Friday, March 26, 2010

It's a food to love thing: Lasagna!

I love to experiment with food.  It's my therapy, it's my passion!  The other day my son asked if I was
going to cook a Lasagna.  I hadn't planned on it but ran out to the store to get some ingredients for the project.  No shopping list I thought about what I wanted in this particular batch.  Hmmm, sometimes you have to go with what you feel when you cook.  Recipes are fine but once you get the feel for them, add your own personality to the dish.  Don't be afraid.  I bet you will find you come up with some tasty treats for your family that become a signature dish that gets handed down to your kids and then theirs.  Cooking should be fun, not a chore.  When I don't feel like cooking I order out or bake some chick'n patties with fries.  I sometimes think people are so afraid they are going to get it wrong.  If you just trust in  yourself and your ability to create, your dishes will turn out just fine.  Here are some pics of my Lasagna layer by layer.  Note the cheeze used is hand made and is what I use for my Mac and Cheeze.  Here is the recipe:

3/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of nutritional yeast
1/2 cup safflower or any vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth plus more to thin the sauce when necessary ( I use bullion cubes)
2 tsp mustard
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
a few dashes of nutmeg
salt and white pepper to taste
( you can adjust the taste as needed)

In a large saucepan toast the flour and nutritional yeast over a low heat until it smells nutty.( Do not burn or the sauce will taste funny).  Add oil and stir until fully incorporated (if not fully coated add a little more oil).  With a large whisk, whisk in the vegetable broth carefully.  You don't want to have any lumps so keep whisking.  If the sauce is very thick add more broth.  You want it to coat a spoon and drip off a little.  Not too think, but not too watery.  Next add your flavorings, mustard, garlic powder, paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Adjust as necessary.  Once finished pour on noodles for mac and cheeze or pour on layers for lasagna.

Also for my almond Parmesan which is the topping on my Lasagna:
Equal parts ground almonds and nutritional yeast.  Dash of salt and any type of pepper to taste.

1 comment:

carmen said...

this sounds great! i'm going to have to try it... yummy!