 minutes
Yield:
4 servings
Cook's notes
When using carrots, I use the pre-washed baby carrots to save time. Don't bother cubing or cutting them.
Ingredients
1/2 lb carrots, broccoli or cauliflower chopped in 1 " cubes
12 cups water
16 oz firm tofu cut into cubes
3 c of brown rice
8 scallions, minced
6T miso
Steps
Boil vegetable in water until very tender.
Add tofu, and rice and heat thoroughly. Remove from the heat.
Add scallions and Miso. Mix until miso is disolved. Serve hot.
Dripping in their own, naturally occurring syrup, there is nothing like a good baked yam. I prefer garnet yams. Choose yams that are very hard and have no black, brown or soft spots. You can tell the best yams because they will have syrup dripping out of the skins at the store. The skins are the sweetest part, so don't pick the overly fat yams. They are delicious eaten cold or hot.
Ease:
super quick
Type:
side dish
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
1 1/2 hours
Yield:
1 yam per person
Cook's notes
Micro-waved yams will not get soft and drip sugar like oven baked. It is worth it to have the forethought and throw them in the oven. I keep a batch of yams in the refrigerator. They are so good cold that they are perfect for a "grab and go" kind of meal or snack.
Ingredients
Yams, whole, scrubbed and unpeeled
Steps
Make sure to pierce the skins with a knife or fork in several places. Bake the yams at 375°F directly on a rack in the center of the oven. No need to preheat. In order to save clean up from dripping yam syrup, place foil on a rack below the rack with the yams. Bake until very soft and dripping with syrup, about 1 1/2 hours. If the yams are soft but not dripping, they are not done.
This soup is creamy and elegant. Naturally sweet it is terrific for a festive occasion.
Ease:
average
Type:
soup
Prep Time:
40 minutes
Total Time:
65 minutes
Yield:
6 - 8 servings
Cook's notes
To bake the butternut squash, wash, pierce the skin in several places with a knife, and place, on pie or pizza pan, in the oven. Heat oven to 350° F, no convection, (no need to preheat) and bake on middle rack for 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending upon the size of the butternut. Butternut is done when soft and browned in places.
Extra butternut squash can be peeled and frozen. It can then be used for soups or pumpkin pie. I like to freeze it in plastic bags in 1 1/3 c portions. To use, simply thaw (it will become watery) and add squash and water to your recipe.
A 1 1/2 oz. piece of ginger measures about 1" wide, 1" thick and 1 1/2 " long.
2 1/2 lb. butternut squash (1 small), baked, seeded and peeled
5 ribs celery, washed, leaves cut off and halved
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 large or two small shallots, peeled and halved (one medium onion is also okay)
1 1/2 oz. fresh ginger root, peeled and quartered
2 1/2 c water
1/3 c cashew butter
mint leaves for garnish
Steps
Place celery, garlic, shallots, ginger and water in a large pot or Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain low boil. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the butternut and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until all of the vegetables are very tender. Rremove from heat.
When vegetables are cooked, remove them to food processor along with about 1/2 c of the cooking water.
Puree the vegetables until creamy smooth. Then add the cashew butter to the processor whirl again until very smooth.
Return mixture to the pot and mix well until all of the puree is well blended with the cooking water.
A bonus for busy chefs planning a holiday meal; This rice tastes even better the next day. So if it is more convenient, prepare it the day before your feast.
Ingredients
2 1/4 c wild rice
1 1/2 large red bell pepper
3 shallots or 1 onion
6 celery ribs
6 garlic cloves
1 lb. mushrooms
7 c water
3 1/2 T olive oil
1 t thyme
pine nuts for garnish
Steps
Wash, clean and place pepper, shallots, celery, garlic and mushrooms in food processor. Mince well.
Put the rice, water and minced vegetables in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to a low boil.
Cook about an hour until all but 1/2" of the water is gone. Turn off the flame and let the rice absorb the remaining water. Stir in olive oil and thyme. Garnish with pine nuts.
This pumpkin pie is delicious enough to rival the best pumpkin pie made with heavy cream and lots of sugar. Using yams and butternut squash enables you to use less sweetener. Using the goodness of tofu instead of heavy cream or condensed milk, eliminates the saturated fats and adds protein, calcium, iron and other vitamins and minerals.
