'Man-un-cotti'

I recently bought manicotti shells, thinking of this idea to come up with something resembling manicotti. Tonight was a good opportunity as a good friend came over for dinner with his brother visiting from Spain.

I made a hearty sauce, starting with a good organic tomato pasta sauce, and adding organic tomato paste to thicken it, oregano and basil from my garden, and grilled chunks of onion and bell pepper, and salt and freshly ground pepper. I quickly grilled vegan sausage and cut the links into two halves. I boiled the shells for about ten minutes till just done, then stuffed them with the sausage halves and put them in a baking dish, topping with the thick sauce. I baked, covered, at 350°F for about 20 minutes, and served with vegan Parm! "Parmesan cheese". It came out well and was filling, but I wasn't happy that the plate wasn't more attractive; it's difficult properly serving such stuffed shells. I'd like to try something like this again, perhaps with less stuffing or sauce, and maybe with tempeh as the filling.

I also grilled some asparagus spears in lemon olive oil and served with Key Lime seasoning. A salad and carrot rounded out the dinner.