Vegan Spinach-Mushroom Lasagna

For a want of a simple dinner after consuming holiday festivity foods in the last weeks of 2013 and during the New Year celebration, here's my vegan take with a noodle.

It is best to prepare the following ingredients for a stress-free cooking activity. You can use other brands and add or lessen measurements of listed ingredients here. The fact is, I often change my measurements or do not use it at all. I like the variety. But we need a recipe so that we, especially me, will not forget. Use this then as a guide as well as to remember me by (ha,ha,ha!).

Ingredients/Instructions (and set aside all prepared ingredients)

12 Pieces Lasagna Noodles (Boil/cook/prepare according to the brand's instructions. A piece of noodle is about 11 inches long.)

180-250 Grams Fresh Spinach (If leaves are needed to be washed, please wash them in water and sea salt solution or water with distilled vinegar, then dry them up. Fresh spinach must be DRY, not soggy when we preparing this recipe. Try to prewash leaves a few hours before baking or dry them with paper towels.) 

300 Grams Fresh Button or Crimini Mushrooms or combine, both (Clean and slice them; not too thin, not too thick)

1 Medium size Yellow Onion (Peel and chop coarsely)

6 Gloves Garlic (Peel, crush, and slice thinly or mince the garlic)

2 1/4 Cups Almond(/Coconut/Soy) Milk (I used the Silk brand, original formula, which is a little sweet)

1/2 Cup Vegetable Soup Stock

1/4 Cup Applesauce or Chutney

1/4 Cup precooked Garbanzos (You use the cooked canned ones)

1/2 Cup Sweet (Green) Peas

2-3 Tbsps Cornstarch (liquify with very little water)

1/4 Cup (or more) Vegan Butter

1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger (peel skin and mince)

1 Tsp Crushed Black Pepper, 2 Tbsps Dried Parsley, 2 Tbsps Dried Basil, 1 Tbsp natural Sea Salt, and (Optional:) 1 Tbsp Tamari Soy Sauce and 1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother.

Cooking the Mushroom Sauce
        Place the butter and garlic together in the hot saucepan. If the pan is too hot, just lift it up from the stove to cool a bit and, at the same time, melting the butter. When the garlic starts to smell, put the mushrooms in the pan. Mix them well with the butter, gently. (Try not to burn what you're cooking by adjusting the heat or gas flame too.) Cook for three minutes. Then pour the milk and soup stock onto the pan and put the applesauce or chutney, black pepper, parsley, basil, sea salt, and soy sauce. Stir. Stir often to avoid curdling of the milk. When near boiling point, add the liquid cornstarch, stir gently well; be sure that the bottom is not solidifying. (Be sure to check your heat temperatures or flame too.)  Cook for about a minute or two by gentle, yet thorough stirring. Turn off heat or flame and set aside cooked filler sauce.

Lasagna Filling Preparation and Baking
         Preheat oven to 375 (do not go over this temperature).
         Place some chopped onions on the bed of your glass pyrex (about 11x7x1.5 IN). cover it with Lasagna noodles (3 pieces, side by side). Top first layer with spinach leaves, about 2-3 layers of greens; it's up to you. Then place mushroom sauce and sprinkle with onions, garbanzos and peas. Cover this first level by laying the next set of lasagna, then spinach leaves, mushroom sauce, some onions, a few garbanzos and peas. Repeat the layering process for two more levels. Top the last layer set of noodles with the remaining mushroom sauce and sprinkle garbanzos and sweet peas.
          Bake Lasagna for 25-30 minutes. Take out from oven when cooked and let settle for about 5-7 minutes before eating. Enjoy!

Note: The sauce should be "light" so that 3 Tbsps of cornstarch is sufficient.