Comfort Casserole

I used to LOVE broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole — a potluck standard in the South (and probably everywhere in the U.S.). My mom made an awesome version using cream of mushroom soup mixed with rice, broccoli, and cheddar. I knew I must include a vegan version of this in my cookbook, so a while back, I developed this Broccoli, Rice, & Cheeze Casserole:

I made it again this week to test the recipe, but this is an old picture. I couldn't get a good shot this time, so I'm recycling this old one. I include my own recipe for vegan cream of mushroom soup in the cookbook since I don't know of a vegan version sold in stores. It works well in this recipe and several others in my book or it makes for a delicious creamy soup on its own.

On the side, I made the Italian Tofu from the Veganomicon:

Tofu is marinated in a simple concoction of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and herbs and then it's baked for about 30 minutes. I actually marinated mine for two days because I ended up joining some friends for dinner on the night I'd planned to prepare it.

Atop the tofu is a bit of local Tomato Marmalade:

I purchased a jar from the Dodson Farms booth at the special one-day winter farmer's market downtown a few weeks ago. Made from tomatoes, sugar, basil, and other spices, it's a wonderful way to enjoy fresh summer tomatoes in late fall/early winter.

A couple of announcements:
* Don't forget to enter the Kenzoil giveaway on Tuesday's post! Contest ends Friday (12/18) at 10 a.m. CST.

* The awesome Gena of Choosing Raw is co-hosting an anti-fad cleanse in January. The Spark! Wellness and Choosing Raw cleanse offers three reasonable (and nourishing) ten-day dietary programs to help instill improved eating habits in 2010. For more info and the lowdown on signing up, check it out here.