Oven-baked Spinach Mushroom Penne Arrabiata

We had a friend over last night to cook dinner, and my roommate Kyle wanted to make these lasagna roll-ups he'd recently had that were apparently amazingly good. So I improvised my own little oven-baked pasta dish that was along the lines of the one he was making, with spinach, mushrooms, a spicy red sauce, and a faux spiced ricotta cheese made from tofu. All of them said that mine actually looked pretty good (although none of them tried it), and while the tofu did not necessarily imitate cheese in its flavor, the texture definitely rounded out the dish and the spices in it were flavorful in their own right.

Oven-baked Spinach Mushroom Penne Arrabiata Serves 2 - 3

For the faux ricotta cheese:
1/2 package extra firm tofu
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. lemon juice

For the pasta:
1 cup brown rice penne (I used Tinkyada)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. garlic
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped coarsely
1 small can Portobello mushrooms, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups of your favorite gluten-free tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Vegan Grated Parmesan Topping

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes so that it is still very al dente. Remove from heat, drain, and rinse. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a small food processor, blend the tofu, spices, and lemon juice together until very creamy. Add more spices to taste, if desired. Set aside.

Place a tablespoon of olive oil and garlic in a saute pan and cook over medium heat for 3 - 5 minutes. Add the chopped spinach and cook another 2 - 3 minutes until it is wilted but still bright green. Remove from the pan and set aside. Pour the 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce into the pan and add the pepper, garlic salt, basil, oregano, thyme, and pepper flakes, adjusting the amounts to your own taste. Heat the sauce for 5 - 10 minutes until the desired flavor has developed. Pour the cooked pasta into the sauce and toss to coat.

In a small baking dish, layer the spinach-mushroom mixture, pasta with sauce, and the faux ricotta, sprinkling in Vegan Parmesan Topping over each layer of faux ricotta. Feel free to sprinkle liberal amounts of your favorite spices into the dish as well, if you like. End with a layer of faux ricotta with Vegan Parmesan Topping sprinkled over it.

Cover the dish and bake at 375F for 30 - 35 minutes. Serve with more parmesan topping, if desired.

Chutney-Topped Tofu Curry Cheesecake

Do NOT let yourself be put off this dish just because the name has the word "tofu" in it. If you like curry, you will love this. If you hate tofu, it doesn't matter because you won't taste any! The flavor is immense, and there is a perfect balance between the curry cheesecake and the delicious ginger mango chutney that is slathered over the top of it. I had to force myself to stop eating it, to be honest, but only because there were other people at the table who wanted some. I cannot emphasize the word "force" enough in that sentence,though! Heidi and Ben did a fabulous job with this appetizer.



Chutney-Topped Tofu Curry Cheesecake

1 cup unsalted raw cashews, finely ground
1 8-oz. package regular or tofu cream cheese (Heidi used Tofutti brand)
1 8-oz. package silken tofu
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup mango chutney

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly oil the inside of a 7-inch spring-form pan. Spread the ground cashews over the bottom of the pan and use your hands to press them into an even layer. Place the pan in the oven until cashew crust is lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the nuts. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a food processor or using a hand mixer, process or beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the tofu, cornstarch, curry powder, salt, and cayenne, and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Cover with aluminum foil, making several holes in the foil for steam to escape. Place a trivet, rack, or a small heatproof bowl in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour an inch of boiling water into the bottom of the cooker. Place the foil-covered spring-form pan on top of the trivet, cover, and cook on Low for 4 hours.

Take the pan out of the cooker, remove the foil, and let it stand until cool. Once cool, cover and refrigerate for at least several hours or overnight. Let cool completely before removing the pan.

To serve, remove the sides of the pan, using a knife to loosen it if necessary. Spread the top of the cheesecake with the chutney and serve with crackers. We used Hazelnut Nut Thins, but the curry cheesecake is so strongly flavored that it probably does not matter too much what you serve this with.

Marinated Moroccan Tofu/Chicken with Dried Fruit Topping

This was originally a recipe for Moroccan Chicken with Dried Fruit and Olive Topping, but I don't like olives, and in the spirit of the vegan-ness of the dinner the other night, I substituted tofu for the meat. So, this is no longer the *most* authentic ethnic dish, but that did not make it any less delicious! Feel free to substitute 1/2 cup of chopped, pitted green olives for 1/2 cup of the dried fruit, should you so desire. And obviously, you could substitute chicken for the tofu as well - but you don't need to. And don't let the length of this recipe fool you; this is a piece of cake to prepare and is sure to please!

