Asian Tempeh

I wrote once before about our regular stir fry, which we used to make with the marinated Asian tofu from Vegan with a Vengeance. But when I wrote about it, we were trying it with some store-bought marinated tempeh, which was pretty good. Then I decided to make my own marinated tempeh, which is now the go-to stir fry protein in my house. It’s modified from the tofu marinade recipe:

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

a healthy shake of red chili flakes

2 cloves of garlic, grated or minced

1” of ginger, grated or minced (or a healthy sprinkle of dried ginger)

1 package of tempeh

Mix up all of the marinade ingredients in a casserole dish or shallow bowl. Cut the tempeh into whatever size/shape pieces you’d like (simple cube-ish pieces are my pick) and marinate it for 15-30 minutes, flip and then another 15-30. Add tempeh and any extra marinade to your stir fry veggies when they still have a few minutes left to cook, so that the tempeh has a chance to steam.

Serve over rice, soba or udon noodles with any sauce you'd like.

Cheesy bread

Growing up, Texas Toast was all the rage. Everyone I knew had it with almost every meal, never knowing just how bad that stuff is for you. From scratch is usually better, and I was craving it the other night, so I decided to make my own.



A slice of bread - I used fresh rosemary bread from the farmer's market
1 tbsp Butter (vegan is better)
Mixed shredded cheese
Dried oregano and basil

1. Spread the butter evenly on the bread. Cover with the cheese then the herbs.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or put in the broiler.

Enjoy!

Wine of the Week - Milan Vineyards 2009 Duet

Went to a tasting up in the Santa Monica Mountains recently, and came back with four great wines that I'll be talking about here in the coming months. The first is the Milan Vineyards Duet, a 50/50 blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon.
On the nose, there are high notes of sharp acid and low notes of tobacco and tomato soup.
The taste is strong and full, with a steady touch of anise throughout. An absolutely delicious wine.

Cold Beans and Collard Greens

Well… Collard greens, at least. I’ve always known about the existence of collard greens, but it never occurred to me to try them. And then one day my husband said, “We should make collard greens.” So we bought some and I figured I’d just sauté them with some garlic, the way I usually do spinach. And then while looking up another recipe in Veganomicon, I stumbled upon a recipe entitled “Sauteed Collard Greens.” It’s basically what I was planning on making, with the addition of leftover marinade from another recipe in the book. I didn’t make the other recipe in the book, nor did I have the ingredients on hand to make the marinade, but I did have leftover marinade from making some tofu the day before. Here’s more or less the recipe:

1 bunch of collard greens, leaves ripped into reasonable-sized pieces

3-5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1-2 Tbsp oil of your choice (olive, canola, or anything mild flavored)

 a few splashes each of: balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (or Bragg Liquid Aminos!)

and, if you have some on hand, a tiny squeeze of lemon juice

Heat up the oil in a big sauté pan, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add the greens and toss and cook until they start to wilt. Then add the other liquids (maybe two or three tablespoons total, or to taste). Let it cook until the greens are absolutely yummy.

The Great Veggie Cleanout

Time to clean out the fridge!
This yummy and filling meal can use up every veggie you have. In the photo below, I used:
Chickpeas, potatoes, carrots, red pepper, green beans, red onion, snap peas, with pepper, basil, and garlic seasoning.



This couldn't be easier:

Ingredients
Whatever veggies and qty you like
Your fave seasonings
Olive oil

Directions
Pre-heat oven at 400°
Layout a piece of foil. Lightly spray with oil.
Spread out your veggies. Drizzle with oil and seasonings.
Cover tightly with foil.
Bake for about 30 minutes and serve!