Idle Cook Club - Veggie Feeds-me: My Body Is Ready

[dibs]

Cool, thanks. I was just wonder. For me, making a vege meal is enough of a departure from my normal that i wouldn't really even think to use a substitute.

[Cm0nster]

TVP is really good for vegetarian sloppy joes, too.

[dibs]

So, i didn't feel like baking, so i made an open lasagne. Two layers of sauteed mushrooms with bacon, wine and garlic and a middle layer of spinach with creme frais. It was delicious, if difficult to photograph.

 

 

[Griddlelol]

Open lasagne?! That sounds awesome. I hate making lasagne so much because it's such a faff to get it all in the container. While the pictures aren't great...it's a pretty decent idea.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I have never heard of this either! So you just cooked all the food separately and then layered it in a pasta sandwich?

 

 

TVP is really good for vegetarian sloppy joes, too.

 

I've not hand sloppy joes (vegan or not) but this sounds like a fun thing to try.

[dibs]

Here is the inspiration i took last night, their photographer miiiight be slightly more skilled than I!

 

http://leitesculinaria.com/66540/recipes-mushroom-lasagna.html

 

 

Edit: ya, it is something i have made before with more traditional lasagna fillings. I find the whole stacking and baking malarky a bit much, and this gets food on the table a lot quicker and in more managable portions! I use broken lasagne sheets like you would any other pasta sometimes as well, especially since there is always one or two left behind after using them.

 

Edit again, here is the last lasagne I made, end of August around:

 

[clyde]

I've not hand sloppy joes (vegan or not) but this sounds like a fun thing to try.

People will insist that pickles, mayonaise, and mustard should not go on sloppy joes. They are incorrect.

[Cm0nster]

I've not hand sloppy joes (vegan or not) but this sounds like a fun thing to try.

Here is the recipe for sloppy Joes, This is really a lot better than if you buy that can of premade sloppy joe mix, and you can sub brown sugar for molasses.

http://cookingchrissy.blogspot.com/2007/12/tvp-sloppy-joes.html

 

 

Meanwhile the open lasagna looks super tasty, but I am not a fan of the idea of using lasagna noodles  like that, they seem kind of big and unmanageable. Can you suggest a substitute noodle that would go well in that dish?

[dibs]

I'd say any wide pasta would do. In the comments for the recipe they suggest tagliatelle or fettuccine. Tbh, cooking the sheets like that is pretty annoying as they stick together and fall apart easily (though maybe that is the gluten free past i'm using).

[Griddlelol]

People will insist that pickles, mayonaise, and mustard should not go on sloppy joes. They are incorrect.

 

Pickles go on anything. They're top tier food. Man I want some pickles on a burger right now.

[dibs]

Since i liked the flavours of my dinner yesterday so much, i'm gonna try this tomorrow:

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/22729/spinach-lasagna-iii/

 

Not sure i can find all the cheese in my coeliac book, but if all else fails i'll just use some creme frais and parmasean:D

[dibs]

So, round 2, and this one has much leftovers so it will be the final round^^

 

This one has 2 layers of a simple tomato sauce - onion, tinned tomatoes, a little bacon which was wholly unnecessary, but needed to be used to, some wine and oregano - and 1 layer of a spinach, musroom mix with some creme frais and cheese to bind it, and more wine. It was really tasty! I'm gonna be looking at getting spinach into more pasta dishes from now on!

 

 

[Badfinger]

What's with this lasanga/lasagne split? I'm sure I'm technically incorrect to think it's lasagna one and only, but it is raising my pedant hackles and the lines appear to be drawn on which side of the Atlantic you reside.

 

In a more food oriented question, at what point is it no longer a lasagna? What are the components and composition that are the most lasang-ish?

[Cm0nster]

Ok, so I decided on a black bean lasagna. I made this many, many years ago with no memory of what recipe I used or how it turned out, although I remember Clyde saying he liked it. this could be a false memory, because when I told him I was making black bean lasagna he was not down with the idea at all, saying it was going to be too mealy. Until I have google glass recording everything I do I will not what really went down. I do know I see this recipe all of the time and want to make it, but don't because I am not sure if it was good or not. This seemed like the perfect excuse to make it again. I just googled black bean lasagna and picked the one that had the most stars. Here is the link: Black bean lasagna, but I am also going to paste it here so I can talk about modifications. 

