Polenta Lasagna With Mushrooms and Greens

My brother and sister-in-law made this recipe awhile back. I looked it up on the internet, but the recipe I adapted came from here (Fat Free Vegan Kitchen). I'm not sure who posted the original recipe since I found a lot of them, but I give credit where it's due.  How I made the recipe is below...

Ingredients:

1 tray of polenta

• 6 cups of water or brother
• 2 cups of dry polenta/corn meal
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt to taste

In a large pan, bring water to boil and add the polenta. Stir until thickened and then add the olive oil and salt (1-2 teaspoons), about 5-10 minutes total. Pour out onto large jelly roll pan (11x17, the polenta should be less than 1/2 an inch thick) and let cool. You should be able to slice the finished product.

Ingredients for filling and sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 4 cups quartered baby bella mushrooms
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch collard greens or kale, ribs removed and chopped
• 2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped 
• 1 cup extra-firm silken tofu
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons cashew butter 
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 teaspoons corn starch 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the items bolded above in a blender and blend until smooth. Saute the onion, mushrooms and garlic in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the greens and basil along with a 1/4 cup or so of water. Cover and cook until the greens are tender. Mix in the white sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly:
Cut the polenta in half to fit a smaller pan or into into 4 pieces to fit into 2 large loaf pans (this is what I used). Put a piece of the polenta on the bottom, layer on half of the marinara sauce, the white vegetable sauce, olives, another layer of polenta and then finish off with the rest of the marinara sauce. Cut the proportions in half for two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Vegan Carrot Cake with Coconut Icing (Ginger-Macadamia-Coconut-Carrot Cake)

This is from the book, Vegan With A Vengeance. I put my changes off to the side. It was really good, and people didn't even know it was vegan.

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup agave because maple syrup is really expensive.)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (I used 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped (I used dried/sweetened ginger from Trader Joes that was un-crystallized and it work great)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cups carrots, grated (I used 3)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans. In a large bowl mix together dlour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl mix together the pineapple juice, oil, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Divide the batter between the 2 pans and bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pans and then frost with coconut icing (I didn't wait to remove the cakes from the pans before cooling and they stuck to the bottom, I guess parchment paper can be used to prevent sticking).

Coconut Icing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (I used Spectrum Organic shortening and a touch of butter flavoring along with 2 tablespoons coconut oil)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (I used about 1/3 cup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar (I used 2 1/2-3 cups)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used about 1 1/2- 2 cups)

Directions:
Cream the margarine or shortening/coconut oil until fluffy. Add the coconut milk and vanilla, mix until combined. Beat in the confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer until smooth (about 5 minutes). Fold in the coconut. Refrigerate for an hour before using, it makes it thicker. I added the coconut oil because I didn't think it had that strong of a coconut flavor, so I compensated with additional sugar to get the right consistency. Ice the cake and top with additional coconut if desired.

Tortillas (flour and corn)

I wanted to make enchiladas and bought a cheap pack of tortillas. After looking at the list of some 20  or so ingredients on the back, I decided to make my own with the ingredients below. Some of the motivation also came from me just going to a friend's place for dinner. She's Guatemalan and tortillas are a staple. She showed me how she made her corn tortillas using Maseca (a brand of corn meal mix) and her super authentic looking wood tortilla press. They were awesome and I think corn tortillas are delicious, but can fall apart too easily. Thus below...I think the gluten in the tortillas helps hold them together.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups corn meal (mine was somewhat coarsely ground, local from Whole Foods)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening (I used Spectrum Organic)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 1/2- 1 3/4 cups water

Directions:
Mix all ingredients into a ball. It should be somewhat soft, but still hold shape. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. Roll into balls (maybe about 1/4 cup, mine made between 16 and 18 tortillas). On a floured surface, roll into a circle using a rolling pin (or circle like shape). Or use a tortilla press and press into a circle. Cook on a heated griddle, about 1 minute per side. There should be some small brown spots where the tortilla was touching the griddle. To keep moist and hot while preparing all the tortilla. Place between two paper towels on a plate, with a second plate on top to hold in heat and moisture. These held together really well, I made Mixed Vegetable Enchiladas with them.