Have your Veggies and Lasagna too...

I came home from Montreal (had some good food there...) to find my vegetable garden booming. An excess of rainbow chard, bush beans abound, and an enormous blooming yellow squash. Catching up on my food blogs and Huffington Posts, I came across a list of several summer pastas. So I thought to myself "How can I use the jungle I planted outside like this? Lasagna!"

With a box of whole wheat Hogsden Mills lasagna, an abundance of homegrown chard, beans, and herbs I whipped together some nearly vegan lasagna that hit the spot.

All my own stuff! Locavores rejoice...

Nearly Vegan Veggie Lasagna

1 box Hogsden Mills Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles (or your favorite)

Filling

1 Bunch Rainbow Chard

Handful Green Beans

1 small Zucchini Sliced thinly

1 tomato sliced thinly

1 small red pepper, sliced

1/2 cup corn kernels (about 1 ear's worth fresh corn kernels, removed)

Tomato Sauce (I made my own, simple enough with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices, fresh torn basil, and Evoo)

Tofu Ricotta (see below)

Garlic powder, Black Pepper, Spices and Basil to taste

Sprinkling of Mozzarella and Parmesan, if you so desire

Tofu Ricotta from Here

2 Packages Mori Nu Tofu (Or preferred variety - preferably Fat Free)

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1/4 cup fresh parsley (and/or basil)

1 head roasted garlic - a few tablespoons jarred diced worked well in a pinch!

a sprinkling of salt

a dash of Nutritional Yeast, if you so wish

Drying the tofu, mash it with a fork and combine with all ingredients above. Set aside.

Colorful inside and out...

Preparing all vegetables, set them aside. Boil the Lasagna noodles per directions and set aside, careful to prevent sticking (I had that problem... I hate sticky noodles). Prepare sauce or use your favorite jarred variety and set aside.

Dice the rainbow (Swiss...) chard and break down the green beans, boiling for several minutes - not too long - and drain. Set aside.

Layer noodles first, covered with ricotta, sauce, vegetables, and a bit of cheese if you like. Repeat layers, alternating or repeating vegetable combinations until you've used your ingredients. Try to use enough noodles - not finding more pasta than filling, but I used too few and it wasn't entirely stable when sliced...

Finish the lasagna with a layer of sauce and grated cheese - perhaps a few basil leaves or some diced scallion as I did (an overabundance in my yard...)

Wonderful with a simple salad...

Bake for an hour at 350, removing the tinfoil covering the bake for the final few moments, or until browned to your liking.

As is said En Montreal: Bon Appetit!

Oatmeal Anew...Again

There is no single food on this earth I prefer over oatmeal. As I didn't get my fix this morning, I made it for lunch. Next to Oatmeal, my favorite food (or rather variety thereof) is the celebratory type. I miss Thanksgiving and I thought it would work in my oatmeal.

How? Simply.

Tofurkey Oatmeal Bowl

1/2 cup oatmeal, cooked to your liking

a sprinkle of craisins

Herbs and spices to taste (Curry powder, thyme, rosemary, whatever you want really)

3 slices tofurkey (I prefer Yves), diced

bring it all together and you have a delicious Savory Oatmeal in the image (or taste) of a Thanksgiving dinner!

A Belated greeting...

I've been so wrapped up I forgot to post my thanksgiving dishes and pics (made some great bread from The Bread Bible - birthday gift!!!

So when I get to that...

In the mean time, I just made the Meatless Meatloaf from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. It was delicious and with some roasted broccoli and mashed potatoes it hit the spot on a cold night.

Check out the recipe here

I added Craisins to the batter and used Bok CHoy with Celery seed in place of celery. It made the grade in my house!

Fall is Here!!! Be Glad.

It's that day - the first of fall. I'm most certainly happier today than I was on the first of summer. Yes I'm odd that way. My favorite days go Christmas, Thanksgiving, my Birthday, Fall, Halloween, New Years and so on.

In recognition of this marvelous day (despite unusually high temperatures this week) I made a casserole! Based on this and the Pumpkin-Black Bean variation, also from Fat-Free vegan Kitchen, I whipped this little dish up to savor the perfection of an oven in the cool September air.

A Red-Green Fall Casserole:

1 can Chickpeas, drained

4 large stalks of red Swiss Chard

1/2 bundle (use your best guess) Asparagus stalks

3-4 medium beets, peeled and sliced

1/3 package Silken Tofu

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast

1/2 onion

minced garlic

olive oil

1/4 cup sliced White Button Mushrooms

1/4 cup vegetable stock, for sautéing

Garam Masala

Garlic Powder

Curry Powder

Pepper

Celery Seed

Cumin Powder

And Eureka! I've got it...

Add extra garlic, ample Thyme, and grated carrots(2 medium) to the mixture prior to baking

Top with 1/2 large grated Sweet Potato

Grated cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, and whole-herbs; for garnish and to taste

Sauté onions and garlic with olive oil. Once browned and aromatic, add in first the Mushrooms, followed by the Chard, asparagus, and beets; add the stock to whole mixture after several minutes. Add the rinsed and drained Chickpeas as well as the carrots and let cook after another few minutes, allowing this mixture to simmer as well.

Combine Yeast, some garlic powder, and the silken. Add spices to the vegetable mixture as desired.

As the vegetables become something to your liking, combine the silken to them and mix on low heat. Combined, pour this mixture into a covered casserole dish and top with the sweet potato; bake at 425 for half an hour. Uncover and broil for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Oh, and don't forget your garnishes before you bake the whole mess!

I served it over some brown rice and I, at least, found it interesting.

It certainly needs work, but not bad for the first of fall!