Dinner, Wednesday October 14.

Tonight I felt more motivated to make something complex. I also wanted to make something that would have leftovers that I’d actually want to eat since I know I’ll need something quick for tomorrow’s dinner. Although we just had pasta over the weekend, I was craving some kind of baked pasta dish. So I made manicotti.

First, tomato sauce. I like to keep the sauce really simple- tomato juice that my parents made, some tomato paste to thicken it, some garlic and oregano. I sautee the garlic first in olive oil, then add the other stuff and simmer it for a while. My parents make this amazing tomato sauce using the same juice, and I’ve never quite been able to replicate it. I think it’s because they let theirs simmer over low heat for a really long time. I’m always in too much of a hurry and resort to tomato paste instead. It’s still damn good though. It’s no wonder I can’t stand most jarred pasta sauces, having grown up eating sauce made with this wonderful fresh tomato juice! Even if I don’t have any of the juice on hand I’ll make a quick sauce with canned pureed tomatoes, which works well too.

On to the filling. 8oz baby bella mushrooms, two roasted red peppers, one onion. Chopped the mushrooms up small by hand, and then decided to break out the food processor for the onion and peppers. Cooked everything with a bit of salt and pepper and olive oil until soft.

The second part of the filling- tofu! This is a sort of ricotta-replacement if you want to think of it that way, that then gets mixed with the cooked veggies. I use firm tofu (made in Philly, hooray!), mush it up with my hands, and then start adding stuff until it tastes good. This time I included tamari, tahini, powdered garlic and onion, nutritional yeast, almond meal, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red peppers, a little brown mustard. I meant to add fresh basil but forgot! Anyway, this is the kind of thing I make for ravioli filling too. There are lots of recipes out there for tofu ricotta, many of which I think are very bland. (Like this one. Seriously? A mere teaspoon of dried basil for a whole pound of tofu? Dried basil is practically flavorless anyway! And “optional” 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder?!” Jeez).

Ok, time to assemble! It’s been a while since I’ve made manicotti, so I started out trying to stuff them with a spoon. I quickly gave up on that idea and just used my hands. I coated the bottom of the baking pan with tomato sauce, to keep them from sticking, and also poured more tomato sauce on top. Then grated vegan cheese tops everything off, and into the oven. All the ingredients are pretty much cooked already, so I ended up taking it out of the oven and just putting it under the broiler to melt the cheese quickly.

Served with a mixed greens salad with carrots, pickled red onions, tomato (from the CSA), flax seeds, and a creamy dressing made from Veganaise, apple cider vinegar, Green Goddess spice mix, and onion powder.