Ziti or Penne pasta

Canned Pumpkin Puree (4 cans)

Vegetable broth (just one can's ok)

~2 cups of cashews? possible?

4 lbs tofu

1 cup lemon juice

a ton of bread crumbs: we'll probably just use a bunch of bread

4 c. mayonaise

dijon mustard

chicken breasts (16 whole, 32 halves)

scallions/green onions

2 cups of horseradish

fresh tarragon?

20 lbs or so of Kale

Red onions

dried hot pepper flakes

red wine vinegar

shitload of garlic (oh man can we get pre-peeled ones if that's not too expensive?)

Almond extract

Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Vegan Pumpkin Ziti Casserole

Cashew ricotta (makes 2 cups):

Sage bread crumbs:

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease a 9×11 or 9×13-inch lasagna pan with olive oil. Prepare ziti according to package directions. Drain, rinse, drain again and set aside.

While ziti is cooking, make the caramelized onions: preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Saute onions in oil until some onion bits are very brown and caramelized, about 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside.

Make the cashew ricotta: In a food processor, blend together the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic until a thick creamy paste forms. Add the crumbled tofu to the food processor, working in batches if necessary, until the mixture is thick and well blended. Blend in the basil and salt.

Place cashew ricotta in large bowl and fold in pumpkin puree, brown sugar, nutmeg, white pepper, cayenne, and vegetable broth. Add the cooked ziti and the caramelized onions. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and level with a spatula, pressing slightly.

Make the bread crumb topping: Melt margarine or heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Stir in the bread crumbs, dried herbs, and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Stir constantly until the mixture is lightly coated, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and spread over pasta mixture.

Bake 28 to 30 minutes, until the top of the ziti is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chicken Breasts with Horseradish-Scallion Crust

yield: Serves ~30

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a bowl whisk together mustard and mayonnaise until combined well.

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in very large skillet until hot but not smoking and brown chicken, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a shallow baking dish and pour off all but about 2 teaspoons oil from skillet.

Add scallion to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in bread crumbs, horseradish, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread mayonnaise mixture on skin side of each chicken breast and top evenly with bread crumb mixture. Bake chicken in middle of oven 10 minutes, Probably more until cooked through, and let stand 5 minutes.

Sauteed Kale

• ~20 pounds kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded and leaves cut into 1-inch-wide strips (~160 cups)

Preparation

Cook kale in two very large pots of boiling salted water , uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 10 minutes, then drain in a colander.

Heat oil in a some heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to moderate, then add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and salt.

Chocolate Cake

Olive oil and flour for the pan

1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I use Droste)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

6 large eggs plus 2 egg yolk, at room temperature

1 1/3 cup olive oil

2 2/3 cups sugar

½ cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 325°F. Generously oil two 8x2-inch round cake pans (or 8-1/2-inch springform pans) with olive oil and line the bottom of the pan with parchment or waxed paper. Oil the paper and dust it lightly with flour.

In a small saucepan, boil about 1/2 cup of water. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder through a strainer over a small bowl. Stir 6 Tbs. of the boiling water into the cocoa until it's smooth and glossy (if the mixture is very thick, you can add as much as 2 Tbs. more boiling water; when I tried this cake with Hershey's cocoa, I needed to do this). Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside to cool slightly. In another small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs and yolk, olive oil, and sugar. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until thick, lemon colored, and creamy, 2 to 3 min., scraping down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the warm (not hot) cocoa mixture until it's well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it but with no wet batter, 55 to 60 min. Put the pan on a rack and carefully run a paring knife around the inside edge to release the cake. Let cool for 10 min. Using a second rack to sandwich the cake pan, flip the pan over. Carefully lift the pan from the cake, gently peel off and discard the paper liner, and let the cake cool completely.

Before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar. To use a stencil pattern, use the flat side of the cake for a more level surface (the cake may dip slightly in the center; if that's the case, you'll get a cleaner design with a pattern that keeps close to the perimeter).