Lasagna Herbivore Style

This is a first try. Matt says it is good. Next time plan to up the veggies.

1 16 oz package Nicole Taylor fresh lasagna noodles
16 oz spicy pasta sauce
16 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 red onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 lb of tofu, freeze, thaw, squeeze out the water and crumble
8 oz baby spinach
6 oz shiitake mushrooms chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Oregano, thyme, sage, and marjoram to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Boil spinach in water and then drain and chop.
Sauté onion in olive oil, add mushrooms and herbs and sauté till soft.
Mix garlic, salt, tofu, and spinach. Add mushroom mixture.

Mix tomatoes and sauce and heat.

Assemble lasagna in 13"x9"x2" glass dish. Start with half cup sauce on bottom. Add noodle and trim to length. Add half cup sauce and spread. Sprinkle half cup of veggies. Add noodle and repeat. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove foil and reduce oven to 350. Bake additional 20 minutes. Let sit 20 minutes and serve.

A Little Home Improvement

No food here but a little home improvement. No tools involved.

Our aquarium and stand always felt unfinished and we were always going to get rid of it. This year Clownie made it to 20 years so I guess we are keeping the aquarium.

I wanted to add a shelf on the bottom and clean up the wires. I looked for pre-cut shelving online that would fit but found these Ikea Knipsa boxes instead.

Before, during, and after pictures of my small addition to Ikea hacks.

Lentils and Chard

Lentils and Chard

2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch chard, leaves chopped, stems sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup lentils
3 cups water
2 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp soy sauce
Pepper

Sauté stems, celery, carrots, and garlic in the olive oil. Cover and let stems soften Add lentils and water (pictured) and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add the chard leaves and simmer 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook off excess liquid. Remove thyme stems and add soy sauce. Makes two servings at about 325 calories.

Cauliflower Leek Soup

Cauliflower Leek Soup:
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 large leeks, halved and sliced
1/2 large head cauliflower, sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
12 oz of small potatoes, chopped
6 cups water
Sea salt
1 cup soy milk, plain unsweetened

Sauté leeks, add celery and cauliflower and continue to sauté. Add potatoes and water and bring to a boil. Simmer until vegetables cooked about 45 minutes. Purée with emersion blender and add salt to taste. Stir in soy milk. (I probably would have used more soy milk if I had it.)

Good hot and cold. I considered it 4 large bowls of soup at a little over 2 cups each. Yum.

Lazy Bean Dip - Try 1

1 can white beans drained
2 tbsp smoked hot sauce
1 tbsp cumin
1 pinch oregano
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
Salt
Pepper
Purée all ingredients in mini food processor and serve with chips.

Pretty good and quite addictive.

Simple Summer Dinner

I love when the tomatoes are so flavorful that they are all you need to enjoy a great meal. I had this simple dinner by myself earlier this week. This meal could be called "don't forget to stop and taste the summer". I enjoyed three more tomatoes after these two. The glass on the right is olive oil for my bread.

Indian Eggplant and Potato Stew with Chickpeas

This recipe is from Bishop's Vegetables Every Day. I only had half a pound of eggplant and had to use some Thai red curry paste in place of the ginger, hot pepper, and lime. We really enjoyed it anyway. With the mustard seed and garlic the spices still ended on the Indian side. It went together quick and left us both glad we hadn't given into carryout. It really showed off the red and yellow fingerling potatoes. Looking forward to trying the real thing soon.