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 large onion, chopped  (I also added a carrot, a stalk of celery, and about 8 baby bella mushrooms)
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced  (I used 6 cloves in the sauce)
• 2 cans (16 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste (I got nervous during the second can that it was too thick, so I used a can and a half)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 egg whites, lightly beaten  (I got sick of separating, and used 2 whites and 1 whole egg)
• 1 carton (15 ounces) reduced-fat ricotta cheese  (I hate ricotta, I always use firm tofu instead, you cannot tell the difference)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
• Directions
  1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, cilantro and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the egg whites, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and parsley. (I use a food processor here because i used tofu instead of ricotta, and if you food process it it turn it to the same consistency as ricotta)
  3. Drain noodles. Spread 1/2 cup bean mixture into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with three noodles, a third of the ricotta mixture, a third of the remaining bean mixture and 2/3 cup cheese blend. Repeat layers twice. (This doesn't make any sense, because if you did this you would end up with ricotta, beans and sauce on top, which I don't think is right, so I just did it between the middle 2 layers. I put the tiny bit of sauce I had left and the rest of the cheese on top)
  4. Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 12 servings

​Pics:

So notes. It was too mealy. I wouldn't make it again. It wasn't bad, it really tasted like a burrito with lasagna noodles. 
Meanwhile after I picked this recipe I went to watch youtube videos of people making it, and I came onto one of Trisha Yearwood (who has her own cooking show) making it with Garth Brooks. It was awkward. But the reason I bring it up is that she uses tofu as ricotta also, but she put cashews into the food processor with it to give it more flavor. We cannot eat nuts, but if we could I would surely do that when I do tofu ricotta for my other lasagnas, because that sounds delicious. The good thing is that this lasagna held together better than any of my others, so I will try to do some of these steps again. I think the next one I will try to make is the open face one, but with a different noodle. 

[clyde]

It was a good, satisfying, filling, hot meal... but it was too mealy for a pasta dish imo. The texture of the beans overpowers the silkiness of the pasta. Eating it was like eating a burrito wrapped in pasta (instead of a tortilla) with hot, italian-style tomato-sauce instead of salsa. I wouldn't recommend it, but I enjoyed eating it for dinner. THANKS Cm0nster!!

[jennegatron]

http://www.food.com/recipe/absolute-best-ever-lasagna-28768

 

This is the third time I've made this.
Each time i've diverged from the recipe in some way. The first 2 I did a 50/50 split of sausage & hamburger, this time i observed their split, but did not make my own sauce. I browned the sausage & onions, and added store bought sauce (roasted garlic).

I also got a chunk of mozzarella rather than shredded this time, and cut it into chunks for the inside, and shredded it myself for the top.

 

In the future I would 1. tip the 75/25 split in favor of the sausage over the hamburger

2. go back to shredded mozzarella throughout

3. if i do store bought sauce, make sure there's more of it. I did let the thing simmer as instructed while I prepared the other steps.

I would also stay sober longer, and not burn my tongue on the sauce. It's hard to test the sauce if you can't taste.

 

it was impossible to get a slice that came out clean, so it's not beautiful but it is very tasty

[Cm0nster]

Jennegatron: how is the consistency/texture/taste of the cottage cheese? I've been curious about using that.

[Cm0nster]

What's with this lasanga/lasagne split? I'm sure I'm technically incorrect to think it's lasagna one and only, but it is raising my pedant hackles and the lines appear to be drawn on which side of the Atlantic you reside.

 

In a more food oriented question, at what point is it no longer a lasagna? What are the components and composition that are the most lasang-ish?

I use auto correct for spelling lasagna, so the US autocorrect has lasagne as the correct one. Sometimes I think autocorrect has intentionally misspelled words to expose people like me, but in this case I think it is correct.

Maybe it can called lasagna if it uses the lasagna noodle.

[jennegatron]

I actually used ricotta instead of cottage cheese. It makes this creamy cheese layer that I really like. When you combine it and bake it it smooths out a lot. I don't like the texture of cottage cheese.

[Griddlelol]

Lasagne is the plural, lasagna is the singular. Since it's a pasta dish, Italian people use the plural (spaghetti/spaghetto). So as usual, the European way is correct. 

[dibs]

Everyone makes such firmer lasangeas than me! I always liked them a little freeform^^

They both look great! I would be apprehensive about the black bean one to be honest. I would love that mix just with some rice and a little more spicing though!

[dibs]

Guys, what goes on top of the lasagne? i got so confused and i put noodles on top and they all curled up and burned, but they were also really tasty and crispy like that so it was a win.

[aprettycooldude]

My lasagne is usually:

 

Noodles

Ricotta
Sauce
Mozzarella
Noodles
Ricotta
Sauce
Mozzarella

[jennegatron]

I cover my top noodle layer in cheese (different than the cheese mix inside the lasagna). This is usually shredded mozzarella, maybe with some Parmesan thrown in as opposed to the ricotta/mozzarella/parmesan mix inside.

[jennegatron]

Shredded Cheese

Noodle

Cheese mix (ricotta, mozz & parm)

Sauce mix (sauce, onions, sausage and hamburger)

Noodle

Cheese mix

Sauce mix

Noodle

 

I did use more ricotta than the recipe called for because they only sell it in 16 & 32 oz containers meaning that it's either not enough or too much, and I like to err on the side of too much cheese.

The great thing about making a giant lasagna is that you have it for leftovers the whole week!