Plant-based Omnivore-approved Lasagna

 Based on   Easy & Healthy Vegan Lasagna https://healthmylifestyle.com/easy-healthy-vegan-lasagna/?fbclid=IwAR1iqKK7PdkTKCdL706T_9_6gg8vgxkx_gWWwJ2dGJ8xwtmtLPn9r_6aBgY#recipe

My Version: Company Lasagna -not as fast and easy but super yummy (it freezes well! Do serving-size portions, thaw and microwave as needed)

Ingredients

3 cups brown or green lentils (1 cup dry, cooked in broth, drained)

marinara sauce 3 X 24oz jars 

1 1/3 boxes no-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles Delallo preferred

2+ cups de-stemmed chopped baby spinach

Choice of minced veg: medium/large onion, Small zucchini, Red or green bell pepper 

(could use others– mushrooms, carrot, etc) (veg done fast in food processor or chopper: Kuhn Rikon Pull Chop Chopper/Manual Food Processor with Cord Mechanism, Green, 2-Cup (price has gone way up but its super useful and much faster to clean)

Tofu-cashew Ricotta:

1 cup cashew pieces, soaked, rinsed, drained

14 oz firm or extra firm tofu, previously frozen OK

1/3 cup non-fortified (Sari is a good brand) nutritional yeast

3 tbsp lemon juice 

1Tb apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

Instructions

First, cook your lentils - 1 cup dried lentils with 3 cups of broth covered in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Can let sit a while or do ahead and refrigerate.

Saute onion, when soft and starting to color add pepper then zucchini. Meanwhile chop spinach. When veg are tender, add lentils and generous 1 ½ jars of marinera.

Make the Ricotta: Blend cashews with lemon juice and vinegar and about ½ cup plant milk or water until smooth. Squeeze the tofu over a sink to remove excess liquid, then crumble into blender. Add the rest of the Tofu Ricotta ingredients and blend until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Assemble the lasagna: Add about 2/3 jar of plain marinara to the bottom of a large lasagna pan. Spread it around evenly. Next add 6 lasagna noodles (uncooked). Spread 1/3 of the Tofu Ricotta on top of the noodles. Top with 1/3 the spinach. Add about 1/3 of the marinara/veg  mixture over the spinach, then place 6 lasagna noodles on top. Repeat ricotta, spinach, veg sauce, then another layer of noodles and ricotta/spinach/veg. Cover with one last layer of noodles and then pour the rest of the sauce over the top, evenly. I cheat and put real parmesan (parmesan/romano-asiago blend is my favorite) on top. You could try a vegan parm or put some of the ricotta in a bag and snip the corner to squeeze a diagonal pattern of lines over it.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking another 15 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for longer. Slice into individual servings before freezing. Reheat individual servings in the microwave.

Make in advance: Instead of baking, wrap tightly with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking to allow lasagna to get back to room temperature.

 It’s hard to find truly fast and easy recipes, and lasagna is usually a pretty laborious one, but this works! The non-lentil fan loved it too. I did order the linked Whole wheat noodles (and some whole wheat farfalhe while I was at it, hard to find) and I saved out some plain sauce for the top to make lentils less noticeable. If I was taking more time I would add sautéed onions and chopped zucchini. I think the layering instructions are a bit off and why it says 20 oz tofu when it comes in 14 (we’ll, Natural Grocers had a two-pack that is probably just right) but I used what I guessed to be about 6 oz of cashew cream along with 14 oz tofu and it was really yummy. I always de-stem and chop or “ribbon” my spinach so no one has slimy strings of it to fuss about.

https://healthmylifestyle.com/easy-healthy-vegan-lasagna/

Oil-Free Crackers, the magic of sourdough

 I based them on this recipe:

https://zerowastechef.com/2015/11/18/sourdough-crackers-2-0/

Here it is with my modifications:

• 2/3 cup unfed starter or discard from fridge
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon favorite herb blend seasoning, skip salt if your blend has it.
• extra coarse salt for topping

 mix together flour, salt, baking soda and seasonings.

1. Mix dry ingredients in bowl and add starter, Stir to combine, it should make a shaggy dough that takes a bit of work to get all the flour incorporated. If your starter/discard is very liquid or very stiff, you will have to adjust the amount of flour. Cover bowl with a plate or towel and let rest for six hours at room temperature. 
2. Store in the fridge after this if you won’t bake right away. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
3. When you’re ready to bake, divide the dough onto two lightly floured parchments
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Roll the dough out about two millimeters thick. If necessary, sprinkle with flour between rollings to prevent dough from sticking to your work surface. 
6. 
   