Marinated Moroccan Tofu with Dried Fruit Topping

Serves 6-8

3-5 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 -1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 packages extra firm tofu, with water drained and pressed for at least 20-30 min. (see below)
1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice
6 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 cup chopped onion
4 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 1/2 cup dried mixed fruit (I used figs, apricots, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, papaya, and mango)
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup vegetable broth OR fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives (completely optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper


For the marinated tofu:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

To drain the tofu: Drain water from the package of tofu, and place it on a paper towel on a level surface. Take another paper towel and press down to get some of the water out. Replace both paper towels, adding a few more underneath and on top of the tofu, and put a plate with a large book onto the tofu and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes until the water has been pressed out of it. Slice it into 1/2-inch thick pieces (I ended up with about 8 pieces per piece of tofu).

In a small bowl, put the 4 tbsp. olive oil, and all of the spices through the thyme. Mix well. Dip each piece of tofu into the oil mixture and hold it over the bowl for a minute or so to let the excess oil drip off. Place the piece of tofu onto a flat baking pan that has been covered in foil. Place the pan on the very bottom rack of the oven and bake the tofu on each side for about 10-15 min., or until each side is well-browned. Remove from oven; set aside.

For the rice:

Boil salted water for the Jasmine rice, and when it has boiled, add the rice, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin, and coriander. Bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down very low, cover, and steam for 20-30 minutes until done. Remove cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving.

For the dried fruit topping:

Chop the onion and place in a pot with 1 tbsp. olive oil and sauté for about 2 minutes, and as the onion starts to cook, add the minced garlic. When the onion begins to appear translucent, add the dried fruit, broth, wine, salt, and pepper (and olives, if you are using them). Bring to a soft boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to simmer until the sauce has thickened. I boiled mine for at least 20-25 minutes, but it is really a matter of taste. I think it takes much longer than what the original recipe called for (which was 5 minutes) for the flavors to mingle nicely enough.


To serve:

Spoon rice out onto a large serving plate and arrange the baked tofu (or chicken) slices over it nicely to serve, as seen above. Have the dried fruit compote in a nice serving dish so each person can spoon it over their tofu and rice.

**If you use chicken instead of tofu:

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, oregano, parsley, and thyme evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 4-10 minutes on each side or until done. When I made this with chicken, it seemed like it took forever to brown and get done in the middle, but we had very thick pieces. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm. Arrange over a bed of rice and serve in the same way as with the tofu.

The First of Many Vegan Gluten-Free Food Fests

Since my friend Katie just went vegan, and I just went gluten-free, we decided that a gluttonous food fest was in order to celebrate the wonderful food we can still eat and feel good afterwards. Several of us came together, each with a different piece of the meal.



We started with this amazingly delicious Tofu Curry Cheesecake, courtesy of Heidi and Ben. Well, actually, we started with some powerful wine punch (also courtesy of Heidi and Ben), which was accidentally made stronger by the addition of some home-brewed dandelion wine from Justin's uncle (which Katie thought was dessert wine - oops!), so by the time it was time to start appetizing, I know I was feeling pretty ready for some food to be in my stomach! This is a savory cheesecake that is cooked slowly in a crock-pot for anywhere from 4 to, in this case, 7 1/2 hours, and is then served with Mango Ginger Chutney slathered all over it. We ate it spread over Hazelnut Nut Thin crackers. All I can say is, wow. I don't think anyone who is not vegan or gluten-free could possibly complain about a lack of flavor in this appetizer.

We slowly moved on to the main course and salads as we drank wine and chatted. There were two fantastic salads that night. Tracy brought a mixed greens and veggie salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, and Suzuko and Greg brought a quinoa-chickpea salad.



They were both just as good as they look! Tracy's salad was full of crunchy, delicious bell peppers and tomatoes, and the quinoa-chickpea salad was so light and flavorful, I really could not get enough of it.

I brought marinated tofu with a Moroccan dried fruit compote and rice, which was originally a recipe for Moroccan chicken, but I think it transferred very smoothly to be a vegan and gluten-free recipe! The flavors came out nicely, and the slightly sweet flavor of the fruit compote balanced nicely with the spices used to marinate the tofu.




And last, but absolutely not least....dessert. These were divine lemon cheesecakes with sliced strawberries on top that Katie and Justin concocted. This one is the gluten-free cheesecake made specially for me (thanks, Katie!), but the others had little crusts on them. I know the picture is a little blurry (it was getting dark at that point in the evening), but believe me, the photo does not do justice to how good this tasted.



Clearly this will need to be an evening that is repeated often, given all the delicious dishes people came up with even with, and because of, the ingredient restrictions! I can't wait to see what the next one brings. I will follow this post with recipes soon!