You will begin to look at pumpkin pie as a meal and not a dessert!
Ease:
average
Type:
breakfast, dessert
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
1 1/2 hours plus chilling time
Yield:
8-10 servings
Cook's notes
You can save time by making this pie crustless. It tastes better crustless, but getting perfect slices out of the pan is more difficult.
Since all of the ingredients are already cooked when they go into the processor, you can even eat the puree without baking it. It is really very tasty. Therefore, if you are cooking and you have starving kids in the kitchen with you, scoop out a bowl full before you fill the pie pan. They will enjoy a healthy snack.
You can bake the butternut squash and the yams at the same time. Wash the butternut, pierce the skin in several places with a knife, and place, on pie or pizza pan, in the oven. Scrub the yams, removing any blemishes and pierce the skins with a knife. Place them directly on the rack in the oven. Heat oven to 375° F, no convection, (no need to preheat) and bake on middle rack for 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending upon the size of the yams and butternut. Place a piece of foil on a rack under the rack holding the butternut and yams. This will catch the dripping yam syrup. Yams are done when they are soft and dripping syrup. Butternut is done when soft and browned in places.
Do not throw away the yam peels! This is the sweetest, most nutritious part of the yams. They are great to eat by themselves (cook's perks) or to add to soup or chili.
Extra butternut squash can be peeled and frozen. It can then be used for soups or more pumpkin pie. I like to freeze it in plastic bags in 1 1/3 c portions. To use, simply thaw (it will become watery) and add squash and water to your recipe.
Ingredients
16 oz firm tofu
1 1/3 cups baked butternut squash, peeled
2/3 c cooked yams, peeled (1 medium)
1/3 c light honey or agave syrup
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
3/4 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/8 t ground cloves
Pie crust (optional) consisting of:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c + 1 T cold water
4 1/2 T canola or safflower oil
Steps
Have ready one deep dish, 9" pie pan or two 8" pie pans. If not using crust, also have ready two dish towels and roasting pan large enough for the pie pan/s to fit into without touching the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F, no convection.
If using pie crust, mix all of the ingredients and press evenly into a 9" deep dish pie pan, or two 8" pie pans.
Puree tofu in food processor. Add butternut and yams and whirl until smooth. Add honey, vanilla and spices and process until very smooth and creamy.
Evenly pour mixture into prepared pie crusts or, if not using crust, straight into the pie pan/s. Smooth the top of the pie for even baking. If using pie crusts, place pie/s n the oven on middle rack and bake for 1 hour.
If making crustless pie prepare a water bath: line the sides and bottom of the roasting pan with the dish towels. The bottom needs to have two layers of towels. Place the pies into the roasting pan. Carefully pour water into the roasting pan until the lower half of the pie pan/s is/are submerged.
Place the pies, in the water bath, in the oven on a middle rack. Be careful not to splash water into the pies. Bake for 1 hour .
Remove the finished pies from the oven and let stand at room temperature until cool to the touch. If using a water bath, let the pies stand and cool in the water bath, there is no way to safely remove them, without burning yourself, until they are cool.
Place the cooled pies in the refrigerator and chill well. Serve cold.
This pie freezes beautifully! I like to cut slices first and then freeze. When you wish to serve, just thaw the individual slices.
This cranberry sauce gets its sweetness from raisins instead of sugar. TI is tastier than conventional cranberry sauce and packed with iron and other vitamins and minerals
Ease:
average
Type:
sauce
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Total Time:
20 minutes
Yield:
Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients
4 c cranberries, frozen or fresh
3 c water
2 c raisins
1/2 c honey or agave syrup
4 T arrowroot
Steps
Place cranberries, 2 /2 c of water, honey or agave and raisins into sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower flame and simmer about 10 minutes.
Dilute the arrowroot in the remaining 1/2 c cold water. Drizzle diluted arrowroot into simmering cranberries stirring well the entire time. It is very important to stir vigorously as you pour in the arrowroot, otherwise you will get very unappetizing lumps.
Simmer for another 5 minutes. Do not overcook or boil or the arrowroot will loose its thickening power.
These are so yummy! Real fruit filling sweetens these doughnuts. You won't miss the fact that they aren't fried and the whole wheat only enhances the flavor.
