As it often my way, I looked at an assortment of recipes and combined them into something I thought would work.  The “ricotta” is mostly a cross between two different recipes in Veganomicon.  My original plan was to mix in spinach, but since I had the chard, used that.  Good thing, too, because without it, I would have been pretty short on stuffing, so definitely pick a green, or if you can’t stand the idea of vegetables mixed in, make extra ricotta.  You could also modify this recipe slightly for lasagna, which would maybe be a little less fancy but also save the stuffing time, though you’d have a higher pasta ratio.

The end result was quite delicious and I would definitely like to make this again.  Leftovers have been fantastic.  Even with the work of stuffing the shells, it was still pretty fast, and the most time-consuming part was our friend M. (who is a wonderful person, but a little slow in the kitchen) tearing and washing the chard.  But if you use frozen greens, this is *really* fast.

Fresh out of the oven!

Stuffed Shells

for the stuffing

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 lb extra firm tofu, excess liquid pressed out
• handful basil leaves, chopped
• cooked, chopped, drained chard (or thawed, chopped, and drained package of frozen spinach)

for the chard

• 2 bunches chard or spinach or similar leafy green, rinsed and chopped/torn into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• olive oil

and

• 1 box giant pasta shells
• 1 quart tomato sauce (perhaps I will someday post my recipe, but you can use store-bought, too)

Do this

1. Cook the shells according to package directions in well-salted water.  Drain and rinse in cool water.
2. Cook the chard: Saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add chard, sprinkle with a little salt, and cover.  Stir as needed and when chard is darkened and cooked through, uncover to cook off excess liquid and/or squeeze it out.
3. Blend the first six stuffing ingredients thoroughly and transfer to bowl.  Crumble in tofu and mix well to ricotta-like texture.  Stir in the basil and chard and keep mixing until the greens are all through.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan with ~1/3 of the sauce, then fill the shells (I used a regular spoon) and line them up in the pan.  This recipe was just right to stuff enough shells to fill the pan, though I had a bunch of empty shells left over.  Maybe they give you extra to account for breakage?  I dunno.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the top.
5. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

All stuffed and ready to be sauced

]]> http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2011/06/20/stuffed-shells/feed/ 0 http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2007/09/23/maple-praline-pecan-ice-cream/ http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2007/09/23/maple-praline-pecan-ice-cream/#comments Sun, 23 Sep 2007 04:15:37 +0000 jude http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2007/09/23/maple-praline-pecan-ice-cream/ Over Labor Day weekend, my roommate and I hosted a barbecue, and since everyone knows I can’t host an event without some sort of schtick, I rented a tank of liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, and thus was born the Ice Cream Barbecue. Many of my friends are familiar with this method of freezing because of a long-running annual event that features the stuff, but I was unable to attend this year due to a theater gig, so this was my alternative. By the time the tank was gone, a total of 24 flavors had been made, and half of them were vegan! Which was, of course, awesome.

One of the flavors I made after the crowds were gone was this maple praline pecan. I found the praline recipe as part of another ice cream recipe and just winged it for the base. Don’t be fooled by how embarrassingly easy it is! Even cow’s milk folks loved this stuff and many assumed it was dairy even knowing I’d made it.

In addition to the recipe, I’ve also included a (very) brief run-down of various ways to freeze ice cream.

Maple Praline Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients

Base

• One can coconut milk (unsweetened — just the regular kind)
• One pint plain soy creamer (I used Silk)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (plus or minus)

Blend or mix until smooth. Taste and adjust maple syrup as needed: you should be able to taste it and the blend should be a just a little sweeter than you’d prefer, since it will feel less sweet when frozen. Different maples will have different levels of flavor and sweetness. I always use Grade B.

Pralines

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. oil
• pinch salt
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Boil everything except the pecans together for 2-3 minutes in a small saucepan until the mixture visibly thickens. Add the pecans and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is almost all gone and just coats the pecans in gooey goodness. Spread out in a thin layer on parchment or wax paper to cool completely. Break up with your hands.

Using your preferred method*, freeze the base. When it is almost done, but still soft enough to mix, mix in the pralines and finish freezing. I also added a ribbon of maple syrup with final stirs.

Scoop and eat. So yummy.
*Freezing Methods (in brief)

1. Liquid nitrogen is, in my opinion, the most fun way to freeze. Put the mix in a large metal bowl or plastic bucket and, wearing work or winter gloves to protect your hands, pour in some LN2 and mix using a large, sturdy metal spoon. Keep adding more LN2 as needed.
2. Use an ice cream maker if you have one. I shouldn’t need to explain this one — follow the directions it came with.
3. The ice & rock salt method can be done even without special equipment beyond plastic bags. Put the ice cream mix in a double later of quart-sized zip-top bags, then put that inside a gallon bag. Add a mix of ice and salt to the outer bag, seal, and shake around until frozen. Google around for more details.
4. As a las resort, just pour your mix into a 9×13 baking pan and put that in the freezer. Every 20-30 minutes, take it out and mix the mix well to reduce ice crystals.

I found the re-posted recipe that I based this on in the VeganCooking LiveJournal Community, but I don’t know who the original author is. It is certainly similar to some recipes I’ve seen in books, so it could be anyone. If you’re out there, thank you!

Mac and (Not)Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 cups soymilk (or other nondairy milk of choice) (water will do in a pinch)
• 4 oz. pimentos ( 1 small jar)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 heaping tbsp yeast flakes
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp cornstarch or flour
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• A few shots of hot sauce (I like Melinda’s XXXtra Hot)
• 1 lb pasta of your choice
• 1 head broccoli, chopped and steamed until crisp-tender
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas

Blend the first ten items (that’s everything but the pasta and greens) in a blender until smooth. Cook in a saucepan over medium heat until thickened, whisking or stirring frequently. Meanwhile, cook the pasta and broccoli.

Pour the sauce over the drained pasta and mix well, then stir in the broccoli and peas. Serve with a sprinkle of paprika and eat. Then have seconds.

This dish also works well with spinach, but if the greens are too much for you, you can just leave them all out. There is no guilt with this stuff, so do what you like.