We've secretly replaced their regular cheese...

I had some shredded carrots in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I asked the SO if he'd like some lasagna. He's possibly the most agreeable person on the planet when it comes to food (just don't try to feed him raw tomatoes), so he was all for it.

Since we're still detoxing from our vacation, I was trying to think of a way to make it a little lighter. I remembered that Yvonne, the Traveling Vegetarian suggested that firm silken tofu was a good replacement for ricotta cheese, so I decided (somewhat hesitantly) to try it. I also added in roasted red pepper (roasted in my toaster oven) since I found that was such a great addition to the lasagna I made in Las Vegas.

The first part of this process is, of course, to fully drain the tofu. With the fresh squash and zucchini, there's already plenty of water in the lasagna (which takes about an hour after cooking to fully soak in; I use canned mushrooms to cut back on the water even more sometimes), so the draining was a real task. Also, I didn't plan for it far enough in advance. So I did the bit where you put the block between two plates and it fell apart. So I just mashed it all up to where it actually looked like ricotta and then put a paper towel over it. Then a kitchen towel. Then a second kitchen towel. Geez, that stuff is all water.

When it was finally at a point where I felt comfortable with its moisture level, I sprinkled it onto the first layer of vegetables in the lasagna. By that point, it was much, much easier than ricotta to deal with. That stuff can get messy (which is why I started skipping it altogether). It didn't look too bad, either.

I cut back on the mozzarella cheese to about 12 ounces total--to help keep it together and add the flavor. And then the moment of truth...

I decided not to tell the SO of my plan until after he'd taken a bite. Not because he'd be opposed to tofu (he's not), but just to see if there was a significant difference. I took a bite first and really didn't notice anything different (I only used one package). But my palate has all the sensitivity of a factory farmer; I'm not a good judge. So I ask the SO, "How is it?" "It's really good. Did you do something different? Did you use some different cheese or something?" Busted! He said that he could sense the texture of it but that he thought it was good and that he still got enough of the mozzarella taste to be happy. And he took home half the leftovers. I'll take that as a good sign. So, welcome to my recipe, tofu.

Day 6 - back in Las Vegas

Tuesday morning, I was eager to get up and finally see my hosts (who were in Memphis for the weekend). After a little catching up and finally meeting baby Eli (born in September), we headed out for lunch to In-N-Out.

Yes, this is still a vegetarian blog, but I'd promised the SO that we'd go and I remembered from a previous trip that they had some rockin' french fries (prepared for frying on site daily!). I also knew of the not-so-secret secret menu that had some vegetarian-friendly items. So I ordered the grilled cheese, fries and a strawberry milkshake.

Oh. Oh.

Generally speaking, I think that "American cheese" is an oxymoron. Though I grew up loving the stuff, you can't easily get me to eat a Kraft single. And don't even ask me about Thousand Island dressing--I don't touch the stuff. But this sandwich was delicious. I don't know--maybe I was extra hungry (I did send the SO inside for another order of fries), but it was one of the most enjoyable sandwiches I've had in a while. And the fries--they really are very good. Crisp and tasty, not too oily and never limp. When In-N-Out talks about their food quality, they ain't lyin'.

Could I have lived without the second order of fries? Yes, but I think my life is that much better for having them. In-N-Out: salted thumbs up.

For dinner, I decided to treat my guests to some lasagna. I had a request for no mushrooms, so I subbed in freshly-roasted red peppers. And you know what? I really liked the addition of that flavor, so I intend to add it to my recipe (though I'm keeping the mushrooms when I cook at home). When it was time to shop for dinner, I decided to take the opportunity to check out the local Trader Joe's. TJ's is a legend in the vegetarian communities and all my friends from out west seem to lament the fact we don't have them in Tennessee, so I was eager to check it out.

Meh.

