Thrown Together Easy Lasagna

Tonight, I had intended on making spaghetti (this was planned since yesterday.) However, apparently, the last time I asked Tony to grab spaghetti noodles from the commissary, he didn't. With the commissary closed today, like it is every Tuesday, spaghetti was out of the question. I looked through my noodle shelf and found a box of lasagna noodles, and thought, "Hey, why not?" I grabbed my copy of Veganomicon to look at the cashew ricotta recipe, and it turned out I didn't have quite a few ingredients, so I adapted the recipe quite a bit, but we all liked how the lasagna came out.

Someone posted the original Veganomicon recipe here (the second ingredients list, and the third directions paragraph to make the cashew ricotta.) (Actually, I've had that entire dinner in that post, and it is really good!) Anyway, here is what I ended up doing:

1/2 c. cashew pieces (approx. 4 oz.)
1/4 c. water (Now that I think of it, I probably could have left this out, or lessened it, since I used silken tofu)
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. firm silken tofu, drained
1-1/2 t. salt

I processed the cashews, water, oil, and garlic in a small food processor. Then I blended that mixture, the silken firm tofu, and salt in a blender.

I cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles as directed. Cooked up some Morningstar Meal Starter Crumbles, seasoned with onion powder (out of onions) and Italian Seasoning. Warmed up two jars of spaghetti sauce, with added Italian seasoning, and parsley. Then I layered the lasagna: sauce, noodles, sauce, cashew ricotta, crumbles, noodles, sauce, cashew ricotta... etc.

My version of the cashew ricotta did not come out with the consistency of ricotta, instead it was very creamy. But since it was in lasagna, the creaminess was a nice texture. I will be experimenting with the spices the next time I make this. Overall, it was a fairly easy dinner, and uses ingredients I always have on hand, and most importantly everyone liked it, so this will be a keeper!