New Years Day Brunch

After many many many moons of ringing in the New Year with Swedish Crepes and 50+ family members racing around a table set for 10, I’ve sought to start a New Year’s tradition in AZ. With the help of my curly red co-conspirator, this has been a success. We tried crepes one year, and it was a blast. But we were both stuck in the kitchen for a better part of the gathering. So this year, we decided to ditch the typical feast and create our own make-ahead, ready to bake meal.

And what an amazing meal it was. In searching for a make ahead savory dish, I wanted to prepare something that wasn’t a lot of work but really wowed people’s taste buds. I found this recipe on Epicurious and decided it would be ridiculously easy to veganize thanks to the amazing Trader Joe’s soyrizo stand-in. This was super easy to put together and held up really well overnight. Not to mention it was just as tasty as leftovers.

For a sweet counterpart, we chose to actually (well mostly) follow an actual recipe for vegan Baked French Toast. Now I have to admit, that I’ve been known to crash my vegan ways for my mom’s baked French toast, laden with about a dozen eggs and a carton of cream. I am SO happy we found this alternative. No, it’s not healthy. Yes it’s full of sugar. But it’s damn good. We forgot to pick up pecans and didn’t have any walnuts on hand, so we improvised with oats. It worked big time.

The real kicker of the meal however was our starter. BLT Bruschetta. I don’t even know how to illustrate how delicious these little bugger were. I did have to make a large batch of tempeh bac’un the day before, which was kind of a mess. Totally worth it. I prepared everything else the day of and this was the highlight of the meal for me. I even got a request for a particularly stubborn omnivore to patent this bacon recipe. While I do have one on my blog, I must admit that I strayed and tried a new one (but with the same technique of the old one). I don’t have it in my heart to share it yet because I’m hoarding all the credit. Someday I’ll finally let go and divulge the secrets.

Breakfast Polenta with Soyrizo
Makes: 16 servings
Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Feel free to skip any or all of the crazy polenta additions. I like my polenta to have a cheesy taste, and all of these small accoutrements create that cheesy flavor. But if you don't have them, this dish will still taste great. You can simply omit then and just season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients

6 c. water
½ bouillon cube (optional)
1 ½ c. polenta
¼ c. nutritional yeast
2 tsp. white miso
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. yellow mustard
½ tsp. turmeric

1 ½ pkg. Soyrizo (I like Trader Joe’s the best)
5-6 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)

Fresh Cilantro, chopped
Vegan feta or raw nut cheese (optional)

Directions

Lightly coat a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray. If preparing the night before, preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare the polenta: In a large sauce pan, bring water and bouillon (if using) to a boil. Gently whisk in the polenta, adding it to the water in one steady stream. Continue stirring to avoid clumps. When polenta is boiling, reduce heat to low. Stir often while the polenta maintains a low bubble. Cook until almost tender, about 15-20 minutes. When the polenta starts to really thicken and pull away from the pan, stir in the remaining ingredients. Season with salt to taste. When the polenta is really sticky and pulling away at the pan, pour it into the baking dish in one even layer. Set aside to cool.

Prepare the soyrizo sauce: Coat a deep skillet or cast iron pan with cooking spray or a couple of teaspoons of oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the soyrizo and cook for about 5-7 minutes. When the soyizo is staring to brown on all sides, add the tomatoes. Increase heat to bring sauce to a brief boil and cook for 5 minutes. Lower heat to low and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Slightly mash up to the tomato pieces by smooshing with a fork or spatula. Remove from heat and pour over polenta.

At this point, you can garnish with cilantro and feta and serve, or you can prepare the dish the day before, let it sit overnight, and heat in oven for 15-20 minutes until bubbling.


BLT Bruschetta
Makes: 24-30 slices
Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Aioli
½ c. Veganaise
1 garlic clove
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

For the Bruschetta
2 10-inch Ciabatta loaves
2-3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
5-8 outer leaves of green lettuce (such as Boston leaf)
1 avocado, thinly sliced (optional)
1 ½ pkg. smokey tempeh or your own homemade Tempeh Bac’un

Directions

Prepare the aioli: Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until completely smooth. Set aside.

Make the toasts: Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice the bread into ½ inch thick slices and spread out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Spray the tops with cooking spray and bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare the bruschetta: Spread aioli on each toast with a knife or spatula. Carefully rip a few pieces of lettuce to fit the bread. Next place a couple of tomato slices and a slice of avocado over the lettuce. Finally top it off with with a strip of tempeh (cooked if using pre-packaged smokey tempeh bac’un*).

