SIDE DISH

LINDA CICERO'S VEGETARIAN APPLE-CORN BREAD STUFFING

You can find rich vegetable stock in natural foods stores. If using a supermarket brand, use 3/4 cup plus an extra 3/4 cup apple juice. Add sage or thyme to taste if you wish, and a little curry powder for punch.

• 1 (16-ounce) bag corn bread stuffing mix

• 1 small Granny Smith apple, cored and diced

• 1 small red Delicious apple, cored and diced

• 1/3 cup golden raisins

• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

• 6 tablespoons butter (use soy margarine for vegans)

• All the leaves from a stalk of celery, chopped

• 3 large celery ribs, diced (about 1 ½ cups)

• 1 large onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon pepper (preferably white)

• 1 ½ cups rich vegetable stock

• About ½ cup apple juice

Toss the stuffing mix with the apples, raisins and cranberries in a large bowl.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add celery leaves, diced celery and onions; sauté about 5 minutes. Stir in the pepper, stock and juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Pour vegetable mixture over stuffing mixture. Toss well, adding more apple juice if needed to make corn bread evenly moist.

Spray a 9-by-13-inch pan with vegetable oil and spread stuffing in the pan. (May be baked immediately or covered with foil and refrigerated the day before.)

To bake, heat oven to 300 degrees (or hotter if baking with other dishes that require a higher temperature). Cover pan with foil, leaving a corner loose to allow steam to escape. Bake about 40 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, until top is golden. Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 246 calories (27 percent from fat), 7.5 g fat (4 g saturated, 2.1 g monounsaturated), 15.3 mg cholesterol, 4.5 g protein, 41.1 g carbohydrates, 6.6 g fiber, 937.8 mg sodium.