Ease:
involved
Type:
breakfast, dessert
Prep Time:
1 hours
Total Time:
4 hours, including rising and chilling
Yield:
15 soofganiot
Cook's notes
You can use any fruit that you like. I, however, like using cherries best.
If you wish to save time, using dates or raisins makes a delicious filling. You save time in not making filling and it is faster to stuff the soofganiot.
You can use fresh fruit, however, I prefer frozen. It tastes just as good and the recipe takes so long, that I do not want to add washing and chopping time to it.
Agar agar is a seaweed that can be purchased at any health food store. When boiled, it acts just like gelatin. It is packed with vitamins and minerals and a much, much healthier choice than gelatin. Agar agar can also be purchased very cheaply at the Asian markets. When you buy it at the Asian markets, it comes in sticks about 1 inch thick. A one inch long piece is about a tablespoon.
I use a bread machine for the kneading and rising. It saves me a tremendous amount of time.
If you are busy and cannot prepare the entire recipe all at once, after the dough has risen and been punched/kneaded, you can put it in the refrigerator for several hours before you roll, stuff and bake.
The filling can be made a day in advance.
You can save about 15 minutes by using your bread machine.
Sucanat is pure crystalized, unrefined, cane juice made by Wholesome Sweeteners. It contains all of the original molasses and, therefore, all of the vitamins and minerals.
In the processing of evaporated cane juice molasses is separated from the sugar. The evaporated cane juice from Wholesome Sweeteners is the best I found. It is organic, is minimally processed, and has no chemicals.
Ingredients
3 1/2 t active dry yeast
3 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c less 1 T organic evaporated cane juice or organic Sucanat
1 1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c milk
2 T canola or safflower oil
2 large eggs
Fruit Filling:
3 c frozen fruit
up to 1/2 c honey, or agave syrup (optional)
3 T heaping agar agar
Steps
If using a bread machine, place all of the ingredients into the machine, let rise and remove after second kneading. Go to step 5.
If not using a bread machine, stir together 2 c flour and yeast. In a separate bowl, combine milk, oil, cane juice, and spices and heat to 120° F.
Add liquid ingredients to flour/yeast and beat with a mixer until smooth, 2 minutes on medium speed. Blend in eggs. Add remaining flour and stir/knead until smooth. You should have a very thick batter.
Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough.
In the meantime, prepare the filling. Place the frozen fruit over a medium flame in a sauce pan. When thawed, add agar agar and optional sweetener. Only add sweetener if you are using very sour fruit like raspberries, strawberries or apricots. For blueberries or cherries, (my favorites) no need to add sweetener. Bring to a boil and boil until agar agar is completely dissolved and blended in with the fruit. Remove to a bowl and chill. The filling must be completey chilled and hard to stuff the soofganiot.
Turn onto floured surface and roll to 1/2 " thick. Cut into 2" circles using a cup.
Take one of the circles in hand and place about 1 T of filing onto center. Then take another circle of sough and place it on top of the filling. Pinch the edges of the two circles of dough together. When the doughnut is 2/3 sealed, try to spoon in a little more filling. Pinch the open edges together to seal the filling inside.
Be careful not to get the edges moist with filling! If the edges get wet, they will be too slippery to seal.
Place stuffed soofganiot on a cookie sheet, leaving about 2 " between them. Put in a warm place to rise until doubled. Preheat oven to 425°F bake or convection.
When soofganiot have doubled, bake for 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown.
Soofganiot can be frozen well. Just thaw, and serve.
These latkes are just as crisp and scrumptious as fried. I put in a lot of onions so they have a great flavor. Instead of serving them with sour cream, try using plain whole milk yogurt. It has less fat than even the "lite"" sour cream. Also, if serving with canned apple sauce, make sure that it has just cooked apples and nothing else. It should not have any sugar or additives.
Ease:
average
Type:
side dish, entree
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 15 minutes
Yield:
30 large latkes
Ingredients
4 lb. or 8 medium potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
3 onions, peeled
1/3c whole wheat pastry flour
5 eggs
2T canola or safflower oil (best to use an oil mister here)
Steps
Preheat oven to 400° F. Prepare rack in center of oven.
Using the medium grating blade on your food processor, grate onions and potatoes. Remove to a large mixing bowl.
Add eggs and whole wheat flour. Mix thoroughly.
