The terrifying trial by Tempeh…
Was totally terrific!

And had a one night stand, these Calzones would be their love child.  I’m not joking.
The filling is onions, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, and sundried tomatoes, mixed with tofu feta cheese, pizza sauce, and gooey mozzarella. A scrumptious combination, all hidden inside the golden crispy crust. Mmmm….

But I can’t take all the credit. This is another diamond from “The Garden of Vegan.” The only significant change I made from the recipe is to cook the vegetables lightly before hand and press the water out of them, because the only other time I made these, the vegetables steamed inside the crust & made it soggy. Now, though, I believe I have achieved perfection in the art (and consumption:) of these calzones.

I checked out Angeline Linardis’ cookbook “V Cuisine: The Art of New Vegan Cooking” a few weeks ago, and have been waiting breathlessly for a chance to make something. This incidentally coincided with a trip to “The City” and Whole Foods, where I got my hands on some nutritional yeast. Yes folks, until yesterday I was a nutritional yeast virgin. As such, when “V Cuisine” fell open to a recipe for Mac n’ Cheese, I jumped at the chance to test my yeasty tastebuds. I was not disappointed.

What resulted was a luscious bowl of comfort food, perfect for the still chilly temperatures outside. The velvety sauce glides over Rye noodles (also from Whole Foods). Chunks of zucchini, and even the occasional broccoli floret can be found nestling jewellike under the saucy blanket, which in turn is capped by some quickly chopped soynuts and rosy paprika. A pinch of cayenne added to the topping adds a zesty kick to update this childhood favourite.

Although I did follow the recipe pretty precisely, I made some changes to suit my personal preferences and the current contents of my refrigerator. Instead of olive oil, I sauteed the garlic and onions in Pam and cooking wine. I added zucchini (sauteed with the onions and garlic), and steamed broccoli. I had no breadcrums, and no time to toast bread to make some, so soynuts added some crunch. Something I’m contemplating for the next time I make this dish is grinding almonds and adding them to the topping. They’d add a pleasing bit of sweetness and richness, without an oily texture.

The one criticism I have is more of an error on my part than on the part of the recipe- I forgot to pop a lid on the casserole dish before putting it in the oven to cook, so the top noodles dried out a titch. My mom reminded later that shealways covers the dish for the majority of the cooking period, and then just pop the dish under the broiler to brown the topping for the last 5 minutes. I’ll have to try that next time.

All in all, a definite keeper. Quick and easy, and a homey meal to eat in the frigid social waters of high school lunchtime, it’s a definite keeper.