What to do with Summer Veggies

 

I even surprised myself with this recipe.  All of these summer veggies paired so well together!  Last week, we went to two local farmer's markets here in Kansas City.  At one of them I picked up some unusual eggplants.  One was white and the other was a big, round, purple and white one.  I also got some heirloom tomatoes, as well as some other things just for eatin.  And at the other farmer's market we picked up some zucchini and squash, and again loads of other fruits and vegetables to munch on.  I never tire of vegetables!  A while back I had jotted down a recipe for some cashew ricotta that I got out of Vegan Planet or Veganomicon, I can't remember which,  that I was quite anxious to try out.  And after buying all of these fresh summer veggies, I thought a lasagna was just the thing to blend it all together. 

Everything was so good, but I think this may have been the star of the show:

And that's what I used to make this:

Cashew Ricotta (adapted):

1/2 cup raw cashews
2 TBS. olive oil
1 lemon, squeezed for juice
2 TBS. of minced garlic
1 pound firm tofu, drained 
handfuls of fresh basil
1 1/2  teaspoons salt
In a food processor, blend together the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic until a thick creamy paste forms. Add the tofu, basil and salt to the food processor, until the mixture is thick and well blended.

My mom hates cashews but she tried this and said, "Wow!  It tastes like ricotta cheese."  Perfect!

Then it was time to make the sauce:

I just threw a bunch of stuff together, so I'm trying to remember what I did.

Sauce:

6 Tomatoes, chopped

1 large can of tomato paste + water of same can size

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 TBS. minced garlic

4 bay leaves

1 TBS. cumin

1 TBS. oregano

Handful of fresh basil

pinch of sea salt

Saute bell pepper, onion, and garlic.  Then add in tomatoes, paste, water, and all other spices.  Bring to a low boil, and turn down and let simmer for a while.  The longer it sits, the better.

Once I had all of that done, it was time to chop all of the vegetables and assemble it all together.  I used the eggplant as my "noodles".  After slicing them, I drizzled some olive oil on them and a little seasoning, and broiled them for a few minutes on each side.  

For my filler, I chopped up zucchini, squash, bell peppers, mushrooms, and olives and sauteed all of those in a little olive oil in a skillet on the stove top.  And I also had some fresh spinach and my heirloom tomatoes to add as layers.

Then everything was ready to add together.  

First I lined a 13X9 pan with some tomato sauce, then put a layer of eggplant, and then placed some of my veggie filler on top, and a layer of spinach.  Then I added my cashew ricotta mixture and repeated the process, putting the tomatoes on in the second round.  Once it was all together, I topped it off with some mozzarella Daiya cheese.  I baked it in the oven at 350 for about 35 minutes.  Enough to make sure it was heated through and the cheese was melted. 

It cut really nicely, and stayed together.  And after this piece, I had seconds.  It was delicious.  I'm totally making this again.  I loved every bite of it.  I didn't miss the noodles at all.  This one's a keeper!