I'm sorry my fellow Italians!

OK, so first off, my apologies to my fellow Italians- friends, family, acquaintances etc. I committed the ultimate sin in order to test my will. I did a secret swap for Sunday Dinner. After I apologized to my dear husband and son, my husband-and fellow Italian, he forgave me and even complimented me for my bold action.

So what did I do? I made tofu ricotta.

Yes, tofu ricotta. Then I used it for a tray of stuffed shells. I must tell you, it wasn't half bad! You know, tofu can be made to taste like just about anything. In this case, the texture was right and I think I nailed the seasonings. So here's what I did. (Again, please bear in mind, this is not technical-if you want to know more detail, please contact me.)

I sautéed a 1/4 of a white onion in olive oil- while sautéing I added to them a dash of balsamic vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, and some parsley. I let everything soften and get close to caramelization. Then, I put them aside to cool.

In the meantime, I took 1 package of soft tofu and added it to my blender. Added salt, pepper flakes, 3-4 roasted garlic cloves, kale, fresh basil from the garden and finally the onion mixture. Added a squeeze of lemon. Then, yes...I went above and beyond and added some flax seeds. Blended it together until it looked like ricotta cheese. Here is what it looked like.

Then I stuffed my shells and lined them up in a pan as you always would with stuffed shells. For an extra added health benefit, I made my own quick fresh tomato sauce from the garden. Here is what the shells looked like before the sauce and after!

I can't say it tasted bad at all, in fact, I think it was a decent substitute for ricotta cheese with a lot of added health benefits such as kale and flax seeds. If I had some vegan cheese to melt on top, it would have been a total home run. This one will go in my repertoire for sure. Again, my fellow Italians, I may have committed a cooking sin, but my health will be better off with a few of these substitutions on occasion! Test your family! See if they can tell the difference.