Depending upon the size, oil two or more, baking pans or jelly roll pans. If nonstick, no need to oil. Press the mixture into pans about 1/2 inch thick. Make sure that the mixture is smoothly pressed into pan and that no strings of potato or onion are sticking up.
For traditional round latkes, instead of pressing the potato mixture into the pan, drop onto pan like flat round cookies. The latkes should be about 2" in diameter and 1/2" thick. Make sure that no strings of potato or onion are sticking up.
Spray the mixture in all pans liberally with oil or spread 2 T evenly over the top of each pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bottom and sides are browned. Then, broil at 450°F for an additional 20 minutes until the top is crispy and brown.
When the latkes are cool enough to touch, cut into squares and serve.
These latkes freeze really well. Just freeze in an airtight container or bag. When ready to serve, thaw and place in 350° F oven until crisp and hot.
If you are using very sweet, flavorful apples, you can omit the lemon and honey/agave. Only use the lemon and honey/agave if you are trying to get rid of not so wonderful apples that do not have a good enough flavor to eat raw.
Ingredients
1 c date sugar
1 c rolled oats or oat flour
3/4 c safflower oil
10-12 apples cubed (I like to use fuji, gala or gravenstien.)
1/4 c agave syrup or honey (optional)
1/1/2 c raisins
1 T cinnamon
2 T arrowroot powder
2 T fresh lemon juice (optional)
Steps
Cut apples in 1" cubes
Preheat oven to 350° F Mix together apple cubes, agave or honey and lemon if necessary, raisins, cinnamon and arrowroot. Set aside.
Mix together date sugar, oat flour and oil. Press half of the mixture into a 9" x 13" baking pan.
Stir the apple mixture one more time and spread evenly over the oat mixture in the pan. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over apple mixture.
Cover pan with parchment paper and then foil and bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours until top is browned and apples are tender. Let cool about 20 minutes before serving.
Creamy, sweet, warm and comforting, this soup can be made vegan or dairy. Either way, it is delicious! Also, during the cold and flu season, the curry helps dry up sinuses. The ginger and garlic help boost your immune system.
Ease:
super quick
Type:
soup
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Yield:
4-6 servings
Cook's notes
Neufchatal Creme Cheese has 33% less fat and is just as delicious as regular creme Cheese. Horizen and Organic Valley make a Neufchatal that is circle u kosher. Unlike the Lite Creme Cheeses, it does not contain chemicals.
Ingredients
1 onion peeled and quartered
1 T fresh ginger root peeled and halved (approximately a 1" square piece of root)
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 lb carrots, well scrubbed, tops cut off (I buy pre-washed to save time)
1 1/2 t curry powder
2 c water
6T Neufchatal Creme Cheese (Optional)
2/3 c milk or rice dream or soy milk
mint leaves for garnish
Steps
Place all of the ingredients except Neufchatal and milk in 5 quart pot. Bring to boil and reduce flame just enough to maintain a slow boil. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Leaving all of the fluid in the pot, remove all of the vegetables to your food processor. This is best accomplished using a soup strainer or a slotted spoon. Process until smoothly pureed and creamy.
Return the puree to the soup, add milk, rice dream or soy milk and optional Neufchatal. Stir well to combine and serve hot, garnished with mint leaves.
You can serve these in the half orange peels as shown in the photo, but it will add a great deal of time. Scooping out the pulp and juice while keeping the half orange peel in tact is time consuming. I prefer to serve the finished puree in a lovely serving dish or bowl.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lb yams, scrubbed and not peeled
juice and pulp of 4 large oranges (about 2 1/2 c)
4 t freshly minced ginger root
1/2 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
1/2 c chopped pecans and some whole pecans for garnish
2 T butter, (optional)
Steps
Pierce the skins with a fork or knife in several places. Bake the yams at 375° F directly on a rack in the center of the oven. No need to preheat. Tip: in order to save clean up from dripping yam syrup, place foil on a rack below the rack with the yams. Bake until very soft and dripping with syrup, about 1 1/2 hours. If the yams are soft but not dripping, they are not done.
Let the yams cool enough to handle. Peel the yams. Do not throw away the peels! They are the sweetest and healthiest part of the yam! Either enjoy them with your assistant chefs, as a cooking reward, or reserve them for delicious additions to soup.
Combine the remainder of the ingredients and mix well with a high speed mixer until creamy. Mix in Pecans.
