Lasagna and Roasted Garlic Breadsticks

The lovely Divine Miss V's recent lasagna post reminded me that I hadn't made lasagna in months. I used to make it about once every two weeks but just sort of stopped I think because with CSA shares, I have been a bit scattered with meal planning (we shop before we know what our share will contain). I decided after reading her post that it was high time I put together a pan of lasagna (and buy that cool lasagna pan!), so here it is.

I am fairly picky about lasagna and am not too keen on the super vegetable-heavy healthy ones. I do like the heavy "meaty" ones but I really need to be in the right mood for those. My preferred lasagna is fairly simple — a spinach tofu ricotta one with a tomato basil sauce and simply sprinkled with nutritional yeast (no other vegan cheeses.

I make the tofu ricotta by blending drained tofu with salt, pepper, herbs & spices, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dollop of vegenaise and sometimes a sprinkle of sugar all to taste. Then I simply hand mix in some chopped spinach, assemble with medium-cooked noodles and jarred tomato basil sauce and top with some nutritional yeast and sometimes sliced mushrooms and bake for about 45 minute at about 375F. That's it.

When the lasagna was in the oven, I whipped up some dough for breadsticks. I used the no-rise recipe. scored it and sprinkled with olive oil, roasted garlic and salt and pepper. The recipe cooks at a higher temperature but it cooked up fine with the lasagna and took about 30 minutes.

While this is my normal go-to lasagna, I really do love a "sausage" and bechamel sauce one for special occasions (have no made in ages). Sometimes I'll do lazy lasagna roll-ups with just mashed seasoned white beans for the filling. The great thing about lasagna or any pasta is that you can customise it to your tastes.

Whatever kind of lasagna you prefer, it is super easy and super satisfying and an excellent dish to serve to vegans or omnis because who doesn't like lasagna?

TofuXpress!

Look that lovely tofu. Nicely pressed and compacted with help from the TofuXpress. The result is firm and creamy without all that excess liquid.

I never really thought I would ever buy a tofu press since I really never pressed tofu when I would use it. I would just slice and drain and maybe squeeze out a little liquid and that's it. Then I spotted this post recently by everyone's favourite (and super hip) vegan grandmother, Bryanna Clark Grogan. Bryanna sang her praises for the TofuXpress and I knew I had to have one. It may seem a little pricey but if you eat a lot of tofu, it's worth it. You can't tell by the photos but the unit is well made and very sturdy.

I bought it on the website and a few days later it arrived. Here's a few photos.

Fresh out of the box.




With 1 package of Nasoya extra firm tofu. If you've had that brand, you know it's really not that firm.




After a few hours of pressing. Look at all the liquid!




Sliced and then sitting in marinade (see my next post). The container comes with a lid that you can slap on when you marinate or store in the fridge.




Anyway, it's a fantastic gadget that is well worth the money and is also very compact to store. If you're looking for a tofu press, this one definitely delivers. I can definitely see myself using it for pressing different things like TVP chunks, soy curls or pieces of seitan. If you're tired of pressing tofu the old fashioned way with plates and weights or paper towels or tea towels, do yourself a favour and get one of these!

For the record, I was not asked to review this nor did I get this for free. I bought and paid for it -- I'm just a happy customer. :)

Grilled Tofu & Vegetables

Grilled tofu with roasted broccoli & zucchini and a side of roasted red new potatoes.

The tofu was marinated in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, braggs and Bryanna's broth powder and then grilled on my fancy George Foreman grill. I love that grill!