Friday's Menu
Lead chefs: Rick and Alison Scarfe
Dessert prepared by: Dave and Renee Connelly

• Summer Harvest Lasagna
• Orange Salad Dressing
• Creamy Dill Salad Dressing
• Bread Sticks
• Fudgie Oatmeal Brownies

• Potato-Tomato Bake
• Green Salad and Dressing
• Fruit Salad
• Italian-Style Green Beans
• Chocolate Ginger Snap Cookies

• Garlicky Mashed Potatoes
• Asian Greens
• Lentil Loaf
• Sunshine Carrots
• Banana-Strawberry "Ice Cream" Sorbet
• Frozen Blueberry Tofu

For one 9"x13" pan:
1/2 lb. lasagna noodles cooked as directed
2-3 jars favorite spaghetti sauce, or equivalent amount of homemade sauce
4 summer squash or zucchini thinly sliced
1 lb mushrooms sliced

"Spinach Cheese:"
3 1-lb frozen packages chopped spinach
3 boxes silken firm tofu
about 6 green onions
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbl. oregano
9 cloves garlic
one handful of parsley

Mix the spinach cheese ingredients until well blended (food processor works really well: divide ingredients into thirds and make three batches).

Spread enough sauce to cover bottom of pan. Lay out one layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 "cheese" mixture over noodles. Layer 1/2 vegetables on top. Repeat. Add top layer of noodles, and cover again with sauce. Cover pan with foil, and bake at 350 degrees until hot in the middle (about 1 hour).

For the retreat, I made 2 roasting pans and about 3/4 of it was eaten.
The ingredients were:
2 lbs lasagna noodles

Sauce: saute in pot with oil to prevent sticking
1/2 head of garlic
3 onions chopped

Add and simmer for 1 hour:

5 14.5oz cans whole tomatoes, chopped
2 12 oz. cans tomato paste
4 15oz cans tomato sauce
8 bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c oregano

"spinach cheese"
8 1-lb frozen packages chopped spinach
8 boxes silken tofu
5 bunches parsley
5 bunches green onions
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c oregano
1/2 head garlic

Used large package mushrooms - should have had 4 packages
12 yellow squash

PLEASE REMOVE THE BAY LEAVES if they were used from the sauce, before assembling the lasagna!!!

Follow above directions to assemble the lasagna. The amounts of seasonings listed above are an educated guess since I did not measure any of it. Therefore, please taste the sauce and "spinach cheese" and adjust seasonings. You want the sauce and filling to be highly seasoned since the noodles and vegetables will "dilute" the taste. I used almost a whole 3 oz bottle of oregano in the lasagna. For the sauce, I would add more whole tomatoes, and use less tomato sauce, to make it more chunky.

Two pans could fit in the oven, on two racks. Half way through baking, they must be switched, to make sure they are both heated evenly.

At the retreat, I did not cover the lasagna with foil. If it was, I think that the squash would have cooked more.
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Orange Salad Dressing
1 c fresh squeezed orange juice
3 dates
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice
2 Tbl raw tahini
2 cloves garlic

Blend well, and let sit for several hours.

We tripled the recipe and had too much left over.
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Creamy Dill Salad Dressing
Modified from Abbot George Burke's "Simply Heavenly!" 1997

1 box silken firm tofu
2 Tbl. wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
water to thin (leave out the water and it would make excellent veggie dip)
1 Tbl dill weed
1 cloves garlic
1 Tbl onion
1 tsp. tubinado
juice from 1 lemon

Put all ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth. After blending, add small amount of water, blend, etc. until the right consistency is achieved.

I doubled the recipe and had leftovers. You may need to add additional water when using the next day if it gets too thick.

For the retreat, I put in a small chunk of onion into the processor along with the other ingredients (no extra chopping needed).
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Bread Sticks
"Moosewood Cookbook" 2nd ed. by Mollie Katzen

Bread recipe from Calzone recipe which I slightly modified (The above "Spinach Cheese" recipe used in the lasagna would be an excellent filling for calzones. Mollie uses a non-vegan filling recipe.)

2 1/2 - 3 c unbleached flower
1 c wrist warm water
1 Tbl turbinado (or sweetener of your choice)
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of dry active yeast
Olive oil
Garlic- fresh or powder

Mix water, salt, sweetener in a bowl, until all dissolved. Mix in the flour, first using a whisk. When the dough gets too thick, start kneading the dough on a mat. Knead for 5 minutes. Place dough ball in a bowl, rub the top with olive oil, and cover with a towel. Place in a warm spot, and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Punch down dough. Cut off pieces of the dough, form "Sticks" and place on oiled cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Brush sticks with olive oil garlic mixture.

