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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Cookin' with Steph & Bianca

On Friday night, Stephanie (from the vegan blog Poopie Bitch) and I led a cooking demonstration at the Pu-Lin Buddhist temple. Henry, the guy who runs the temple, hosts free weekly vegetarian cooking classes with a rotating cast of demonstrators. This was our first class, so we decided to demystify tofu with a Vegan Lasagna with Tofu-Cashew Ricotta and Mushroom Marinara.

According to Henry's Buddhist tradition, one shouldn't eat onions or garlic. So we had to make our sauce from scratch since most jarred sauces contain onions and garlic. We used the Mushroom Marinara recipe from Veganomicon but left out the minced garlic.

We also made the Tofu Cashew Ricotta from Vcon. It was the first time I'd tried this stuff (Steph had made it previously), and wow! It's so creamy and delicious. I could eat it with a spoon by itself.

Besides sauce and "ricotta," we also stuck some nutritious veggies in between the layers. Here's Steph sauteeing some spinach to mix with carrot and zucchini:

And here we are spreading the veggies on:

There were about 15 people in the class and we received lots of compliments. Someone even said they couldn't tell the lasagna was cheeseless!

I should also give props to Richard, Stephanie's husband. He took these awesome pics with my new camera, and I'm super jealous of his skills. I'm still figuring the camera out but I haven't been able to get great results like this without using a flash.

31 comments:

  1. Looks like you all had a lot of fun. The veggies on the lasagna look amaaaazing.

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  2. Sounds like a neat experience. I don't know what on earth I would do without onions and garlic, but it's always good to try new things!

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  3. Glad you had a good time! The lasagna looks yummy! I'm trying to limit onions and garlic in order to follow a more sattvic diet, so it's nice to know I can still make a delicious lasagna.

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  4. It sounds like you had a good time. I'm glad everyone liked the lasagna.

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  5. By the way, I like your shirt

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  6. Ok, my secret: I really wanted to try the Eden grains, but couldn't find them anywhere around me, so I shot the company an email :o). Same thing with the Barney Butter.

    Now I have NO idea how Vitamix found me...

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  7. Yum. The lasagna looks terrific.

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  8. How I wish I could have come! Your food looks super yummy. (Although not to use garlic and onions makes me a little bit sad.)

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  9. I LOVE that cashew ricotta! YUM! It's awesome in lasagna, and also on top of whole wheat or water crackers. I want some now...

    That sounds really fun to do a demo like that! I'm glad the lasagna was well-received!

    Cute shirt, too!

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  10. I love that picture putting the vegetables on....so pretty!

    It's really cool you're doing a cooking class.

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  11. Cute shirt =)
    Love the lasagna it looks really delicious but no garlic?! WHAT!? haha I couldn't live without garlic.

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  12. What fun! It looks delicious!

    I would have such a hard time cooking without onions/garlic.. where I grew up people wouldn't use them and the food was so bland. They would use hing though.. which helped a bit I guess.

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  13. holy cow that's so awesome! i'm kind of a nimrod when it comes to buddhism, but why can't they have garlic or onions? just curious. how did the sauce taste without them? just curious about that as well.

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  14. Hey, so is there like a vegan potluck thing going on anywhere in memphis? Anyone Anyone?

    - meat free fer 19years
    - dairy free fer 8

    Getting tired of my own cooking. I make everyone in my office eat it too.

    Christopher
    livefrommemphis.com

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  15. that is so cool, Bianca! glad you & Steph had so much fun! you guys look like professionals! yay! the lasagna = gloriously gooooood looking - i'd love a slice! ;) (i'd also like to second Kiersten's comment on your shirt - it's awesome!)

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  16. That cashew ricotta and me are total BFF. I'm making some for calzones later this week. And I love lasagna with lots of veggies, I totally need to make some - if only it didn't take so long. Maybe this weekend.

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  17. very cool, that lasagna looks great. I haven't tried making the cashew ricotta yet but it sounds uberrad.

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  18. that's awesome that everyone liked your lasagna!! the tofu cashew ricotta is amazzzing, i agree..i could just eat it with a spoon too haha ;)
    oh, and i love your hair! :)

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  19. Oooooh! That lasagna looks soo good!

    That ricotta is so awesome, one of the few things I have made from V'con...I could eat it like pudding!

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  20. Wow, what a great looking lasagne!

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  21. Cookin' with Steph & Bianca sounds like it should be a cooking show on the Food Network!

    You guys look so happy and the food looks deeeeeelicious!! I love all the veggie goodness!

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  22. you both are very photogenic! I love hearing about your cooking demonstrations and the dishes you choose for introducing people to vegan food. Plus, I've so got to try those Vcon recipes!

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  23. two cooking divas! (the food looks awesome btw) -- LOVE the photos... you should add them to the cookbook for sure! I love seeing people "in action"

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  24. Way to get out the vegan word! I love that ricotta.

    Have you ever tried the Indian spice hing? It has a garlicky, oniony flavor. Used by ayurvedic cooks who don't use onion and garlic.

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  25. How cool is that! I love that you were able to do such a great demo in such a blessed place - right on!

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  26. You two are awesome. Wish I could have sat in for the class! That tofu ricotta is the best...

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  27. May I please have some of that lasagna? It's so pretty and colorful and well, tasty I'm sure!

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  28. oh you two are just too cute for words! hell ya' sistahs! much love to you from the derty D!

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  29. That looks like a lot of fun, and a very tasty lasagna!

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