First off, it was tiny and cramped. And had the all the ambience of an outdated Piggly Wiggly. The lighting was harsh and made the place seem dirty and the food look unappetizing. But I could really get past that if they actually had the items I wanted. I didn't think I was getting too exotic, but I couldn't find squash or zucchini or a red pepper. And I wasn't thrilled about the cheese, pasta or sauce selection. It was like a gourmet Aldi without the produce selection. It just had a very narrow selection that didn't even seem to included what I would think are basics. But there were some nice-looking convenience foods and I did see that collection of very cheap wine (though I didn't buy any). I did buy some fleur-de-sel caramels on the advice of my host. And some other candy. But I had to go to Whole Foods for everything else I needed to prepare dinner. So my trip to Trader Joe's was a fairly big disappointment. Nonetheless, now I know what it's like. I guess I'd go once in a while for some specialty items, but it wouldn't be my weekly trip. Trader Joe's: one thumb up, one thumb down; neutral thumbs.

Up next: the SO eats more sea critters and we eat at a high-concept Mexican restaurant that I actually like.

Really Easy Garden Lasagna

When I was a kid, my mother discovered that I'd eat just about anything as long as it had spaghetti sauce on it. She didn't always indulge me, but we were both thankful when broccoli was served on the same night as chicken cacciatore or chicken parmigiana (after my stepfather's first heart attack, it was "chicken something" just about every night). Not much has changed since then except that I no longer eat chicken. I still don't love a whole lot of vegetables that are really good for you, which is why garden lasagna is such an easy way to make things such as broccoli and carrots go down a little easier.

Before I start in on this recipe, let me tell you that it is a heavily modified lasagna recipe. As in (obviously) there's no meat sause and also no ricotta or parmesan/Parmigiano Reggiano. Ricotta is a vegetarian cheese, but it's a colossal pain in the ass and I didn't really think it added all that much, so I started leaving it out a few years ago. So here we go. Note: The recipe is meant to be "easy" but I've put some alternatives in parentheses that may make it a little more labor intensive. The easiest part is you let the sauce and water from the vegetables cook the noodles instead of cooking them ahead of time (so this lasagna takes a little longer to cook in the oven).

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped summer (yellow) squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 or 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot (to taste)
1 medium jar or can of mushrooms pieces and stems, drained (or fresh sliced mushrooms if you prefer)
1 cup thawed and drained frozen chopped broccoli (or fresh, finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
9 lasagna noodles (I use a whole grain noodle)
1 26 ounce-ish jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Newman's Own Organic Herb Marinara)
1 15 ounce can or 2 8 ounce cans of plain tomato sauce (I use the 15 ounce can of Contadina Roma Tomato Sauce or the Dole Organic Tomato Sauce)
Chopped garlic (I use the stuff in a jar, because I'm lazy like that)
Dried herbs (whatever you like--my favorite herb is rosemary, so I add it to my sauce).

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sauces into a medium bowl and add the chopped garlic and herbs (to taste) and mix well. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 pan (I use a glass baking dish) and then spread 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom. Place three noodles on top of the sauce, evenly spaced (they'll expand during cooking). Then spread the chopped broccoli, mushrooms and carrot over the noodles and top with half the cheese. Pour 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the cheese and then place three more noodles on top of the sauce. Sprinkle on the squash and zucchini and the rest of the cheese and cover with 1 cup of sauce. Place three more noodles on top and cover with the remaining sauce (cover it completely to avoid crunchy noodles). Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and (optional) sprinkle some additional cheese on top. Bake (not optional) another 15 minutes.

Notes: You can choose any combination of vegetables you like but note that some vegetables have a higher water content than others. The squash and zucchini in this recipe means that you have to let it set for a while after baking so that the water is absorbed. I usually just turn off the oven and let it sit in there another half an hour before serving. Let it set even longer and re-heat it later, if you like. I don't make lasagna often because there's a lot of it, but the leftovers actually taste better than the first night because the added herbs and garlic have time to really sink in. It's a good thing, because now I have a week's worth of lunches. It ain't pretty, but it sho' is good.