*Note: if you choose to make your own tempeh bac’un, this tastes best with the tempeh still warm and glazed from the pan. If you are buying premade smokey tempeh, fry the tempeh in a generous amount of cooking oil until brown on both sides to get a nice crispy texture.

Vegan Hachis Parmentier: BB Shepherds Pie

Classic French cuisine is mouth-watering, aromatic, and beautiful but not terribly vegan-friendly. Let’s have a brief glimpse at the typical French fare: croque-monsieur, coq-au-vin, soufflé, paté, bouillabaisse, crème brulée. Meat, cheese, butter, and cream in any form you could possibly concoct. Translating French to English might be a forte of mine, but the challenge of translating French recipes into meatless meals is much more fun and very much a vegan venture. And just in time for the holiday season, amidst my search for a vegan offering that will satisfy my need for challenge and impress my omnivore audience, my NPR addiction paid off - All Things Considered did a segment on cooking French with shortcuts featuring a dish called Hachis Parmentier (wha?).

This is essentially a Beef Burgundy or Boeuf Bourguignon Shepherds Pie, a classic meat and potato comfort food. I recently tried a similar dish with a biscuit topping, but it came out all biscuit. So I thought I’ve give tubers a shot. It was incredibly easy and I loved how well the potatoes browned in the oven. Bite by bite, I became more convinced that this will be a Thanksgiving or Christmas highlight. Why does it make perfect holiday fare? It’s salty, meaty, dark, rich, tender and it doesn’t scream vegan. That seems to be the equation that works with my family anyway. They don’t take to seitan roast or Tofurkey as well as something smothered in gravy and topped with starch.

A good trick to giving tempeh a meaty flavor is to simmer it in seasoning. I actually didn’t have vegan Worcestershire sauce, so I made my own and just put threw the tempeh in the sauce pot. If you choose to use seitan, this method doesn’t work the same way as it softens the seitan too a near mush – use the marinade method instead. The traditional recipes would have you remove the vegetables only using the stock and “meat,” I think that’s a travesty and insult to the savory chunks responsible for the flavor. Save the veggies! Don’t let them cook in vain. The classic also mixes Gruyere into the potatoes. I personally did not use vegan cheese, but Daiya might be a nice addition if you’re into it. This passed the omnivore test. I recommend enjoying with a bottle of red.

Vegan Hachis Parmentier

Makes 4-6 servings

Total cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the “Beef”
3-4 T. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1¼ c. water
1 pkg tempeh, cubed or 2 c. seitan, cubed
Cooking spray

For the Stew
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small turnip, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced (1½ T)
1 bay leaf
1 tsps thyme, dried
2 T. tomato paste
2 c. vegetable broth (from bouillon)
½ - 1 c. water
2 tsp cornstarch
Salt and pepper

For the Potatoes
2 large russet potatoes, cubed
2 T. Earth Balance
¼ - ½ c. almond or soy milk or creamer
Pinch of salt
¼ c. parsley or chives
½ c. vegan cheese (optional)

Directions

Cooking suggestion: The tempeh or seitan can be prepared before or at the same time as the stew. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and cook potatoes while the stew simmers.

For the “beef”: If using tempeh, bring the Worcestershire sauce and water to a boil and add tempeh. Lower heat to medium and let sauce reduce by half, stirring tempeh occasionally to make sure all cubes are coated evenly about 8-10 minutes. When reduce, strain tempeh reserving sauce. Heat a skillet over high heat and coat with cooking spray. Brown the tempeh until cooked evenly on all sides. If using seitan, mix Worcestershire sauce with ¾ c. water and marinate seitan in a medium bowl for 20 minutes. Brown the tempeh until cooked evenly on all sides Set aside to add to stew.

For the stew: In a large sauce pan or wide, deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots and turnips. Cook until vegetables soften, 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, bay leaf and thyme. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute before adding vegetable broth and ½ cup of water. Bring stew to a boil and reduce heat. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Mix ¼ cup of water with cornstarch and whisk into stew. Add “beef” and ¼ cup of reserved Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When stew has thickened, remove from heat and transfer to casserole dish.

