Unprocessed: Chef Aj's Disappearing Lasagna Recipe



In the past few weeks, Chef Aj and I have struck up a nice little friendship on Facebook. I have been reading her new cookbook Unprocessed and been really blown away by her personal story, which is the first 52 pages of the book. I couldn't put it down.

When she asked me if I would like to blog about and publish some of the recipes from the new cookbook, I was like, absolutely! To be honest, I was going to make a bunch of her recipes and then write a review of the book anyway, so getting her permission to publish the recipes along with the review is amazing.

Me: "I would love to start with your favs. I did hear that your lasagna is out of this world!"

Chef Aj: "I think the lasagna (especially the bean/kale variation) is the best recipe in the book. I also recommend the Sweet Potato Nachos and the Spicy Peanut Noodles!"

So yesterday morning I set out to make this famous Disappearing Lasagna. I do want to warn you, this is not a recipe to start when you are in a time crunch. I recommend a lazy Sunday morning for this one! The smells that will permeate your kitchen are delightful.

So without further adieu, here is the first recipe from Unprocessed.

Chef A.j.'s Disappearing Lasagna

Printable Recipe

2 boxes of no boil rice lasagna noodles (I used 1 box of whole wheat from Whole Foods and followed the directions on the box, boiling them for 4 minutes and then rinsing each noodle well in cold water)
6 cups oil-free marinara sauce

Filling No. 1:
1 box extra firm tofu, drained and wrapped in paper towel to remove excess moisture OR 2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 oz. fresh basil leaves (I used 2 Tbsp dried)
1 cup pine nuts, raw cashews or hemp seeds
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup low-sodium miso (I used regular miso)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
2 pounds frozen chopped spinach or 1 pound frozen chopped kale

Filling No. 2:
2 pounds sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup tamari
1 large red onion

4 oz can sliced olives, rinsed and drained (optional)

Faux Parmesan:
In a food processor, grind 1 cup raw cashews or almonds, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast and 1 Tbsp of salt-free seasoning, until a powdery mixture is achieved. If you like it more chunky, process less.

Make the filling in a food processor fitted with the "S" blade, by adding tofu, basil, garlic, lemon juice, miso, nutritional yeast, nuts and red pepper flakes. Puree until smooth. Add drained spinach or kale and process again.

In a large non-stick saute pan, saute chopped onion in 2 Tbsp water or broth until translucent, about 8 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Add garlic, mushrooms and tamari and saute until browned. Taste mixture, adding more garlic/tamari according to your taste. Cook until mushrooms appear to be glazed and there is no more liquid left in pan.

Pour 3 cups of the sauce in a 9"x13" lasagna pan. Place one layer of noodles on top. Cover noodles with half of tofu/spinach mix, then with half of mushroom mix. Place another layer of noodles on top and add remaining halves of tofu and mush. Place one more layer of noodles on top and smother evenly with remaining sauce. Sprinkle olives on top of sauce and sprinkle with faux parmesan. (I put black olives on top of half of the casserole for my husband and put thinly sliced red peppers on my half).

Bake uncovered 375 degrees for one hour. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I decided to add a layer of extremely thinly sliced zucchini, 'cause I had one in the fridge that I needed to use up. It was a great addition! Next time, I'd make sure to have two zucchini around so that I could add it as two layers. The more veg, the better. 

When we ate it for lunch my husband exclaimed, "This is the best lasagna ever!" I told him to get on Facebook and send Chef Aj a message 'cause he owes it to her!' I will definitely be making this again, most likely for special occasions when I want to feed a crowd. It really is that delicious!

Check out Chef A.j.'s book and the reviews over on Amazon . . .



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Bill Clinton almost a Vegan? and Vegan Polenta Lasagna, Two Ways

Have you heard the big news? Former President Bill Clinton has adopted a plant based diet. See it here. I almost started to cry. It's incredible publicity for the work of both Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and his son, Dr. Thomas Campbell, authors of The China Study, as well as Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dean Ornish.

On a lighter note, here's a great vegan recipe for entertaining a large crowd or just for feeding your family during a busy week. It's a variation on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine that I had to put my own twist on after my friend Lisa C made it and brought it to my vegan pot luck party this summer. I happen to really like polenta and I think that this polenta lasagna concept is super yummy. I hope you feel the same!

Wendy's Vegan Polenta Lasagna
makes 8 servings

vegetable broth for sauteing
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
16 ounces fresh spinach OR 2 medium zucchini, shredded
salt
pepper
25 ounce jar of your favorite pasta/marinara sauce
1 1/2 tubes prepared polenta, sliced into 24 rounds
4 or 8 ounces vegan shredded mozzarella cheese (I like Daiya brand)

Preheat oven to 350°. Can also be prepared and placed, uncooked, in the refrigerator for a day until ready to cook.

Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce into an 9x13-inch baking dish to cover bottom, and set aside.

Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable broth in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently, 5 minutes or until onions are tender and translucent. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add more broth, a little at a time as needed so the pan does not get too dry.  Add mushrooms and sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Add spinach (1/3 at a time) OR all of the shredded zucchini and stir. When spinach is wilted OR zucchini is cooked, add 3/4 cup of marinara sauce; reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Season to taste with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Arrange 12 polenta slices over marinara in baking dish, and top evenly with half of vegetable mixture. Sprinkle 2 ounces of cheese (or 4 ounces if you want this more cheesy and thus higher in calories and fat) over vegetable mixture; arrange remaining polenta over cheese. Top polenta with the remaining vegetable mixture.  Place a spoonful of pasta sauce over each "mound" of polenta and vegetables. Gently press each mound and spread sauces with the back of your spoon.  Sprinkle with remaining 2 or 4 ounces of cheese.

Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to cook or cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Gotta add more broth, onions are starting to get too dry!

Mushrooms are cooking down.

Spinach has all wilted down nicely.

Tomato sauce is now in; this is yummy enough to eat all by itself!

Here is the filling with the shredded zucchini.

Cutting the rounds is so much fun! Just use a big chef's knife. Slice the polenta in half and then half again, as the chunk gets smaller holding it from above with your thumb and forefinger on both sides. Keep slicing the chunks in half until you have 24 slices.

Layering this baby up!

Ready to be spread out with a spoon.

Ta da! Ready for the oven or refrigerator.

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Wendy's Vegan Chili Mac Recipe

Hi friends! It has been WAY too long since I posted a new recipe.  Lately I have been preparing a lot of things that I have already written about and, the new things that I have tried making have been, well, less than blogworthy. So I'm really excited to tell you about something delicious called Chili Mac, for those of you that have never heard of it.

I first was introduced to the concept by a co-worker who was participating in the 28-day Engine 2 Challenge at Whole Foods with me. She found a recipe on FatFreeVegan and recommended it, suggesting it might be good for my 10-year-old daughter who was also participating in the challenge with us. She was so right, my daughter loved it. Me, I thought it was okay, but not worth making a second time. Check out that recipe here at  FatFreeVegan Chili Mac

So when my friend Jill was asking for dinner ideas for her family I brought it up. And I thought, it's such a great concept for a healthy meal, I need to give it another go. So I printed out a few vegan chili mac recipes from the Internet and came up with my own, using the ingredients that I know I like. I suggest you do the same. Just like my vegan enchilada recipe, chili mac is super easy to customize!

I decided to go with a meat replacement product called "Gimme Lean." I've used it before and I couldn't recall whether or not I liked it. Eating these types of vegan meat substitutes is something I try to really limit. Too many ingredients, a little too high in salt. But I wanted to see if I could make a Vegan Chili Mac recipe that the whole family would love, and this really helped. Next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I am going to use a meat substitute like Morningstar Farms  Veggie Crumbles. I just like the consistency of that product better.

Wendy's Vegan Chili Mac

serves 8

8 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni (I used Barilla Plus)

1 large onion, chopped

3 Tbsp vegetable broth or water

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 package frozen Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles or 1 chub Gimme Lean Ground Sausage

10 ounces frozen corn

1 25.5 ounce (or more) jar of your favorite tomato sauce

1 bunch kale, rinsed, hard stems removed and sliced thin

1 cup (or more) water

1 can kidney beans, washed and drained (I used a 20 ounce can, but a 15 ounce can is fine too)

1 Tbsp chili powder (mild, med or hot--your preference)

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

optional: Cayenne pepper or red chili flakes, to taste-be careful, you can always add more

Cook macaroni according to package directions and set aside.

Place a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add vegetable broth. When bubbling, add chopped onion. Stirring frequently and watching the heat (we are looking for browning, not burning), cook until onions are translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir. Add a few Tbsp water or broth if pan is too dry as you are sauteing the onions and garlic.

Add veggie crumbles or veggie sausage. The veggie sausage will take more work to break it up and brown. The veggie crumbles just require stirring to cook and brown. Once browned, add corn and stir.

Turn heat to low. Add tomato sauce and at least 1 cup of water. Add kale and stir. Add beans and stir. Add cooked elbow macaroni and stir. Season with 1 Tbsp. chili powder, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and if desired, a pinch of Cayenne pepper or red chili flakes. 

