Vegetable Vegan Lasagna

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to keep track of vegan recipes I've tried or created and to share with others the ones I think are pretty delicious. So far, most of the recipes I've shared are other people's creations or recipes that I've tweaked a little. 

I hoped that as I continued to try out different recipes and do more research on vegan cooking that I would eventually get to the point where I could create my own vegan recipes...ones that are actually edible. While I'm not quite there yet, I CAN tell that my cooking has improved since I started writing this blog, and that's exciting! I've even created a couple of my own recipes that Brett and I would actually eat again. Score.

Going vegan forced me to try cooking with new ingredients. Even more so it forced me to use well known ingredients in new ways. Who knew cashew could be soaked and then blended with liquid to make a creamy sauce? Or that you could use dried fruit to naturally sweeten baked goods? Or that you could get your daily protein from plants? I know a lot of people know these things, but I had no clue.

I've loved the journey so far and lately have been even more encouraged as I've tried stepped out of my "cooking-comfort-zone" and experimented a lot more. This Vegetable Vegan Lasagna is an example of such experimenting, and I must say it turned out pretty delicious. 

I had searched vegan lasagnas, but didn't quite find what I was looking for. So I decided to combine a lot of ideas from different recipes to make my own. This lasagna is really easy and the "ricotta" filling made from tofu, lemon juice and nutritional yeast tastes almost like the real thing. At least in my opinion. Brett loved it too and we both at the whole pan in a couple days. 

Another great thing about this lasagna is that it is really light. You can eat two, whole pieces and still have room for some other sides. 

Unfortunately I have yet to get a nice camera and the lighting in our house isn't good, so these pictures don't do the taste of this lasagna justice. I hope you try it out though and let me know what you think!

Vegetable Vegan Lasagna

(Serves 4-5)

 Ingredients:

· 12 oz. whole wheat lasagna noodles (you’ll only use 9)

· Favorite jar of pasta sauce

· 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves

Filling:

· 1 lb. firm tofu

· 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

· 2 teaspoon lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon lemon zest

· 1/4 cup chopped parsley

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

· 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste)

Vegetables:

· 1/2 cup chopped onion

· 2 teaspoons minced garlic

· 1 medium zucchini squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

· 1 medium yellow squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

· 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped

· 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Once the water boils, cook your lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package, 3-4 at a time. While they cook, start on the vegetables and “ricotta” filling.

3. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

4. Sautee the onions and the garlic until the onions are soft. Then add in the rest of the vegetable ingredients and saute until they are cooked through but still a little crisp.

5. As your vegetables cook, make the filling.

6. Place all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. You can add more salt, pepper or nutritional yeast to your taste.

7. One you have all three elements prepped you can assemble the lasagna.

8. Using a 9 x 13 inch pan, spread about 1/4 of your pasta sauce on the bottom. Then lay three cooked, pasta noodles across the bottom to cover the whole pan. (If your noodles are short, you may need to cook one or two extra to cover the short ends.) Then spread half of the filling over the noodles and top with half of the cooked vegetables. Repeat again: sauce, noodles, filling, vegetables.

9. Finish the lasagna off with another layer of noodles and some pasta sauce.

10. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until heated through.

11. Cut into large pieces and dig in!

Note: You can easily double this recipe and just make a thicker lasagna which will serve about 8-10 people. When I make this recipe, I usually cut the lasagna into 9 pieces and people can eat two pieces each since it's so light. 

Blend all of the filling ingredients together to make your "ricotta" filling.

Choose your favorite jar of marinara sauce or make your own!

Start layering: sauce, noodles, filling and then veggies.

Finish with some more sauce on top!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Breaded Baked Tofu

For a while I've been wanting to experiment more with tofu. Since I stopped eating meat I've mainly been getting my protein through veggies, grains and nuts, but occasionally I like to eat tofu or tempeh for some extra ummmph. Usually I'll just press my tofu for a half-hour or so with some heavy books to get rid of excess water and then cut it up into cubes and saute it in a pan. I've had never tried marinating it or breading it before until recently and made quite a difference! 

I decided to try breading some tofu first and it was just like breading any other kind of meat or fish. For a whole block of tofu (pressed for a half hour with heavy books), I used a food processor to processes two pieces of bread that I had into bread crumbs. Then I added in 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and processed everything a little more.

After my tofu had been pressed for a while, I cut it up into 3/4 inch cubes and poured about 2 teaspoons of sesame oil over top. I was making an curry so I thought the sesame oil would be a good addition, but if you're going a different route you can definitely use olive oil or vegetable oil.

After I coated the tofu cubes with some oil I rolled them around in my seasoned breadcrumb mixture until they were coated in the crumbs. I learned that the smaller the bread crumbs the better. My bread crumbs were a little too large so I had a hard time getting the crumbs to stick to my tofu. If you use store bought bread crumbs or process your bread longer you should be fine!

