Lasagne/Lasagna

Not sure on the spelling of that as both seem to be used willy nilly.

I made a roasted Vegetable and Spinach Lasagna - it was delicious. I didn't follow a recipe I just made it up as I went along (it's the magic of my new kitchen I tell ya!). I always make this Tomato Sauce though and I always make a big batch and freeze it up for easy convenient use later. This is enough for two Lasagnas or two Moussakas or two of whatever and each portion serves 4 people - so you can divide it up according to your own preferences

Tomato Sauce

serves 8 Ingredients 1 tsp Olive Oil 1 Large Carrot, peeled and diced 1 Large Onion, diced 2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed 2 x 400g Canned Tomatoes 5 fl oz Red Wine or Vegetable Stock (Red Wine is soooo much better!!) 1 Bay Leaf 1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, diced 1 tsp Dried Oregano Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method In a pan add 1 tsp Olive Oil and fry the Carrot and Onion for 10 mins stirring regularly. Add the Garlic, Tomatoes, Red Wine (or stock), Basil, Oregano and Bay Leaf and cook on a gentle heat for 20 mins. Take out the Bay Leaf and whizz with a hand mixer or in your blender. Season to taste.

Easy Peasy!

For the Lasagna/Lasagne I roasted a combo of veggies - Onion, Peppers, Aubergines, Courgettes, Garlic etc etc and I sauteed some Spinach and added some Roasted Garlic, Salt and Pepper to the Spinach then I layered up the dish starting with a layer of Tomato Sauce, then Lasagna, then Roasted Veggies, Tomato Sauce, Lasagne, Spinach, Lasagna, Tomato Sauce, Roasted veggies then topped it with my new creation which I shall call Chickpea Sauce. This is basically a Hummus recipe but with the addition of Soya Milk which makes it perfect for topping Lasagna with. It is seriously delicious and I was very happy with the result - so much so I wanted to share it with you right away. :) Chickpea Sauce 2 cups cooked Chickpeas 2 Cloves Garlic, diced 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons Tahini About a cup of Soya Milk (more or less depending on how thick the consistency will be) Salt to taste Black Pepper to taste Squeeze fresh Lemon Juice Method Whizz up the Chickpeas, Garlic, Olive Oil and Tahini with a blender or stick blender. Gradually add in the Soya Milk to get the right consistency - you're after a thick dollopy kind of Sauce (you know what I mean, right?) Add the seasonings and adjust to your preference. And TAHDAH!

here it is served with a Green salad It was even better the next day where we had it with good old oven Chips :)

Cooking to Kasabian - Fire. Seriously GOOD CHOOOOON! GO VEGAN!

Vegan MoFo Day 28: Spicey Meataballs

What do you do when you get up at the crack of dawn? You think to yourself who's Dawn? Hahahaha..... No What you do silly, is you make the additions to your meatball recipe you've been playing around with and then you divulge how amazing they are to the rest of the blogosphere. OK then! Meatballs makes 24 Ingredients 1 1/2 cups of Vital Wheat Gluten 3/4 cup Nutritional Yeast 1 tsp Onion Powder 1 tsp Garlic Salt 1 tsp Mixed Herbs 1/2 cup Tomato Juice 1/4 cup Red Wine 1 Tblsp Tomato Marinade (paste will do) 1 Tblsp Soy Sauce 2 Tblsp Olive Oil 4 Tblsp Water 3 Cloves of Garlic, squeezed through a garlic press 2 Sundried Tomatoes, diced thinly few drops of Tabasco Half a grated Carrot Directions Grease a Muffin pan. Place in a bowl the Vital Wheat Gluten, Nutritional Yeast, Onion Powder, Garlic Salt and Mixed Herbs. Mix well with a fork. In a separate bowl - place all the other ingredients and mix well. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork to form a dough. Knead for a few minutes and then leave for half an hour. Divide the dough into equal sized ball shapes about the size of a small Walnut and place each ball in a Muffin space in the greased Muffin pan. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake in an oven at 200 degrees for 40 mins turning over half way through cooking time. When done, leave to cool completely before adding them to your Tomato Sauce. This Tomato Sauce recipe is a double recipe so freeze what you don't use for later so if you are pressed for time in the future you will still be able to have yummalicious homemade sauce super duper quick! Tomato Sauce

