Tempeh Bourgignon

I get emails sent to me from Vegetarian Times with daily recipes. Some of them are great, some…so so. I received one for Tempeh Bourgignon a while back and never thought to make it though it sounded really tasty. I had one of those nights where I couldn’t figure out what to make so I searched through my recipes and came upon this one. I had all of the ingredients except for the shitake mushrooms – so I substitued portobella’s instead. I also served it over quinoa instead of rice.  Just as tasty!!

Tempeh Bourgignon

• 2 cups medium-bodied red wine, such as Pinot Noir
• 1 8-oz. pkg. tempeh, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (about 1 Tbs.)
• 3 Tbs. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. herbes de Provence
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 7 oz. sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 4 cups)
• chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Combine wine, tempeh, onion, carrot, garlic, 1 Tbs. olive oil, herbes de Provence and bay leaf in large bowl. Cover, and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Strain vegetables and tempeh, and reserve wine.
3. Heat remaining oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add tempeh and vegetables, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until tempeh cubes are browned on all sides. Add vinegar, and quickly stir to coat evenly. Add tomato paste, and cook 1 minute. Stir in red wine marinade, scraping bottom of pot to release any stuck brown bits. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Add water if mixture seems too dry before carrots are fully cooked.
4. Add mushrooms and 3/4 cup water, and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender. Remove bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve over rice.

Raw Curry Nut Salad

This salad is unbelievably filling. Good fat and protein plus Omega 3’s from the walnuts makes it quite good for you too. Plus it tastes yummy hehe.

Raw Curry Nut Salad

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup raw pecans

1/2 cup raw walnuts

1 red pepper – diced into small pieces

1/4 cup yellow or red onion

2 stalks celery – diced small

Juice of two small lemons

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tbs curry powder

pinch of sea salt

Put all nuts into food processor and pulse a few times until chopped (be careful not to run it too long or the nuts will grind up too much).  Combine with peppers, celery and onion. Add lemon juice and mix together. Add curry powder, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly. Enjoy!

Moroccan Red Lentil Chickpea Soup

I haven’t been cooking much lately. It really sucks when life gets in the way of food creativity doesn’t it? That’s about to stop though!

On this overcast, blustery day I needed soup. So this is what I came up with:

Moroccan Red Lentil Chickpea Soup

2 tsp olive oil

2 1/2 cups red lentil

1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas

2 qt vegetable stock

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

In a soup pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until transparent over medium heat. Add vegetable stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and add tomato paste, being sure it’s completely incorporated into soup. Lower heat and add spices. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Hello everyone!

I’ve been slacking these past couple of months – I know. Partly it’s because my camera crapped out on me. But I won’t have that problem any more! SB was wonderful enough to get me a new fancy, fandangled camera. I can’t wait to really try it out! Bare with me while I work out the kinks and such but I can’t wait!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year!

Heartwrenching…

I understand things are extremely tough in todays economy. We can’t afford the luxuries we once bought on a whim, etc. Everyone is on a budget and watching every penny. When I budget and watch my pennies they ALWAYS include our kitties Max and Moe. I will give them my last morsel of food if I have to. I don’t know…maybe it’s just me.

Pets going to pound in today’s economy

Vegan MOFO: Butterscotch Decadence

I’ve been wanting to try the Butterscotch Blondie recipe since I bought the amazing cookbook My Sweet Vegan. When I saw the recipe featured on Everyday Dish, I definitely knew I had to try it because it looked amazing. I was right!! DELICIOUS!!

 

I substituted the vanilla extract for almond extract and used these fantastic vegan butterscotch chips my mom found somewhere in Pennsylvania. they came out sweet, fudgy and amazing. Perfect with a cup of tea or a large glass of milk. I liked the recipe so much I made another batch on Sunday night and used chocolate chips instead. I brought them into work with me and they were gone in almost 10 minutes – THAT’S how good they are. Yummmm..

 

 

Vegan MOFO: off topic rant…

Living in NYC, I am lucky enough to have a plethora of vegan and vegetarian restaurants to choose from. From Thai to Ethiopian, I can pick and choose to my hearts delight without issue. How lucky a vegan I am!

 

A few years back the owners of a restaurant on the Upper East Side called “Candle Cafe” opened another restaurant not too far from the original called “Candle 79″. The food at CC is always stellar (their seitan always has me floored…sooo good) so when I heard about the new place I was really excited. Candle 79 was a different vegan dining experience. You thought twice about wearing ripped up jeans and a tshirt there. It was more upscale – something we were lacking in NY. The food is of course, amazing. I never doubted it. Every time I pass by the restaurant it is full. I never doubted it wouldn’t be hehe.

 

So while reading The New York Times Dining section, I came across a review of Candle 79. It was an ok review, not great. The thing that gets me constantly is when a hardcore meateater reviews a vegan restaurant. WHY? You know they’re going to compare it to something they’re missing – just like this guy did. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled they they reviewed a vegan restaurant but it wasn’t a review that would make me want to run out and try it. Am I wrong? Am I being over critical? Am I just pissed because they kept mentioning the fact that we make things that were one meat laden, vegetarian? Am I being a whiney little b*tch? I don’t know. You be the judge.

New York Times Candle 79 Review

Vegan MOFO: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I had a crapload of bananas over-ripening in the kitchen. I needed to bake something immediately so I used my Banana Bread recipe but omitted the walnuts and put in a cup of chocolate chips instead. HOLY YUUUM! Scott has eaten almost all of them already – damn him lol. But it’s ok, at least I know he likes them.

 

Vegan MOFO – For the love of tools..

Yes, I’m behind on posting for Vegan MOFO. I’m sorry! But I’m doing it now so don’t throw things at me ok?

 

Do you have one appliance or tool in your kitchen that you don’t think you could ever live without? I do. Two to be exact. One is my chef’s knife. Without that lil’ guy I couldn’t do the majority of the cooking that do. It gives me the ability to slice and dice, chop with grace and help make my dishes perfect. It is defintely a staple in my kitchen.

 

The second is my Kitchenaid Mixer. I posted a little while back about it. Scott gave it to me as a birthday gift – one of the best bday gifts ever! As you all know I love to bake and this beautiful piece of pink loveliness (I call her Matilda) has made things sooo much easier for me. She mixes things so beautifully and without the slightest bit of effort. Granted, I was able to bake just as much before she entered my life – but now, I coudn’t imagine my kitchen without her.

 

See how much I love her? hahahaha.

Best Detox Yet…

 

 

I mentioned in a previous post that I was doing a raw detox for two weeks. I love doing this every few months – it helps clean out my system and just makes me feel yummy all over. This time around was particularly great because I picked up a new “un”cookbook by Ani Phyo called “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen”. There are a lot of great recipes in there from breakfast to dinner. I was particularly drawn to this one breakfast recipe call Save The Chicks Pate. The base is made from raw almonds and sunflower seeds. I’m not one to eat sweets for breakfast – I definitely prefer savory so this became a mainstay most mornings for me. I was totally able to make a large batch and have it for following mornings (especially for work since the only raw thing you can get around there is a fruit salad. One cannot live on fruit salad alone!).

 

Absolutely recommend getting this book if you’ve ever been interested in raw food cuisine. Plus the majority of her recipes don’t require a dehydrator – which I love. Even though I have one, I have this thing about waiting 12-24 hours for my food to be ready. When I’m hungry I want it now dammit! (I know ya’ll know what I’m talking about heh).