Tag Archives: Recipe

Vegan Lasagna

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I don’t make lasagna very often.  I like it, a lot, but it seems like more work than I want to go through for assembly.  Today, however, I got out of a doc. appointment earlier than I planned, and I knew I had some nice fresh veggies in the house and the kids were all occupied, so it seemed like a good time to go for it.  I don’t really work with recipes on dishes like this, so the seasoning is really all “round about” measurement.  It came out well and I will enjoy these leftovers for several days!

Ingredients

1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
3 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 large onion diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 large bell pepper diced
2 small zucchini peeled and diced
2 T Italian seasoning (or your own mix of dried or fresh basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary)
2 cans/jars tomato puree
1 package extra firm tofu
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
Vegan parmesan
Sea salt

Process

Cook noodles as needed and set aside in cool water.

In a large pan, add onions, 2 T olive oil, and garlic.  Cook over medium temp, stirring often, until onions begin to soften and fragrance is released.  Pour in tomato puree and Italian seasoning.   Add sea salt to taste.  If you like a sweeter sauce, add some raw sugar gradually.  Allow to simmer 20 minutes over medium low temp.

In a separate pan, place remaining vegetables and sauté 5-8 minutes on medium high temp. Set aside.

Drain tofu and place in a bowl.  Using a fork, smash block until the texture resembles ricotta cheese.  Add vinegar, nutritional yeast, and ½ t. sea salt and mix.

Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with parchment paper.  Spread a layer of sauce over the parchment.  Place a layer of noodles on top, overlapping slightly.  Spread on a layer of vegetables.  Add tofu mix by small spoonfuls and spread.  Cover with a layer of sauce.

Repeat process until the pan is full or you run out of ingredients. I typically run out of veggies and tofu before the noodles and sauce, so I will do a couple of layers of just noodles and sauce at the top.

Sprinkle vegan parmesan mix over the top.

Cover tightly with foil and place pan in oven at 375* and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Serve with a salad and maybe some fresh bread. Enjoy!

Cumin Eggplant Edamame Rice

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Adapted from a recipe on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

My children don’t love this (well, the younger 3 don’t) but I don’t care, because that means more leftovers for me. I made a double batch today. I’ll be eating for days!

  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 T ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne or red chilli pepper
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen edamame beans (not pods)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Put the rice in a bowl and cover it with water and set aside.

Put olive oil in large skillet.  Begin to heat on medium-high, adding onion , eggplant, and peppers.  While cooking, add the spices.  Cook until eggplant begins to soften.  Add tomatoes and cook another 1-2 minutes. Drain the water from the rice and add the rice to the pan along with 3 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.

When the rice combination reaches a boil, add the edamame and stir to combine.  Transfer it into a large baking dish.  I use a full sized Pampered Chef casserole.  Cover tightly with foil (if rice is near the top of the dish, place a parchment sheet over before foil).

Bake until the rice is basically tender, about 50-55 minutes. Remove and allow to sit for 10 minutes (still covered) before serving.

Eat leftovers for days. Be gleeful about it.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

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It’s 7:44 p.m. and I’m debating whether to make chocolate cupcakes.  I really want a cupcake right now, but I don’t know if I want to worry with making them.  However, if I was going to make chocolate cupcakes, with chocolate icing, this is the recipe I would use.

These are not my cupcakes. These cupcakes belong to Bethany L. King on Flickr. I hope my cupcakes will look this good.

Whacky Vegan Cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup cold water

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened. Spoon into cupcake tins (fill 1/2 to 2/3 full).  Bake at 350°F. oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting/Icing

  • 2 cups organic powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup vegan margarine, softened
  • ¼ cup plain or soymilk
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ t. vanilla extract

Cream sugar into margarine with an electric mixer.  Add other ingredients and continue to mix until smooth.

Wow. I really want a cupcake.