Tofu and lemon juice in my Lasagna!!!

Inspired by my little crimini mushrooms that were begging to be used up before they withered away and dried in my fridge, I decided to make a vegetarian lasagna. Most recipes are unappealing and lack protein. I snooped through Erin's blog and found the following recipe. I was intrigued by the use of tofu (both firm and soft) instead of ground beef and ricotta cheese. And lemon in lasagna! I'd never seen that before. The oddity of this recipe made me want to try it... and you know what? It's pretty darn delicious!
The recipe here is Erin's recipe. The only changes I made was that I used cow mozzarella instead of vegan mozzarella. I also didn't used a food processor or blender to blend the tofu mixture instead opting for the more basic, hands on technique of crumbling the firm tofu by hand and whisking the soft tofu. I've changed the way I cook a little. I've found myself cooking with my senses a little more. I want to touch my food. I want to feel the tofu break apart beneath the pressure of my fingers. I want to smell the basil and garlic (which I used raw instead of dried/powdered) on my hands after I've cooked. I'm now soaking garbanzo beans because I like the snapping and cracking sound of them expanding in the bowl as they fill themselves with water. I also cook by smell and not by timer (which has failed occasionally and resulted in accidental testing of my smoke detector... lesson learned, use timer when you have a cold! You can't smell) relying on the smells that fill my kitchen and the look of something cooking instead of a beeping sound.


9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (one bunch fresh spinach)
5 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced (or little crimini mushrooms)
2 small zucchinis, sliced into rounds
1 tbsp safflower oil (or EVOO - extra virgin olive oil)
1 pkg soft organic tofu
1 pkg pressed organic tofu
1/4 cup organic soymilk (or almond milk)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or fresh)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp dried basil (or two sprigs fresh, chopped)
2 tsp salt
1 jar of organic tomato sauce
2 cups mozzarella or Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Cheese Alternative, shredded

• Prepare the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain carefully and set aside on a towel.
• Heat ½ tbsp oil in a large pan over medium heat, sauté mushrooms until soft and dark. Remove from heat and set aside
• In the same pan, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add zucchini rounds and sauté until soft and lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a blender, combine tofu, soymilk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt and blend until smooth.
• In a large bowl, mix tofu blend and spinach until well combined
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cover the bottom of baking pan with a layer of tomato sauce, followed by a layer of noodles.
• Add layer of tofu spinach mix and then another layer of noodles.
• Evenly layer mushrooms & zucchini, then tomato sauce, followed by another layer of noodles
• Use remaining tofu spinach mixture as final layer, ending with the remaining noodles covered by the remaining tomato sauce.
• Top with shredded “mozzarella”
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until tomato sauce bubbles.