Lasagna Legacy

Originally published on www.clearasmud.blog on November 22, 2021.

Mar 25, 2025

I’m asked all the time if I can share recipes. The thing is, I’m not a food blogger, and there are so many great ones out there so I don’t feel like there is a need for my recipes. However, occasionally, there is a recipe I do feel compelled to share—usually because it’s food-sensitivity compliant (GF, dairy-free, etc.) or it carries special meaning for me.

Enter Tofu Lasagna. I know it doesn’t sound like a recipe you’d run to try out, but it’s yummy, nutritious, and holds a lot of sentimental value for me.

Of course, a little background and context are in order:

As you may know, I grew up in San Antonio, Texas where my parents established the Chabad Jewish Center for Life and Learning over thirty-five years ago. I loved growing up in Texas and in a home dedicated to service and community. One of the challenges, though, was Jewish schooling. When I turned thirteen and needed/wanted to be in an atmosphere where my peers were like me (raised with traditional Jewish values) and where I would be able to grow in my Judaic studies, my parents had to make the hard decision to send me out of town for school. Side note: Now that I’m a parent living in a place with no Jewish schooling, I appreciate how hard this was for them.

So, I left home when I was thirteen years old and went to Chicago for 8th grade. I didn’t know any Chicagoans, and I was going into a class that had been together for all of elementary school. I am an introvert (not to be confused with being shy), but it is hard for me to be in overwhelming social situations, even with people I know—never mind trying to find my place among a bunch of 13-year-olds who've known each other their entire childhoods. It turned out that my class was awesome, and I made friends quickly.

A few days before Rosh Hashana, a girl in my class, Dena Lubin, invited me to her house to study for a test. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity! When I look back at that moment, I get emotional when I realize it was the start of not only an amazing friendship but also when the Lubins became my home away from home for the next five years.

I remember everything from that first night, including the Yom Tov chicken soup (which remains a joke until today) and the conversations we had. We actually did study—and if you know me, then you know that’s quite the accomplishment. Only Dena could get me to study. We are quite opposite. She’s studious to my impatience, tall to my shortness, calm to my crazy. You would never imagine us being friends, but it couldn’t be more perfect.

How did she get me to study, you might ask? Bribes! Snack-break bribes like a two-year-old. But hey, it worked.

Point being, it’s really hard for me to explain in words how, from the second I walked through the front door of their house, I felt at home. That was it. It wasn’t like I gradually became more comfortable and started to spend more time there. It was like I went that first night, and I was part of the family. Dr. and Mrs. Lubin just welcomed me, embraced me—and honestly, I have no idea why. I could count on them for everything. I don’t know what my experience would’ve been like, living so far away from home at such a young age, without them.

There was one year when I ate dinner at the Lubin’s every night. I boarded in a suburb of Chicago, a half-hour away from school, so logistically, it made sense for me to go home with Dena until I could get picked up.

Mrs. Lubin was an awesome cook, and I loved everything she made. I still use many of her recipes, and Tofu Lasagna is one of them.

Mrs. Lubin passed away a few years ago—way too young, way too soon. Even though I graduated high school twenty years ago and didn’t see her often, she was a huge part of my life at such a crucial time, and that connection and love never faded. I find myself cooking her recipes more often these days. I don’t know—I can’t really explain it. It brings me comfort, and it feels like a warm hug.

So, Mrs. Lubin, this is for you! There was nothing you liked more than people enjoying your delicious food. I think you’ll love that people all over the world are going to be eating and enjoying your Tofu Lasagna! Don’t forget about us up there—we need all the help we can get.

Without further delay, here is the recipe. I did make a few adjustments to accommodate gluten-free sensitivities.

Tofu Lasagna

Yields: 9×13 and 9×9
Bake at 350°F for about an hour (covered if you’re using no-bake noodles)

Ingredients:

2 boxes GF Jovial lasagna noodles (these are my favorite by far!) https://amzn.to/3xcpQWY
2 jars tomato sauce
1 onion
2 lbs. frozen spinach (water squeezed out)
3 lbs. firm tofu (I prefer organic, but it’s not necessary)
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp oil
4 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions:

Sauté onions until light brown, then add drained spinach and continue cooking for a few minutes. Blend the rest of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Layer the bottom of the pan with sauce, followed by lasagna noodles, then the tofu mixture. Repeat, ending with sauce.