Going All Out Lasagna

I love lasagna and i love thinking of ways to love it even more. Today, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, i made it my vow to make a vegan lasagna that covered all the bases - hearty, healthy, and heavenly. Usually, my lasagnas just have a few food items that are repeated throughout. Today, i can no longer claim this! I had veggie ground meat ( i call it 'ground veet'), breaded eggplant, almond cream, and steamed kale, along with the usual marinara sauce and noodles.

Here are some step-by-step photos, or at least some of the ingredients i used! Here's the list, followed by instructions.1 package of lasagna noodles
2 cups ground veet
1 medium eggplant
1 bunch kale
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup almond cream (recipe follows)

To make, follow these simple steps. Really, while making this pie can take a few steps, none are that complicated!

1) Make your standard marinara sauce. If you don't have one, look anywhere on-line and or in your favourite cookbook! Set aside
2) Make almond cream, and then set aside. To make, here are the ingredients:
1 package silken tofu, extra firm
1/2 cup roasted almonds
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cornstarch
nutmeg, small sprinkle
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup water, optional (to make the consistency you would like)

Steps: First, place almonds and lemon juice in food processor. Puree until creamy. Add all other ingredients, adding as much water as you need. I like my thick, so i added about 3 tbsp of water.3) Make eggplant rounds: Cut one eggplant into rounds, not too thick! Dip each round into shallow bowl of olive oil, and then bowl full of breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, and dried basil (about 1 cup crumbs and 1/2 yeast). Place onto oiled bake sheet, then in an oven pre-heated at 400, bake for 15 minutes. Take out, turn, back for 15 more, or until both sides are crispy and darkened. I sprayed a bit of oil on both sides too. Set aside

4) Make your lasagna noodles as per package specifications. I added a bunch of kale near the end too - to save on water and cleaning up pots. When noodles are about 3-5 minutes away from being done, toss in the greens!

5) Make your ground veet. Follow package instructions, but what i do is boil water and add 1:1 ratio of water to ground veet. I needed two cups of it, so 2:2. I also added herbes des provence for some added flavour.6) Now that you have all your parts, assemble as follows:
a) 1/2 marinara sauce goes on bottom of 9x13 pan
b) add noodles - about 3-4 of them
c) add ground veet
d) top with eggplant slices
e) place kale on top
f) next comes 1/2 of almond cream, make sure to spread around if necessary
g) add rest of noodles
h) top with rest of marinara sauce
i) finish with rest of almond cream or vegan cheeze if you wish

7) Wrap with tin foil and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Take off foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden and bubbly.