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Vegan Italian Vegetable Casserole

Last week I was asked to prepare a vegetable side dish for a dinner party that we were attending. In my enthusiasm for vegetables, I decided to prepare two. One tried and true and one new and untested.

So I went to a handy-dandy website, http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ and decided to try Susan's Italian Layered Vegetable Casserole. http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/05/italian-layered-vegetable-casserole.html I adjusted the proportions of the ingredients from the original recipe. I was totally surprised at this casserole's awesomeness. I'm inspired too. Inspired to make it again and try out my own unique versions of it. It would be fabulous with even more vegetable layers, maybe fresh tomato and basil or portobella mushrooms. You could even add precooked whole wheat lasagna noodles and make it into a vegan lasagna. You really can take this thing wherever you want.

Here's my first version of this vegan, low calorie yummimess. More versions to follow in the near future!

Italian Layered Vegetable Casserole
makes 8 servings, 2 Weight Watchers points per serving

2 large eggplants
2 medium-large zucchini, sliced thinly (or 2-4 cups sliced vegetables of your choice, such as mushrooms)
chopped parsley, garnish
28 ounces of your favorite pasta/tomato sauce

Filling:
16oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 lb tofu (firm, reduced-fat recommended–not silken!)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (adds a cheesy taste)
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. rosemary, crushed
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Peel the eggplants, if desired (this makes the casserole easier to cut). Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Pre-cook the slices until they are partially dehydrated: To pre-cook in the oven, place on a silicone baking mat or parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake at 450 F until slices are shriveled but not brown or crispy. About 25 minutes. Remove immediately from baking sheet and place on a plate.

Prepare the filling by placing all ingredients into a food processor and processing until smooth.

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a mid-sized rectangular casserole dish (I used 9x13-inch) with canola oil or non-stick spray. Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish–just barely enough to cover the bottom. Arrange 1/3 of the eggplant slices over the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the filling over the eggplant, and put half of the zucchini or other vegetables over the filling. Drizzle lightly with sauce. Repeat eggplant, filling, zucchini, and sauce. Place the final layer of eggplant over the top, and pour the remaining sauce evenly over it, spreading it to cover the eggplant completely.

Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. Check to make sure that zucchini is cooked and sauce has thickened; if not, add more time. Remove when done and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley as garnish.

So what's been going on in your kitchen lately? Let me know!

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Vegan Indian Saag (Spinach) Tofu

I've been working on perfecting this recipe for Indian Saag Paneer for over a year, first lightening it up to fit within my Weight Watchers plan, and now, morphing it into a vegan Saag "Paneer".  A traditional Saag Paneer includes cubes of Indian cheese and heavy cream--not Healthy Girl friendly at all. But because it is my number one favorite Indian dish, I'm practically obsessed with getting it right (ie tasty and healthy).  So without further adoo (how on earth do you spell that?), here is my Saag Tofu:

Saag Tofu
serves 8

Printable Recipe

2 packages firm tofu
Tamari or low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp low sodium vegetable broth
6 medium or 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp minced (or grated) ginger
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's low fat Marinara Sauce in the green can)
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 16 oz. bags frozen spinach (or 3 10 oz. boxes), thawed
1 bag fresh baby spinach
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Open and drain packages of tofu. Wrap each block of tofu in paper towels (a few layers around) and place wrapped tofu block under a cookie sheet weighted with something a bit heavy on top of it. After 15 minutes, discard wet paper towels and cut blocks of tofu into 1" squares. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Place tofu squares on cookie sheet and drizzle lightly with Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce. "Broil" the tofu squares for about 40 minutes, shaking the cookie sheet every 10-15 minutes, until the tofu is chewy and looks like this:

Remove tofu from oven and set aside.

Heat vegetable broth in a large skillet or pot on medium heat.  Add the garlic and ginger, stiffing frequently, until garlic just starts to brown.  Immediately reduce heat to low and stir in tomato sauce, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt.  Partly cover and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in defrosted spinach (it is okay if it is not totally defrosted at this point). When incorporated and hot, stir in fresh spinach.  When fresh spinach is wilted, using a hand/immersion blender, puree mixture until smooth (or as smooth as you would like it, it's up to you). 

Simmer 8-10 minutes until spinach turns an olive green color.  Stir in almond milk.  Gently mix in tofu cubes. Remove from heat and serve. Great served right away with rice or naan and raita.  Keeps well in the refrigerator for leftovers.

Looks just like the real thing, huh?

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