Either refill orange halves with yam puree or pour into serving dish. Garnish with pecans and serve hot.
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
4 lb. about 6 average sized yams, scrubbed, unpeeled and quartered
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
4 ribs celery, washed, leaves cut off and halved
2 oz. fresh ginger root, peeled and quartered
3 c water
1/2 c cashew butter
2 c rice dream or milk
Tamari or soy sauce
Cayenne pepper
Coconut for garnish
Steps
Place garlic,yams,onion, celery and ginger and water in a large pot or Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain low boil. Cook until all of the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
When vegetables are cooked, remove them to food processor. This is best done using a slotted spoon or soup strainer.
Puree the vegetables until creamy smooth. If you have a 14 cup food processor or smaller, you will have to puree in 2 batches. Simply puree the first half of the vegetables, and then remove to a bowl. Puree the second half of the vegetables. Then add the cashew butter and milk to the processor and whirl again until smooth. Return mixture to the pot along with the first half of the puree.
Mix well until all of the puree is well blended with the cooking water. Add tamari or soy sauce and cayenne to taste.
This Lasagne is very delicious and it has substantially less saturated fat and calories than most traditional lasagnes. Using whole wheat pasta and a lot of veges makes it even more tasty than conventional lasagne and much more healthy.
Ease:
involved
Type:
entree
Prep Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
about 2 hours
Yield:
8-10 servings
Cook's notes
When choosing a tomato sauce, make sure that it is low sodium and low sugar and that it does not have a preservatives or chemicals. For a half cup serving,it should not have more than 280 mg sodium or 5 g of sugars. I like Amy's low sodium Marinara (not certified kosher). Also, I haven't tried it yet, but Whole Foods makes, under the 365 brand, Organic Fat free pasta sauce that looks pretty good. It has 8 g sugars, but according to the ingredients listed, they are not occurring from added sweeteners but rather from carrot powder. It is circle u Kosher.
Soymage makes a very nice vegan parmesan. However, it is not kosher. If you are cooking kosher and cannot find vegan parmesan, you can just omit it from the recipe and the lasagne will still be delicious.
Ingredients
1 stalk broccoli
scant 1/2 lb carrots
2 large zucchinis
3 celery ribs
1 onion
2 1/2 lb mushrooms
1/3 c safflower or canola oil
3 lb sliced fresh tomatoes or 2, 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes.
1 lb whole wheat lasagne noodles (I like Westbrae circle u kosher)
1/1/2 lb cottage cheese (low fat preferable)
2 large eggs
1/2 t nutmeg
1/3 c vegan parmesan
4 oz farmers cheese and 4 oz mozzarella cheese
Steps
Step 1 Roast Vegetables
Pre-heat oven to 450° F and position rack in lower third of oven. Use bake and not convection. Wash and cut broccoli, carrots, zucchinis, celery, onion, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. Carrots and broccoli need to be cut into 1" pieces and the remainder 2" pieces or cubes. Place in large roasting pan and toss with oil. If using canned tomatoes, do not roast. Roast for 20 minutes and stir, scraping up the browned vegetables from the pan. Continue roasting about another 20 minutes until the vegetables are just tender, still a little bit crunchy and browned. Do not let the vegetables get mushy. Remove from oven and set aside. If using canned tomatoes, toss in when vegetables cool using only a few tablespoons of juice.
Step 2, Cook the Lasagne Noodles
Cook the lasagne noodles according to package instructions.Make sure that the noodles are very al dente. Set aside in cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking to one another.
Step 3 Shred cheese and Prepare Filling
In food processor, shred cheese using medium shredding blade. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Don't bother washing processor bowl and whirl cottage cheese, eggs, nutmeg and parmesan together. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside.
Step 4 Assemble the Lasagne
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Do not use convection. Arrange a layer of noodles on the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan. Spread 1/3 of cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over cottage cheese mixture. Layer 1/3 of roast vegetables over cheese. Again layer noodles, cottage cheese and vegetables, two more times omitting the cheese. Finish with a layer of noodles. Spread with the remainder of the cheese.
Cover the pan with parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake another 15 minutes until bubbly and golden. Remove and let stand 15 minutes before serving.
