Friday, October 26, 2012

Vegan Comfort Food Part Quattro - Italian

The folks at The Red Herring are reading my mind! The kids all of the sudden have been begging for vegan lasagna and we made some for the last vegan meet-up, but they were so bummed when we didn't have any leftovers to take home. It is not often that we make lasagna. I don't know why. My mom used to make lasagna all the time when I was a kid (it took me years to acquire a taste for it and then I went veg and didn't eat it anymore). When Rob and I lived in the DC area, we would go to Food for Thought (sadly gone now) as much as possible for their unbelievably good vegan lasagna (fortunately for people in that area, it still lives on at the Black Cat). We would sometimes buy an entire pan of this addictive lasagna, eat it over the course of the week, and bring back the clean pan. True story.

Since moving to the Midwest, we've had a heck of a time finding vegan lasagna. This made this week's Vegan Comfort Food dinner even more of a treat. We went out with my dad because he turned 76 this week! (I wrote a post about my dad's 71st birthday and it pretty much sums up my feelings five years later.) Rob, my sister, Karen, and her husband, Stuart, met us there.
Here is a shot of the spaghetti plate. The sauce was chunky with lots of onions and carrots and a bit of spice. The broccoli also had loads of onions (and spices) so Parker surprised me and went with the spaghetti (he is an onion lover). Dema loved the minestrone soup and ate two bowls along with his lasagna, bread, and broccoli.
 Parker's tomato shirt from the co-op was very appropriate.
I think half the fun of eating this dish was swirling the pasta around the fork.
 Dad looking serious.
 Dad looking blurry and happy.
 The lasagna was also full of veggies, Field Roast "wheat meat" and no cheese (didn't need it)...delicious! We all cleaned our plates so well you couldn't tell we'd ever had food on them. I think this might be Dad's first time eating lasagna since my mom died (over 10 years ago). He doesn't cook.
 Parker being goofy.
 The gang (Stuart, Josie, Karen, Parker, Dema).
 Rob listening to Stuart.
 The lasagna was our table's favorite (even Parker got to try some), but the pasta was stellar too. The soup and broccoli were so tasty they could have been a meal on their own. It was the perfect way to celebrate my dad's birthday and it made me feel like my mom was there with us. Thanks to the crew at The Red Herring for another wonderful, homey, comfortable, vegan dining experience. I can't wait until next Thursday, I hear they might be doing some frying!

No comments: