Lasagna

Sauce

• 2 Cups mushrooms, chopped
• 8 ounces tempeh, finely chopped (perhaps less than 8 ounces)
• 2 Tablespoon coconut aminos (or sub tamari or vegan worcestershire sauce, but slightly reduce amount)
• teaspoon fennel seed (optional)
• teaspoon red pepper flake (optional)
• Two 25 ounce jars of your favorite marinara sauce

1. Water (no oil needed) sauté the mushrooms and tempeh for about 3 minutes.
2. Add coconut aminos (or worcestershire sauce), fennel (optional), and red pepper flake (optional) and continue sautéing for another 5 minutes. The mixture should be golden brown and well cooked.
3. Add the marinara sauce and continue cooking on low heat to "marry" the flavors.
4. Set aside while you prepare the 'cheeze'.

Cheeze

• 2 Cups raw cashews soaked in hot water for 1 hour and then drained
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• teaspoons garlic powder
• scant teaspoons sea salt
• to Cups water

1. Add soaked and drained cashews to a food processor or a high-speed blender along with lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and sea salt and mix/blend into a loose paste.
2. Add Cup of water and continue mixing, scraping down sides as needed. Add more water — 1 Tablespoon at a time — until a thick paste forms. I find I get the best texture results with a food processor, but a blender can work, too. It just generally requires more scraping and more liquid. For texture, you're looking for a thick, spreadable soft "cheese."
3. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor, salt for saltiness, lemon juice for acidity/brightness, or garlic powder for garlic flavor. Blend again to combine.

Assembly

• One 10 ounce box of vegan-friendly lasagna noodles - whole wheat if you can find them

1. Boil the noodles to "al-dente".
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a 9"x13" baking dish alternate several layers of sauce, noodles, and cheeze. 3 layers of each. First sauce, then noodles, then cheeze.
4. One more layer of noodles and sauce.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes uncovered.
6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
7. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or basil.