If more convenient for you, such as preparing for a party, after the lasagne is assembled, it can be stored in the refrigerator for several hours before baking. In other words, you could make and assemble the lasagne the night before a dinner party. Then bake before the party. Since you are putting a cold lasagne in the oven, bake and extra 15 minutes covered.
If you are using very sweet, flavorful peaches, you can omit the lemon and honey/agave. Only use the lemon and honey/agave if you are trying to get rid of not so wonderful peaches that do not have a good enough flavor to eat raw.
Ingredients
1 c date sugar
1 c rolled oats or oat flour
3/4 c safflower oil
5 lb fresh peaches
2 T arrowroot powder
1/2 t almond extract
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 c agave syrup or honey (Optional)
3 T lemon juice (optional)
Steps
Slice peaches into 1/2" wedges.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix together peaches, agave or honey and lemon only if needed, almond extract, nutmeg and arrowroot. Set aside.
Mix together date sugar, oat flour and oil. Press half of the mixture into a 9" x 13" baking pan.
Stir the Peach mixture one more time and spread evenly over the oat mixture in the pan. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over peach mixture.
Cover pan with parchment paper and then foil and bake 50 minutes until the top is well browned. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
When choosing a tomato sauce, make sure that it is low sodium and low sugar and that it does not have a preservatives or chemicals. For a half cup serving,it should not have more than 280 mg sodium or 5 g of sugars. I like Amy's low sodium Marinara (not kosher certified.) Also, I haven't tried it yet, but Whole Foods makes, under the 365 brand, Organic Fat free pasta sauce that looks pretty good. It has 8 g sugars, but according to the ingredients listed, they are not occurring from added sweeteners but rather from carrot powder. It is circle u Kosher.
Soymage makes a very nice vegan parmesan. However, it is not kosher. If you are cooking kosher and cannot find vegan parmesan, you can just omit it from the recipe, add a couple dashes of salt to the tofu filling, and the lasagne will still be delicious.
Ingredients
1 stalk broccoli
scant 1/2 lb carrots
2 large zucchinis
3 celery ribs
1 onion
2 1/2 lb mushrooms
1/3 c safflower or canola oil
1 lb whole wheat lasagne noodles (I like Westbrae circle u kosher)
7 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 lb Firm tofu
2 t Italian herbs
1/2 t nutmeg
1/3c vegan Parmesan
3 T olive oil
0 - 2 T water
Pre-heat oven to 450*F and position rack in lower third of oven. Use bake and not convection. Wash and cut broccoli, carrots,zucchinis, celery, onion, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. Carrots and broccoli need to be cut into 1" pieces and the remainder 2" pieces or cubes. Place in large roasting pan and toss with oil. If using canned tomatoes, do not roast. Roast for 20 minutes and stir, scraping up the browned vegetables from the pan. Continue roasting about another 20 minutes until the vegetables are just tender, still a little bit crunchy and browned. Do not let the vegetables get mushy. Remove from oven and set aside. If using canned tomatoes, toss in when vegetables cool, using only a few tablespoons of juice.
Step 2, Cook the Lasagne Noodles
Cook the lasagne noodles according to package instructions. Make sure that the noodles are very al dente. Set aside in cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking to one another.
Step 3 Prepare Tofu Filling
In food processor, whirl garlic cloves until finely minced. Remove about half of the garlic and toss in with the roasted vegetables. Leave the other half of the garlic in the processing bowl. Add tofu, Italian herbs, nutmeg, parmesan, olive oil and whirl until smooth. Whirl in just enough water to make the mixture creamy enough to spread easily.
Step 4 Assemble the Lasagne
Preheat the oven to 375*F. Do not use convection. Arrange a layer of noodles on the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan. Spread 1/3 of tofu mixture over noodles. Layer 1/3 of roast vegetables over tofu. Spread a generous layer of sauce over vegetables. Again layer noodles, tofu, vegetables and tomato sauce in the same fashion two more times. Finish with a layer of noodles. Spread with a final generous layer of tomato sauce.
Cover the pan with parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for about another 15 min. The lasagne should be bubbly. Remove and let stand 15 minutes before serving.
If more convenient for you, such as preparing for a party, after the lasagne is assembled, it can be stored in the refrigerator for several hours before baking. In other words, you could make and assemble the lasagne the night before a dinner party. Then bake before the party. Since you are putting a cold lasagne in the oven, bake and extra 15 minutes covered.