Once all the tofu was breaded I just placed them on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and baked them in the oven at 350 for 35-40 minutes. After the first 20 minutes of baking, rotate the tofu blocks so that they can brown evenly.

After they've baked for about 40 minutes you're all done! You now have some flavorful, protein-packed tofu to add to any dish you're making.

If you have any other recipes for breading or marinating tofu, please let me know! I'm always open to suggestions.

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Tofu Breakfast Scramble

I used to eat eggs all the time. Never for breakfast though. Brett and I would always eat them for an easy lunch or for dinner when I didn't want to cook. He's quite the egg man and can cook a superb over-medium egg, perfect for an egg sandwich on toast with some black pepper and dijon mustard. But...now that I'm vegan I obviously haven't had eggs in a few months. I haven't really miss them, but once I had this tofu scramble I was reminded of how much I missed a good ol' egg sandwich and was so excited that I can now eat something that looks practically the same and tastes great too. Seriously, these pictures will play tricks on your mind. Try this out! It's awesome.

(Scroll to the bottom for the complete recipe!)

Start by pressing your tofu. Open the package, drain the water and place the block of tofu on a paper towel lined plate. Place another paper towel on top and then place something heavy like a pot or book on top of the towel. Allow the heavy object to press out the moisture from your tofu block so that it becomes more dense. It's best if you can allow the water to drain for about a half hour. If you can plan ahead, then the rest of this recipe can be completed really quickly.

In a saute pan, saute the onion and garlic until the onion is soft, but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the soy sauce and seasonings to the onion and stir to combine. Let the onion and spices cook 1-2 more minutes.

Then take your pressed tofu block and, using your hands, crumble it into the pan and stir it so that the onions and spices coat the tofu.

Let the tofu cook a few minutes and then add the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the nutritional yeast to combine with the tofu.

Eat by itself or make a yummy "egg" sandwich!

Tofu Breakfast Scramble

(Makes 4 serving)

 Ingredients:

· 12-16 oz. extra firm tofu

· 1/2 medium onion, chopped

· 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

· 1 tablespoon minced garlic (1-2 cloves)

· 1/2 teaspoon thyme

· 1/2 teaspoon tumeric

· 1/2 teaspoon paprika

· 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

· Salt and pepper to taste

  Directions:

1. Start by pressing your tofu. Open the package, drain the water and place the block of tofu on a paper towel lined plate. Place another paper towel on top and then place something heavy like a pot or book on top of the towel. Allow the heavy object to press out the moisture from your tofu block so that it becomes more dense. It's best if you can allow the water to drain for about a half hour. If you can plan ahead, then the rest of this recipe can be completed really quickly.

2. In a sauté pan, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is soft, but not brown: about 5 minutes.

3. Add the soy sauce and spices to the onion and stir to combine. Let the onion and spices cook 1-2 more minutes

4. Using your hands, crumble the pressed tofu block into the pan and stir it so that the onions and spices coat the tofu.

5. Let the tofu cook a few minutes and then add the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the nutritional yeast to combine with the tofu.

6. Eat by itself or make a yummy “egg” sandwich!

Notes: Adapted from here.

Nutrition: Cals: 110; Fat: 4.3g; Carbs: 4g; Fiber: 2.25g; Sugars: 0.3g; Protein: 10.7g

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

"Sitting on a curb" Massaman Curry

The first time I had massaman curry was sitting on a curb with my now husband Brett. We had just begun dating and were craving Thai food after playing volleyball with some friends. We ended up getting our food to-go and sat outside the restaurant on the curb and scarfed down some delicious curry. I was hooked. I was also determined to learn how to make it myself. So I found a recipe that didn't look too intimidating and went for it. The result was deliciousness and since then I've made it a few more times. This past time I made some healthy substitutes and loved it just as much. Don't be overwhelmed by the list of ingredients. If you have a good amount of spices in your cupboard, you'll be in good shape. My husband and I eat it over brown rice and sometimes with some roti from our local Indian market. Yum!

Massaman Curry
(Serves 6, with rice)

• I block extra fim tofu, pressed and cut into cubes
• 1-2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 14 oz can coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk)
• 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup onion, sliced
• 1/4 tsp. ginger root, minced
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup good-tasting chicken broth, or stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. cumin 
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cardamon (or two green cardamon pods)
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp.  brown sugar

Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil in the pan and saute the onion, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper for 1-2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth plus the following: bay leaves, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, white pepper, cardamon, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir with each addition and bring to a light boil.

Add the coconut milk and potatoes. Stir and bring back up to a boil. Reduce heat to low, or just until you get a good simmer.

In a separate skillet, fry the cubed tofu in olive oil or Pam until light brown.

Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken and potatoes are tender. Add red pepper and Tofu during last 10-15 minutes of cooking time. I cover with a lid for the first 30 minutes and then remove the lid to let it thicken a little for the last 10 minutes. 

Remove the bay leaves and cardamon pods. Serve on top of rice. Enjoy!