End of Summer & Great Vegan Lasagna

So we've come to the end of summer. And I could not be happier about it. I love everything about fall and, more than anything, I am happy to say 'good riddance' to heat and humidity. Especially as the Chicago Marathon approaches - I've got less than 5 weeks left to get ready for it, and would LOVE some cool mornings to get my last long runs in.

Also with the end of summer comes the end of an era. Had you told 16-year old Becky - way back in 1998 - that someday she wouldn't even WANT to own a car, she would have laughed in your face. (Especially since she was the proud driver of a SUPER CLASSY Plymouth Reliant!) But ever since I moved to Boston, I just don't drive very much - beyond moving my car from one side of the street to the other for weekly street cleaning. So I've decided to list the Sonata for sale and say farewell. It was such a high for me when I bought her last year, but now I realize that the money spent on her can be invested other places. We'll just see how long it takes to sell - we're 2 weeks in with very little interest. Oh well, I can be patient. :)

I've got a great recipe to share today, too. A coworker of mine recently sent me a link for her favorite lasagna. I'll include a link to it here, so I give full credit to the original blogger/creator, but I'll also copy and paste below for convenience. I've posted a vegan lasagna recipe years ago, but this one is even better. You won't be disappointed! And I love how this blogger posted nutrition information - this is NOT one of those unhealthy pasta dishes where you need to feel guilty after indulging in a huge piece. Less than 200 calories per serving and it's loaded with veggies!

Easy Vegan Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

From FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp. chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp. water
• 2 24-oz jars of spaghetti sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce)
• 9 lasagna noodles (regular lasagna noodles, uncooked)
• Soy Parmesan (optional)
• Sliced black olives (optional)

Filling:

• 10 oz 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

Instructions

1. Sauté the mushrooms and garlic over medium heat in the 2 tbsp. water until tender; cover between stirring to keep them from drying out. Remove from heat and add the spaghetti sauce.
2. Place the tofu and thawed spinach in the food processor and process briefly. Add the remaining filling ingredients to the processor and blend until smooth. (You may do this without a food processor by using a potato masher on the tofu.)
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
4. Spread half of the sauce in the bottom of a 9×12-inch pan. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce, using three dry noodles and leaving a little space in between them. Spread half of the tofu mixture on the noodles (I drop it by spoonfuls and then spread it). Cover with another layer of 3 noodles and then spread the remaining tofu mixture over them. Top with a final layer of noodles, and pour the remaining sauce over this. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with soy Parmesan and sliced black olives if you want. The lasagna will cut better if you allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving.