Gluten Free Lasagna

I remember watching Garfield when I was little, and Garfield and I had one major thing in common, we both love lasagna. Garfield would always scarf down those cartoon lasagnas and who can blame him, lasagna is delicious!

So, here I am as a vegan chef so many years later looking for new ways to make a healthier yet still so satisfying lasagna, and I have made quite a few. From traditional lasagna, to mexican style lasagna, to this one, my latest: Gluten Free Lasagna. For this one I made a batch of creamy polenta, which I spread out on a baking sheet in a thin layer. I then baked this and let it cool, and cut the polenta into "noodle" like strips. I then layered the polenta "noodles" with a mixture of caramelized onions & mushrooms, and a delicious swiss chard  and tofu "ricotta" that I created using tofu, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper. I also roasted some sweet tomato slices to put on top with a final dollop of cashew cheese . Not bad! I think Garfield would have liked this one ... 

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, San Francisco

Today, I had the honest pleasure of donating my baked goods to San Francisco's local sale for the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale that is going on in countries all over the world this weekend. You can read more about it at www.veganbakesale.org. The purpose of this bake sale is to raise money for local charities, each location can choose whatever charities they would like the proceeds to be donated too, and the other benefit is that it will introduce people the deliciousness of vegan goodies! It is a common thought that vegan baked goods must be lacking in flavor or texture as compared to the "real thing," but let me tell you, these treats were exploding with flavor, color, texture, and all without any cholesterol or animal products! My contribution were these yummy brownies topped with a layer of Almond Butter and Toasted Coconut (mmmm yum!) and I also made a few Baked Vanilla Donuts (with sprinkles, of course) these were my favorite donut when I was little, and I love that I can make a healthier version nowadays to enjoy as an adult. It was so fun to donate to this good cause. The local proceeds are going to benefit "Animal Place" and "East Bay Animal Advocates"