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Cabbage/Kale Tips Salad, Jasmine Rice w/EVOO and Pepper, Spicy Tempeh (last night)

The most common question I get ask about being a vegetarian is, “what do you eat for protein?” This happened again at that luncheon on Weds. I kind of laugh, because, well, protein. Plant protein. There are tons options: tofu (don’t hate), tempeh, seitan (from wheat), beans, lentils, and nuts. 

If you’ve had tofu in the past and hate it because it was mushy or bland, blame the cook, not the tofu. If we are making a scramble, then we will use whatever softness of tofu we have around, but that’s usually firm or super firm. Cumin, tumeric, and S&P are my go-to spices for a scramble, and then you just add omelette veggies such as peppers, mushrooms, onion, etc. Be patient and make sure that you get a good browning of the tofu. A scramble is great with good old fashioned store-bought hashbrowns and a side of vegetarian “sausage” (morningstar patties, field roast).

If we are making any other tofu recipe, we use Wildwood brand super-firm tofu or this amazing local artisan tofu. Those brands that come in the plastic packs and are soaking in water are gross, don’t use them. The basic tofu recipe is to cut it evenly into cubes or rectangles and brown in EVOO. Simply turn to brown each side. Patience is a virtue. Once browned, add soy sauce, BBQ sauce, terriyaki sauce, or whatever sauce you like. We serve tofu this way with any kind of basic stir fry (onion/carrot/broccoli/cabbage/mushroom or green bean/onion/Old Bay or sauteed greens) and brown or jasmine rice. This is totally a go-to recipe on a week night, especially if there’s farm box produce in the fridge for stir-frying.

The most favorite meal we cook is Spicy Tempeh, based on the Veganomicon recipe. Tempeh is made from lightly boiled and fermented soy beans. It’s available in Whole Foods and natural foods stores, you can make it from scratch, or I’m sure there are mail order places. It looks really weird out of the package, but stick with it. You boil the tempeh to make it better for marinating (and I think it makes it easier on my tummy). Meanwhile, you mix up a marinade of Frank’s hot sauce, cumin, oregano, soy sauce, EVOO, wino, and garlic. After marinating, you brown in EVOO. I seriously crave this dish on a regular basis. Again, just serve with some rice and stir-fried veg. 

If you are looking to dabble in occasional vegetarian cooking, my go-to cookbook is Vegan Brunch (by the same author as Veganomicon). The recipes are homey and less complicated than those in Veganomincon. We try to keep some packs of tofu or tempeh in the fridge and enough veggies to hobo together a stir-fry, and can usually throw together a basic meals in 30 mins, chopping included. 

This has been an occasional post in the “what do you eat” series, prompted by Cary’s recipe nudge.

Cabbage and kale tips salad. Both veggies came in the farm box. Chop veg, add olive oil, lemon and o.j. from fresh fruit, s&p. Serious noms.

Much to my surprise, the boys both LOVED roasted chickpeas. Such an easy snack to cook up.

DIRECTIONS/RECIPE

• preheat oven to 400F
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and patted try
• coat beans with 2 tsp olive oil, generous salt, and some seasoning of your choice
• spread on cookie sheet and bake 25 to 35 minutes, checking frequently during the last 10 minutes, as they can burn quickly (the boys like the crunchy, almost burnt ones)

I used a “tandoori masala” spice mix we had in the cupboard, and will be trying out some of these 15 spice combos. YUM.