   1. Transfer the dough on parchment onto two cookie sheets
   2. Cut into one to 1 1/2 inch squares with a pizza cutter or a knife. Sprinkle with salt and poke with a fork (unless you prefer puffed up crackers)
   3. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, turn trays (And switch racks if baking both at once) and bake 6 to 8 minutes longer. Crackers are done when crispy and slightly browned
   4. These also freeze well.
   
   
   It’s easy to double or triple, after letting it sit out six hours you can just put in fridge or you can divide and pat into flat rectangles and then wrap in plastic wrap. Each recipe makes two pans of crackers. Last time I had enough discard to triple it so when I put it in the fridge I cut in thirds so I could tell how much to take out. I probably could have fit enough on my pans to cook in two batches instead of three.

    
   I have had to cook at least seven minutes before and after turning, but I have those heavy pans
   
   
   
   
   Roll out on parchment paper using some flour as needed -on the rolling pin mainly, roll really thin, like less than 1/8 inch, closer to 1/16. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pat gently to help it stick. Think Wheat Thins!
   
   
   If the edges are getting dark and the middle not done, you can pull them out and take the edge ones off and put the pan back in. You can also try separating them a bit in the middle before cooking or you can put them back into the oven after turning it off and let the residual heat help crisp them more without burning. You will have to play with it because it depends on your oven, your pans, etc. I saved the parchment and reused several times. Sometimes they got crisper after sitting a while but not every time. Getting them really thin is key and the dough rolls out thinly quite well, I roll it chilled but if yours is too stiff let it warm up fifteen minutes first.
   
   
   seasoning blend amount is to taste and depends on how strong it is, can be ranch seasoning, vegetable herb blend, or simply onion and garlic powder. You could add some nutritional yeast and pinch of smoked paprika with the onion and garlic powders to make them more like cheese-its  (cut smaller, could put that one poke in the middle or don’t poke and they will puff)

beefless peppers

Soy curls used in an old favorite of hubby’s “Beef and Peppers” - would have used twice as many peppers but I ran out.

I added two cups hot beefish broth to the marinade and used it to soak the soy curls, saved the drained liquid and added it to the glaze and all the extra was absorbed.

Based on a recipe from the little cookbook from the chinese cooking class I took in Okinawa, you can tell the page is well-used.

Marinade

3 TB soy sauce (tamari, Braggs, etc)

2 tsp cornstarch

1 TB red wine vinegar

1 TB tahini

Dash black pepper

1 tsp finely chopped ginger 

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 TB water

Dash baking soda

(Add two cups hot beefish broth, a bit of “Kitchen Bouquet” for color, stir in soy curls and soak ten minutes, stirring occasionally, put in strainer and squeeze out extra liquid over container, bake on silpat for at least 25 minutes at 375 til toasty)

Vegetables

3-4 green bell peppers sliced or mix colors

1 onion sliced

About 4 cups shredded cabbage

Bean sprouts are great if you have them, water chestnuts, etc.

Glaze

1-2 tsp cornstarch

2 tsp soy sauce

1/3 cup “chicken” broth

Stir fry veg and season with sprinkles of ginger and garlic powder, bit of black pepper, soy sauce, crushed red peppers if you like spicier.

When al dente or done to taste, add soy curls and pour on glaze including marinade, make sure all is heated through, if too watery cook down a few minutes. 

Serve over brown rice.

 Leftovers had an even more “beefy” texture! Tasty marinade, baking them until dry then adding liquid to the dish works wonders for the texture, I kept half expecting to run into some fat or gristle chewing that "meat."

no lunchmeat sandwiches needed...

 from somebody somewhere.....

(chickpea salad is a great option)

► 32 Vegan Lunches You Can Take to Work - https://www.popsugar.com/.../Vegan-Lunches-You-Can-Take...

► 10 Healthy Vegan Lunches for Work (or School!) - http://www.emilieeats.com/10-healthy-vegan-lunches-for-work/

► Quick & Healthy Vegan Lunch Ideas for Work (this one has a free vegan recipe cookbook you can download) http://www.eatingwell.com/.../quick-healthy-vegan-lunch.../

► Oh She Glows 15 Vegan Lunch Ideas! - http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/21/15-vegan-lunch-ideas/

► Vegan Lunch Recipes: 20 Easy And Healthy Ideas For Work - the instant noodles in a jar look really good! http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/.../vegan-lunch-recipes_n...

