Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding
Chris's roasted garlic soup.
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Andalusian cold almond-garlic soup
White Gazpacho with almonds and grapes
Tuscan-Style Minestrone


Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding

6 cups stale bread of choice, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup raisins (could use half golden raisins)
2 1/2 cups soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk

of choice
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Lightly oil a 8 x 12-inch casserole dish. Place the

bread cubes in the casserole dish and scatter the raisins over the bread
cubes. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, and pour
over the top of the bread cubes. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or
until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10
minutes before cutting into servings. Serve warm, cold, or at room
temperature, and can be served plain, topped with tofu whipped topping, or
with a scoop of non-dairy ice cream or sorbet.

* Note: you can substitute other dried fruit for the raisins, and add up
to 1/4 cups rum or other liqueur of choice to the wet mixture before
pouring it over the bread cubes. Yield: One 8x12-inch pan or 6-8 servings
Beverly Lynn Bennett


Chris's roasted garlic soup.

40 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed with the blade of a knife(you
can use the Christopher (no relation) brand of peeled cloves, but fresh
is much better).
Pan roast slowly in a saucepan filmed with olive oil until barely
colored. (about 25 minutes)
Add 1 quart of vegetable stock, 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 bayleaf,
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add 4 slices of stale bread, torn into pieces. Cook another 5 minutes.
Blend until smooth (or use wand blender directly in saucepan).
This is truly the best garlic soup I have tasted. It can, of course, be
made with less garlic, and a corresponding loss of intensity. Also makes
a wonderful baking sauce for tofu.


Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
(serves 4)
1 large spaghetti squash
1 cup dried tomatoes (I use the dry ones, not packed in oil)
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (or porcini)
3 garlic cloves
1 cup bread crumbs (or whole stale bread)
1 cup fresh button mushrooms, chopped
1 Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and chopped
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary, crushed
dash of salt
1 dash balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
about 1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Halve the squash and scoop out the insides.
Place cut-side down in a baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or
until it begins to get soft. Soak the dried tomatoes and mushrooms
separately in hot water. Throw the garlic into a food processor while the
machine is running. Process until the garlic is completely chopped. Throw
in the stale bread and process until you have large crumbs. Empty into a
medium mixing bowl. Add the fresh mushrooms, artichoke, herbs and salt to
the bowl. When the dried tomatoes and mushrooms have softened, chop and
add to the bowl. Turn the squash halves over and fill. Add water to the
filling to keep the squash from getting too dry. Bake another 10 minutes.
Serve hot.

Notes
1) I served the squash as halves. You may also scoop the squash out
and serve it like pasta in a large bowl, mixed with the filling.
2) The filling would also be good if it were lightly sauteed in the
balsamic vinegar and water before adding it to the squash.
3) Any mild-flavored squash would be just as good, such as zucchini.
I also have a fondness for adding pumpkin puree to my spaghetti
sauce, which leads me to believe that even the very flavorful
winter squashs may make good containers for this filling.


Andalusian cold almond-garlic soup

1/4 pound blanched almonds
1/2 pound stale crusty country-style bread
1 cup water
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 quart ice water
Pure almond extract to taste
Garnishes, such as green seedless grapes, golden
raisins, peeled and cubed apple or small bread
cubes fried in olive oil

Chop the almonds coarsely with a knife and place in a blender. Cut the
crusts away from the stale bread and discard. Tear remaining crumb into
large pieces. (You should have about 3 cups of loosely packed bread.) Put
into a bowl with the 1 cup water, turning the bread so that it absorbs
most of the water. Once the water is absorbed, squeeze the bread gently to
rid it of the excess. Place the bread in the food processor; process in
brief spurts to a textured cream. Add to the almonds in the blender. Turn
on the blender and slowly pour in the olive oil, blending contents to a
thick cream.

Add the garlic, salt and vinegar and blend to mix well. With the motor
running, add about half the ice water. Transfer the soup to a glass or
ceramic container, stir in the remaining ice water and refrigerate (or
place in the freezer for an hour so so) until ready to serve.

Before serving, taste and add more vinegar or salt if necessary or a few
drops of almond flavoring to boost the flavor. Thin with more ice water,
if desired. Add 1 or 2 of the garnishes - no more. You don't want to
destroy the simplicity of the soup. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: Cal 537 (80% fat) Fat 48 g (5 g sat) Fiber 4 g No chol Sodium
73 mg Carbs 20 g Calcium 70 mg

Source: "The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook"


White Gazpacho with almonds and grapes
Yield: 6 servings

3/4 cup Blanched almonds
3 Cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
4 Slices stale white bread, -crusts removed.
4 cup Ice water
7 Tbsp Olive oil
3 Tbsp White wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 Slices white bread, crusts -removed, cut in cubes
1 1/2 cup Seedless green grapes

Grind almonds, 2 garlic cloves, and salt to a fine consistency in a
food processor or blender. Soak stale bread in one cup ice water, and
squeeze to extract moisture. Add bread to processor. With processor
running, add 6 Tbsp oil and one cup ice water slowly in a steady
stream. Add vinegars, and mix on high speed for 2 minutes. Add one
cup ice water and mix 2 more minutes. Place in a bowl, add remaining
ice water and mix well. Adjust seasonings with salt and vinegar.
Chill for up to 6 hours.

Heat oil and remaining one tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Crush
remaining garlic clove and add to pan with bread cubes, tossing to
coat with oil. Cook over very low heat, stirring
occassionally, 20-30 minutes, or until cubes are golden.

Serve soup ice cold, garnished with croutons and grapes.
Appeared in the Aug. 31, 1994 issue of The New York Times.



Tuscan-Style Minestrone
Makes 12 Servings

Traditionally this soup is ladled into a soup tureen with alternating
layers of stale bread just before serving. The result is a soup so
thick that a spoon will stick straight up when plunged in. Most
minestrone are made with water, preferably the cooking water from
the beans, but vegetable stock is great to use if you have any around.

3 quarts water
1/2 head of cabbage, preferably Savoy
1 large red onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large carrot, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves cut into strips, about 3 cups
tightly packed
1 large waxy potato, peeled and cut into one half inch cubes
6 cups vegetable broth, bean-cooking water, or fresh water
4 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 cup drained
and seeded canned tomatoes
1 bouquet garni: 1 fresh rosemary sprig, 8 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1
bunch of parsley
1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans, soaked and cooked, about 3 cups
1 bunch spinach, stems removed and leaves cut into strips, about 1 cup
packed
Salt and pepper
Slices of French bread, either stale or lightly toasted

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Cut the cabbage into quarters
through the core. Cut the core out of two of the quarters and
slice them as thinly as possible. Boil the sliced cabbage for 5
minutes and drain it in a colander. Rinse it with cold water.
(This preliminary cooking eliminates some of the strong taste and
prevents it from taking over the flavor of the soup.)

In a 4-quart pot, cook the onion, celery, garlic, and carrot in
the olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the blanched cabbage, kale, potato, broth, tomatoes, and bouquet
garni. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 to 15
minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
Strain half the cooked beans through a food mill with the finest
disk or puree them in a blender or food processor. Add the puree
and the whole beans to the simmering soup.
Simmer the soup for about 5 minutes more .....reach in with a spoon
and taste a few of the vegetables; make sure the cabbage and kale
are completely soft.
Add spinach. Simmer soup for 1 minute more. Add salt and pepper
to taste.

The soup can now be ladled into hot bowls, but if you want to present
it in the traditional (and make it suitable for a next-day ribolita
or casserole), layer it in a tureen with the bread slices alternating
a ladle of soup with a slice of bread and let it sit for 10 minutes
before serving.

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