For the retreat, I tripled the recipe and used 3 packets of yeast. Also, do not put the bread on the lowest rack setting- they got too brown on the bottom. The tops also didn't brown very well. They were also a bit too tough- which may be due to too much kneading, or too much handling when making the bread sticks.

There was none left over.
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Fudgie Oatmeal Brownies
Adapted by Renee & Dave Connelly from a recipe in Jeanette P. Egan's "Healthy High-Fiber Cooking".

Makes 32 Brownies

3 c Boiling water
2 c Rolled oats
2 c All purpose flour
2/3 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Sea salt
Prepared Ener-G (equivalent of 4 eggs)
1 c Soy margarine
2 c Turbinado sugar
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 bag Cloud Nine or Sun Spire chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Soak oats in bowl of water, let stand. In 2nd bowl, mix flour, cocoa, soda, salt. In 3rd (large) bowl, mix Ener-G (as per box), add margarine, sugar, vanilla. Add oats to large bowl and stir.

Add flour/cocoa mixture and stir. Pour batter into two greased 13" x 9" baking pans. Top with chocolate chips. Bake about 25 minutes or until springy.
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Potato-Tomato Bake
From the cookbook "Ecological Cooking" by Joanne Stepaniak and Kathy Hecker

The following recipe serves 6. Multiply by five to serve 30 people.

6 med. Potatoes, diced
3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chunked (although we didn't peel them) or 3 drained, canned tomatoes chunked
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 c. sliced scallions
1 medium onion, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
*1 tsp oregano
*2 tsp basil
*(however, we used fresh oregano along with mixed italian seasoning (they have this at most grocery stores) and dried basil)

Combine all ingredients, stirring to mix well. Place in lightly oiled 3-qt casserole dish. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more. (We noted that the food took a few minutes longer than this...because there was so much in the oven. Our dishes took about 10-15 extra minutes.)
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Green Salad
mixed lettuce
raw corn
cucumbers
alfalfa sprouts
mixed sprouts

Salad Dressing
Nearly two jars of sesame tahini, some distilled water, and freshly squeezed lemons (maybe 4?) mixed in the food processor in batches. Water was added by sensory information (taste, appearance, etc.). No specific amounts of water, although a rough guide would be to use approximately 50% tahini, 45% water, and 5% fresh lemon juice.
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Fruit Salad
Assorted raw fruit, chopped. Mostly organically grown ingredients were used.
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Italian-Style Green Beans
3 red onions
3 red peppers
green beans (we used about 7 cans but you could use fresh too)
olive oil for sauteeing

We sauteed the onions and peppers in olive oil until tender. Then, we added the green beans and cooked them until warm (obviously fresh green beans would require more cooking). Serve.
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Chocolate Ginger Snaps
Adapted from Mollie Katzen's "Still Life With Menu Cookbook"

The following recipe makes approx 3 dozen cookies. We made a double batch for the retreat.

1/2 cup (1 stick) Willow Run soy margarine
1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar (we used turbinado)
6 tbs brown sugar (we used additional turbinado)
3 tbs molasses
1 egg substitute (we used 2 tbs water mixed with 2 tbs corn starch)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached white flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet.

Cream the margarine with a mixer. Drizzle in melted chocolate, and beat well. (Ideally, use an electric mixer at high speed.) Add sugars, molasses, and egg substitute. Beat several more minutes. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Stir this into the first mixture. Mix with a large spoon thoroughly but briefly (just enough to combine).

Lightly flour your hands, and form 1-inch balls. Place them about 2 inches apart on the greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on a rack.
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Garlicky Mashed Potatoes
Adapted from Veggies Unite! (www.vegweb.com), contributed by lgreenwood@vixa.voyager.net

4 med potatoes serves 5-6 (my estimate)

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2. Split a large head of garlic in half (without removing peel), and drizzle with a teaspoonful of oil; cover tightly with foil and bake 30-40 min.

3. Peel and chop 4 organic Russett potatoes into eighths (if large, otherwise quarters), cover with cold water in a pan, and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat, partially covered, 15-20 min until tender to the fork (fork should readily go in). Drain, saving the liquid.

