Bronzed Tempeh with Broccoli and Spicy Peanut Sauce

Bronzed Tempeh With Broccoli and Spicy Peanut Sauce: The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes cookbook: Robin Robertson

1 pound tempeh, cut into 4 pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 scallions, chopped

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon peanut oil

3 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter

1 teaspoon Asian chile paste

1/4 cup water

2 cups broccoli florets, lightly steamed until crisp-tender

1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts

Hot cooked rice

1. Place the tempeh in a medium-size saucepan with water to cover, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 min. Drain the tempeh and place in a shallow bowl.

2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, scallions, ginger, tamari, sherry, and sugar. Pour over the tempeh and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Remove the tempeh from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Add the tempeh to the hot skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes total. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and boil to reduce by one third. Stir int he peanut butter, chile paste, and water, blending well. Return the tempeh to the skillet, turning to coat it with the sauce. Stir in the broccoli and peanuts, tossing lightly to combine and heat through. Serve at once, over hot cooked rice.

Healthy Salad

Salad

The base of the salad is a mix of Arugula and Romaine greens. Then I added red pepper, zucchini, shallots, and chickpeas I topped it with avacado slices and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds. The dressing is mix of dijon mustard, agave, brown rice vinegar, olive oil and salt & pepper.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups - Alicia Silverstone

A taste of heaven in every bite!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: The Kind Diet cookbook: Alicia Silverstone

1/2 cup Earth Balance butter

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares

1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener

1 cup non dairy chocolate or carob chips

1/4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk

1/4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 Tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.

Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Top with chopped nuts. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hour before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Vegetable Stir Fry

This stir fry was made from vegetables I had lounging around in the fridge.

I used leeks, red onions, broccoli, and carrots. The vegetables were cooked in coconut oil along with garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, freshly grated ginger and curry powder. I mixed a little water with corn starch to create a thick glaze that was added at the end of cooking. What a great way to use up all the orphan vegetables in your kitchen!

Vegetarian Pozole

Chef Patrick to the rescue!

I didn't have much time to cook and post recipes this week, so Patrick's Vegetarian Pozole recipe was sent to me just in time. Another great winter meal idea that is a great source of protein and fiber. Enjoy, I know Kevin and I will.

Vegetarian Pozole

The broth to this stew should relatively thin, so I use water/bay instead of veg stock and chop the vegetables the size of the beans and hominy.

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 medium carrot chopped

• 2 stalks celery chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 6 cups water

• 2 15 oz. can diced tomatoes - "fire roasted" preferred

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder

• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

• 2 bay leaves

• pinch of ground cloves

• 2 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

• 3 15 oz. cans hominy, drained and rinsed

• salt

• juice of 2 limes

• small bunch of cilantro washed, dried and roughly chopped

• optional garnishes: avocado, tortilla strips, soy sour cream

1. In a large soup pot, sauté the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the oil over medium heat until just softened.

2. Add the tomatoes, salt, cumin, oregano, ancho chile, cloves, bay leaf and water and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the pinto beans and hominy and bring back to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add the lime juice, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle of cilantro and a squeeze of lime (quarter). Leave optional garnishes on the side.

Mushroom Barley Soup

After a long day of Table Tennis, yes you heard me, I decided to make something warm and cozy and Mushroom Barley soup seemed perfect.

The original recipe is from Soup: A Way of Life cookbook (Barbara Kafka) but I made a few modifications because I didn't have dried porcini mushrooms. I added portabella mushrooms to the regular mushrooms for a bit of variety. I also added a bit of sherry to the mushroom mixture for depth of flavor. Because barley swells a lot as it sits, if not using the soup right away, use a third less barley. Mushrooms are a good source of vitamin B.

Mushroom Barley Soup

7 cups water or Mushroom Broth

a few dashes sherry

4 oz. can baby portabella mushrooms

1 cup pearl barley

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4" dice

2 small ribs celery, peeled and cut into 1/4" dice

1 T. soy butter

1 small onion

1/4 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 T. coarsely chopped celery leaves

1/4 cup coarsely chopped dill

4 t. kosher salt

ground pepper

In large pot, add oil and add celery and carrot and barley. Dry cook for several minutes then add 7 cups stock, cook approximately 30 min.

In another pot, add butter and onion. Cook for 8 min. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 5 min. Add a few dashes of sherry (optional).

Add mushroom to broth mixture. Add celery leaves, dill, kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Sushi- Happy New Year!

Have you ever shied away from cooking something just because it sounded intimating? Well, there are several dishes I plan to make this year that I've been nervous about trying and now I'm able to mark sushi off my list. I have to say, it was much easier than I anticipated and I’m looking forward to experimenting with different vegetables next go around.

Once I gathered all my ingredients and found a how-to video on Youtube, I was ready to roll!

Below is the official recipe from a restaurant we frequented in Florida. I dolloped two rolls with the special sauce and replaced the cream cheese with the sauce in the other two rolls.

Dynamite Roll: Sublime Cookbook: Nanci Alexander

4 Sheets nori

6 cups Sushi Rice (read package for instructions, will need sushi vinegar)

1/2 cup soy cream cheese

avocado strips

cucumber strips

carrot strips

Sauce for topping (optional):

1 cup vegan mayo

1/2 cup capers, drained

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

2 T. thinly sliced scallion

2 T. thinly sliced chives (we didn't use)

1 T. white sesame seeds

1 T. black sesame seeds (we didn't use)

Cook rice as instructed on package. Position nori sheets with the lines running vertically. spread a baseball-sized rice ball evenly across each sheet, leaving a 1/4" margin at the top. Place a line of soy cream cheese (If using) 2/3 up sheet, layer with avocado, cucumber and carrot. Place a bit of water on the top margin of nori to seal. Use a sushi mat to wrap the roll tightly. Cut role in half, then half the halves (8 pieces).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the mayo, capers, onion, scallion, chives, and sesame seeds in a bowl and mix well. Spread the mixture on double sheet of foil and bake for about 5 min., until it just begins to brown and is piping hot. Cover each piece with a dollop of the baked topping.