New Recipe!

So my brothers off to college and now I have freedom over all dinners. I cane ven use tofu now without him freaking out. But it is very strange and quiet without him here.

I made the simplest lunch. I sauted whole shitake mushroom caps and spinach. Then I thinly sliced a tomato. I layered them on whole wheat bread to create this sandwich.











Rigatoni with zucchini and eggplant

I have wanted to try this dish forever. I got it from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. I can not find the direct link so I am re-typeing the recipe.


1 large zucchini -- sliced in 1/4" half moons
1/2 medium eggplant -- cubed
1 large onion -- chopped
1 bell pepper -- seeded & chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
3 tablespoons water -- (more as needed)
12-14 ounces tofu -- (lowfat) mashed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil (divided)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (divided)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes -- (optional)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt -- (divided)
8 ounces pasta -- rigatoni or other small tubular pasta
two 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes (fire roasted, if available)
3 tablespoons tomato pastesoy Parmesan (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Boil pasta according to package directions, cooking until just barely tender (a little undercooked is better than overcooked). When it's done, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta.

While the pasta's cooking, sauté the eggplant, zucchini, onions, bell pepper and garlic in 2 tbsp. water in a nonstick pan over medium heat, adding more water if needed to prevent sticking. When the vegetables are tender, add the reserved pasta cooking water, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. oregano, the rosemary, 1 tsp. salt, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; stir, and keep warm.

Combine the mashed tofu with the pine nuts, parsley, nutritional yeast, and remaining basil (1 teaspoon), oregano (1/2 t.), salt(1/2 t.), and red pepper flakes. Stir the cooked rigatoni into the tofu.

Lightly coat a 4-quart casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spread a thin layer of the vegetable mixture over the bottom (you just want a little sauce there to keep the pasta from sticking). Place a layer of half the pasta mixture, then cover with half the sautéed vegetables; repeat layers.

Cover the casserole and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with soy Parmesan cheese, if you want.


Cooking the veggies and sauce.














The tofu and nutritional yeast mixture tasted like cheese!














Rigatoni out of the oven.




























My whole family really enjoyed this recipe. It's a good way to hide tofu. I halved the amount of zucchini and added half a squash. I did not have fire roasted tomatoes so I used regular canned ones. I also did not add soy parmesan at the end. All and all it was a successful recipe!