serves 8 Ingredients 1 tsp Olive Oil 1 Large Onion, diced 2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed 1 Large Carrot, peeled and diced 2 x 400g Canned Tomatoes 5 fl oz Red Wine or Vegetable Stock 1 Bay Leaf 1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, diced 1 tsp Dried Oregano Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper Method In a pan add 1 tsp Olive Oil and fry the Carrot and Onion for 10 mins stirring regularly. Add the Garlic, Tomatoes, Red Wine (or stock), Basil, Oregano and Bay Leaf and cook on a gentle heat for 20 mins. Take out the Bay Leaf and whizz with a hand mixer or in your blender. Season to taste. Easy Peasy!

Add meatballs to the Sauce and heat through whilst you wait for your Pasta to cook. I had intended to make Spaghetti but alack and alas the cupboards didn't deliver so I made twirly shapes instead - I can't remember the name of this Pasta but y'all know what I mean.

Like Nonna used to make (if I was Italian and had a Nonna who was vegan

that is.) Details, details...

Today's song is Sally Cinnamon by The Stone Roses Choooooooooooon!

Vegan MoFo Day 1: Vegan Mousakka ka ka

GOD I freaking LOVE Mousakka! The fact that it CAN be quite a time consuming meal to prepare is a bit of a shit for putting people off making it but I am living, blogging proof that it CAN be done in an hour plus baking time - so and hour and a half altogether! WooHoo! Of course I sneakily had some Tomato Sauce stashed away in my freezer for such an occasion as this, which cuts down the cooking time and preperation quite considerably. The Aubergine and Courgettes I usually bake in the oven but this time I fried them in a big pan with very little oil. Saves LOADS of time. The White Sauce is a variation of the Cashew Ricotta from Vcon which I have tweaked by adding Soya Milk. This makes it easier to use in this way, as a kind of Bechemel Sauce, but doesn't lessen the taste in any way what-so-ever. The overall verdict is...YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE!!! Your tastebuds will love you for it! Vegan Mousakka serves 4 Ingredients For the White Sauce: 1/4 Cup Cashews 10 oz Firm Tofu 1 Cup Soya Milk 4 Basil Leaves 1/4 Cup Olive Oil Juice from Half a Lemon 1 Clove of Garlic For the Tomato Sauce: Half a Recipe Serving of Tomato Sauce Handful Mushrooms, sliced Half a Medium Onion, sliced 2 tbsp Olive Oil 1 Aubergine (Eggplant) 2 Courgettes (Zucchini) 4 Slices Nutty Wholemeal Bread Method Wash and thinly slice the Aubergine and Courgette. Rub Salt on each side of the slices of Aubergine and leave in a colander for half an hour. When ready rinse well with water and gently pat dry with a kitchen towel. Fry the slices of Aubergine and Courgette in a little drizzle of oil in a big frying (skillet) pan. You will need to do this in batches. Depending on how big your pan is it will be about 4 or 5 batches. Fry on each side until a nice golden colour is obtained and set aside to cool. In a saucepan pan add 1 tsp Olive Oil and fry the sliced Mushrooms and Onion for 10 mins stirring regularly. Add the Tomato Sauce and cook on a gentle heat for 20 mins. In an oblong baking dish place a layer of Aubergine, then a layer of sauce, then a layer of Courgette. Cover this in another layer of sauce then finish off with the remaining Veg (which will vary depending on how thin you sliced your Aubergines and Courgettes - but it really doesn't matter). Now to make the White Sauce. Place the Cashews, Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice in a blender and whizz for a few mins. Then crumble in the Tofu and add this the blender with the Basil and Soya Milk. Whizz until smooth. This does make a thick sauce so be careful not to add too much milk - you want a spreading consistency NOT runny like a typical White Sauce. Scoop out and spread over the Mousakka, a knife is handy to help with the spreadage. Whiz up the bread to make breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of everything. You might like to drizzle the breadcrumbs with some Olive Oil - I know I do. Cook in an oven set to 200 degrees for 10 mins then cover the top with some aluminium foil. Cook for another 25 mins. Enjoy!!