► 18 Vegetarian Lunch Ideas That Will Make Your Colleagues Jealous https://hurrythefoodup.com/vegetarian-lunch-ideas/ Smoked tempeh and apple sandwiches sound unique! https://hurrythefoodup.com/vegetarian-lunch-ideas/

► 21 Packable Vegan Lunch Ideas for Work or School - allot of these are repeats I have seen in other lists but the Onigiri is really good and I like the looks of the jar salad http://eluxemagazine.com/maga.../packable-vegan-lunch-ideas/

► 10 Vegan Lunch Bag Ideas http://www.peta.org/.../10-vegan-lunch-bag-ideas-kids.../ Banana roll ups!!

► School Lunch in a Bento Box http://www.vegkitchen.com/.../school-lunch-in-a-bento.../

► 60 ideas for healthy bento lunches http://ohmyveggies.com/60-ideas-for-healthy-bento-lunches/

► https://www.pinterest.com/loveandl.../vegan-bento-box-ideas/

► Healthy Vegan School Lunches for Kids! https://youtu.be/1lix5tz3Yys

There is lots more inspiration to be found here too https://goo.gl/ZiNdwQ

10/12 Soup (ten-spice twelve-veg instant pot soup)

Toss and go colorful deliciousness

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked

4 to 5 cups vegetable broth

1 to 2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups diced onion (about 1 medium)

At least half cup up to one cup each, chopped to similar sizes, whatever veg you have such as:

carrots (about 3 medium)

bell pepper any color (or roasted red pepper from jar)

peeled and chopped sweet potato, regular potato, and/or butternut squash

2 stalks celery

Broccoli and cauliflower stems, not hard bitter parts, peel broccoli stems before chopping

Zucchini and/or yellow summer squash

Green beans chopped into short pieces

Cabbage

Frozen sweet corn

1 can petite diced tomatoes, with their juice

1 can small white beans or any favorite beans, undrained (or rinsed and add 1/2 cup more broth)

1 to 2 tablespoons Homemade 10-Spice Mix, to taste (I like 1 1/2)

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional: 2 tsp white miso, one cup (packed) chopped baby spinach or other greens

Homemade 10-Spice Mix (makes 1/2 cup): (from Oh She Glows)

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt

1 teaspoon white pepper (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ancho pepper powder, (optional)

Instructions

Blend cashews in one cup broth, set aside

Dry-sauté onion, add garlic when half done

Add all veg (except greens or peas, if using), canned tomatoes and beans, broth and seasoning, stir.

Set IP for five minutes pressure, let npr ten minutes

If desired stir in packed cup of chopped baby spinach (or other greens) or 1/2 cup frozen peas

Stir in cashew cream, serve with crusty bread

Can also stir in 2 tsp white miso before serving if desired

Notes:

Based on Oh She Glows 10-Spice Soup, freezes well!

Spice mix makes enough for several batches or other uses. Or use favorite creole or Cajun mix

If you like soups quite thick or are using lots of watery veg like summer squash, use the smaller amount of broth. 

For less fat or lower cost, you can blend white beans instead of cashews for the creaminess, though it won’t be as rich.

When raw cashews are unavailable, simmer roasted ones for a little while in the broth (microwave will do) though if you don’t have a high-speed blender you won’t get them as creamy. You can also just blend some of the soup.

Tomango Rice (tomangacado?)

For those of us still in summer, one of my favorite simple meals good cold or at room temperature:
Amounts are estimated because its variable to taste, plus your tomatoes, avocadoes, and mangoes might be large or small,you might need to feed more people and stretch it out, etc. It's all good!

Ingredients:
around 2 1/2-3+ cups cooked brown rice (I like brown basmati)
about 2/3 cup cooked black ("forbidden") rice
one large ripe mango, chopped
one or two ripe real garden tomatoes chopped (or grape tomatoes cut up)
one or two avocados chopped
(the goal is to have roughly equal amounts of avocado, mango, and tomato)
juice of one lime
optional handful of finely chopped cilantro (including stems)

Instructions:
Squeeze the lime over the avocado first to help it keep its color, stir everything together.

Notes:
This is good by itself or served with a baked sweet potato, maybe some fresh green beans. I batch cook and freeze the rice so I can just pull it out as needed. Keeps fine in the fridge for lunch the next day and travels well. Good picnic with some chewy or crusty bread.