For the potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add potatoes. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Strain the potatoes and mash with Earth Balance, “milk” of choice, and pinch of salt. Stir in parsley or chives and cheese if using. Spread potatoes over stew in a single, smooth layer.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Spicy Teriyaki Tempeh Stir Fry

Teriyaki….this was an undecided and hesitant vegan exploration of the well-known goopy goodness. Teriyaki seems so basic...because it is. Basic can be ok, but for a chef that tends to get carried away with complex ingredients and grandiose cooking techniques, it is borderline dull. It doesn’t ring bells of Japanese authenticity such as, say, Ohitashi or Bakkake Udon. At its worst it poses as a cop-out during times of indecision or reluctance to venture out at an Asian fast food chain. In its better moments it's a boon for both the inexperienced chef looking with immesnse bottle-opening skills as well as the busy body who aims for something convenient. I see the pros and cons, but it's hard to shake the perception of this sauce as either doing the molasses mamba out of a bottle or slimed all over a fast food order from Samurai Sam’s. What’s so great about Teriyaki?

Everything. Salty, sweet, and hugs food perfectly. Not to mention you can whip it up in about 5 minutes. There are many Teriyaki recipes out there to choose from, though they vary a bit. Regardless of the small nuances here and there between recipes, there are really just two key components essential to the salty-sweet flare of many Asian sauces: soy sauce and sugar. Working at the Indonesian restaurant in Madison, I learned very quickly that sugar is the secret to the deliciousness of most Asian cuisines. And so, soy sauce and sugar are the key players in most versions of Teriyaki. Presumably water is an easy ingredient to come by, so with those three things you're half way there. Garlic, ginger and cornstarch complete the Teriyaki Team and if you don't have those in your kitchen, get them immediately. I chose a simple recipe based on the ingredients at hand and the ease of preparation. With a few tweaks, I was very pleased.

Customizations: For one, I added Sambal Oelek, another Indonesian staple. It takes hardly a teaspoon to break a sweat, so this red chili garlic paste is deceivingly spicy. I used just under a full teaspoon in the whole batch which was perfect. Sweet sauces don’t do much for me, but a mouthful of something sweet and spicy sauce will make my eyes roll in the back of my head. Has anyone seen What About Bob? I hope some of you recall the dinner scene. The second tweak was my sad attempt to make myself feel better about using so much sugar and salt in one sitting. The recipe initially called for brown sugar, but I used turbinado sugar which is raw and unrefined. Its granules are much larger but dissolve all the same. Why not throw in an extra nutritious punch? It made me feel better, especially since I wasn't willing this time around to sacrifice taste to use the low sodium soy sauce. Another way to make this just a smidge healthier is to use less oil when stir-frying and replace with water which deglazes and steams instead. In the end, when you add a thick sauce anyway, it won’t affect the taste at all unless you’ve over-watered your wok (wow, I sure hope those last few words are what people remember me by).

Once again, I’ve used the boil-then-fry method for cooking tempeh with fabulous results. The addition of a handful of sweet, thin green beans and vibrant red bell pepper was perfect. I am very much averse to mushy, overcooked vegetables so I tend to eat them al dente (crisp to the bite) – take care to add the veggies later in the game or they were sog up in no time. When adding the sauce at the end, you won’t need to remove the wok from heat, but you’d be safe turning the burner off so that you don’t overcook the cornstarch. Otherwise you'll end up with gloppy gastro nightmare. I served this over brown rice and decided it’s true what they say – sugar and spice is very nice.

Spicy Teriyaki Tempeh Stir Fry

Serves: 3-4

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Sauce
¼ c. Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
1 c. Water
2-3 T. Sugar, brown or turbinado (raw)
1 T. Ginger, freshly grated or minced
1 Large garlic clove, minced
½ - 1 tsp. Sambal Oelek or red chili garlic paste
2 T. Cornstarch
¼ c. Cold water

For the Tempeh
1 Package Tempeh, cut into small strips or cubes
1 ½ c. Water
½ tsp Onion powder
½ tsp Garlic powder
1 T. Soy sauce

For the Stir Fry
1 ½ T. Canola oil
2 Green onions, white and green parts chopped and divided
2 tsp. Ginger, freshly grated or minced
2 c. Green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
½ Red bell pepper, chopped
½ c. Water (or as needed)

Directions

For the Sauce: Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small sauce pan, adjusting the spice level by using more/less Sambal Oelek. Heat mixture over high heat and boil until sauce has reduced slightly, 4-5 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and cold water. Add to sauce and stir constantly until reaches desired thickness. The sauce should be fairly liquid still, because some will evaporate in the next cooking stage.