4. When the garlic is done, cool it until it is easy to handle, then squeeze out the softened garlic.

5. Mash the potatoes with the garlic, 3 T margarine, 1 t salt (more to taste), and 1/2 t white pepper (more to taste). Add enough of the potato liquid back to get the potatoes to your desired consistency (optionally substitute with some or all rice or soy milk).

6. Serve topped with chopped chives or green onions - (if dried chives, 1 1/2 - 2 T or so).

7. You can also try this with a sweet potato substituted for one of the Russets to add color. You can use the potato water and vegetable peels as the base for soup stock.

Since 4 med potatoes serve 5-6 (my estimate), then the following is how I calculated the ingrediants for 35 people:

35 people/5 = 7 times 4 potatoes = 28 potatoes
7 x 3 t garlic = 21 t
7 x 3 T olive oil = 21 T

It's important to cook potatoes in 3 or 4 different pots as trying to cook them in one pot will take an exponentially longer time.
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Asian Greens
Serves 4 small sides

2 bunches greens
2 t ginger
3 t garlic
2 T sesame oil
2 T tamari

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Steam greens for approx 10 mins. Then toss greens w/mixture.

For the retreat, we used the following ingrediants for 36 people:

18 bunches greens
24 t garlic (equiv. to 8 T)
14 t ginger
14 T sesame oil
14 T tamari

You'll need to cook a few batches. I'd estimate cook time at app. 10 mins., but it depends on how done you like them.
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Lentil Loaf
Adapted from Veg Times

Serves 4 large/6 small

1 diced onion
2 T oil
4 oz shrooms,ground to a meal
1/2 c almonds, ground to a meal
2.5 c cooked red lentils (approx 1.25 uncooked)
1 slice bread (1/2 c crumbs)
1/2 t Italian seasoning
2 T nutritional yeast
egg substitute (6 t = 4 eggs)
1/4 c each tamari/water

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil loaf pan. Cook lentils. Mix bread crumbs, seasoning, yeast, tamari/water and egg substitute. Dice onions. Grind shrooms and almonds separately. Saute onions in oil in skillet for app. 5 mins. Add shrooms til moisture released. Add almond meal and mix. Add cooked lentils. Mix and put in loaf pan to bake for app. 40 mins. Til browned.

For 48 people/6 = 8 times each ingrediant (extra since it is so good and the central item, people will want extra and it's a good leftover)

8 onions
16 T oil
32 oz shrooms
4 c almonds
20 c (10 c uncooked) lentils
8 slices bread
4 t Italian seasoning
16 T yeast
48 t (16 T = 16 oz) egg subs
2 c ea: tamari/water
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Sunshine Carrots
Adapted from Vegetarian Way

Serves 4

5 med. Carrots
1 T turbinado
1 t cornstarch
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 c orange juice
2 T olive oil

For 36 people: 4 x 9 times = 36

5 x 9 = 45 carrots
1 t cornstarch x 9 = 9 t (3 T)
7-9 T turb
1.5 t (or more to taste) ginger
1/4 c oj x 9 = 2.25 c
2 T oil x 9 = 18 T

Cut carrots on the bias in 1" chunks. Cook, covered, in boiling salted water, until just tender, about 20 mins. And drain. In a saucepan, mix turbinado, cornstarch, ginger and salt. Add juice. Cook over low heat, stirring til mixture is thick and bubbly. Boil 1 min, then stir in oil. Toss w/carrots.
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Banana-Strawberry "Ice Cream" Sorbet
This and the following recipe are derived from The Vegan Handbook ed. by Debra Wasserman and Reed Mangels from the Vegetarian Resource Group.

Makes 3 1/2 cups

4 bananas (frozen ahead of time peeled)
3/4 cup lite soy milk
1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained (I used organic, also you can use raspberries)
1/4 cup apple juice

Measure and puree in a food processor or into a blender. Freeze in a container. Take out and stir/blend/puree again and refreeze and stir, etc, to desired smoothness or as time allows. I bought a large bag of organic strawberries at the health food store for the large number of people, and bought a few bunches of bananas to ripen ahead of time. Trust your own freezing process because ice cream makers don't hold enough, just quart by quart unless you are in the habit of using one and have a small number.
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Frozen Blueberry Tofu
Makes 4 cups

4 cups frozen blueberries
1/4 cup lite soy milk
1/2 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 pound soft tofu

Measure and puree into a blender or food processor. I added some turbinado sugar to taste(amount may vary). Freeze in a container. Take out and stir/blend/puree, refreeze, stir, etc, until desired smoothness and frozen or as time allows. I used organic blueberries from the health food store frozen.