For the Tempeh: Combine all tempeh ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn heat down slightly and keep at a rolling boil until tempeh has absorbed most of the water. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Stir Fry: Using a stove-top wok or large skillet, heat canola oil over high heat. Add white part of onions and ginger, cooking until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tempeh to the pan and toss around to coat all sides. If necessary, add ¼ cup of water if pan becomes too dry. Cook until tempeh starts to brown. Add green beans and red pepper to the pan with another ¼ cup of water. Let cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are al dente (crisp and tender, but not mushy), about 2 minutes. Stir in ½ c of the teriyaki sauce and turn burner off. Stir until sauce has thickened and completely coated vegetables and tempeh. Serve over brown rice.

Tangy BBQ Tempeh with Apricot Couscous

A partial motivator behind this meal was a recent request for more protein from a resident omnivore who, though very supportive of my meatless mania, needs a little more “umph” to keep up with both weight-lifting and cycling 30-40 miles 3-5 times a week. I consider myself active, but I’ve never had a protein concern on a vegan diet due to my small frame. For someone whose caloric needs are almost 50% more than my own, this was a very polite and respectful request. So as to place more emphasis on the capability of a vegan diet to satisfy even the most extreme of athletes, and to prevent potential carcass from having to be stored in a shared appliance, I’ve been much more conscious of protein’s presence in the general macronutrient distribution on our plates.

On many occasions, I look to tempeh as a tool to both enhance the protein portion in a meal and replace a meat counterpart. A fermented soy bean product, tempeh is thought to have originated in Indonesia on the island of Java. In fact, it was when I was working in an Indonesian restaurant in Madison, WI that I had my first taste. Bandung Restaurant is the only Indonesian restaurant in Wisconsin and makes homemade tempeh from a family recipe. I’ve even requested the shipment of tempeh from my former boss, because there is nothing as good down here in the Southwest. Unlike tofu, which is a coagulated soy product, tempeh is sturdy in texture but soft to the bite. Similar to tofu, it does not have a strong natural taste and therefore holds seasonings and marinades very well. It’s a fantastic replacement for ground beef or other dark meat products. In this case, tempeh stands in for barbecued ribs, a hard thing to replicate as a vegan, not that many vegans want to mimic flesh on bone. But let’s face it - even for the carnivores…it’s all about the sauce.

Which brings me to the key inspiration for this recipe. A dear friend asked a very encouraging question regarding some crazy vegan blogger who listed pomegranate molasses in a recipe she wanted to try. Who has pomegranate molasses and where do you even buy it? You could actually make it at home; it is simply syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar. A staple in many Middle Eastern dishes, you can find it in any Middle Eastern market or food store. It is the essential ingredient in Muhummara, one of my favorite pita accompaniments. Not wanting to force her to seek out a sticky bottle of obscure molasses for one recipe only, I sought to incorporate it in another tasty recipe.

So to fuse the two inspirational driver – using a lesser known but delicious ingredient in a dish that would satisfy a highly active omnivore male athlete who obliges my plant-based fanaticism – I give you BBQ Tempeh! I hesitate to call them tempeh ribs, because they come from no one’s chest and require no bone-gnawing to enjoy. But they are effortlessly satisfying in a tart, spicy sauce and perfect with a side of veggie-studded couscous. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients in the sauce. They are all thrown together in a food processor and the measurements are by no means strict. Feel free to add more cumin if that’s your flavor of the month. Give it a taste and if it’s to tangy, add a little more sweet. If you need more heat, add crushed red pepper. Keep on tasting until you end up with something that’s finger-lickin’ good – despite the fact that this vegan dish requires no hands-on contact or tacky bib.

Tangy BBQ Tempeh

Makes 3 servings

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients

1 Package tempeh

6 Dried apricots (Turkish, unsulphured)

1 Medium tomato, chopped

2 Scallions, chopped (white parts only)

1 Large garlic clove, smashed

1/3 c. Organic ketchup

1 T. Olive oil

1 T. Pomegranate molasses

2 tsp Maple Syrup

2 tsp Soy sauce

¼ tsp Onion powder

¼ tsp Cumin, ground

¼ tsp Cayenne pepper

Salt to taste (if needed)

Directions

Steam tempeh (or cover with water and simmer) for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1/8-1/4 inch thick slices, about 12-15 slices.

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

In a small sauce pan, cover apricots with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until apricots are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside reserving cooking liquid.

To make the sauce - combine apricots, ¼ cup of the apricot water and remaining ingredients in a food processor. Puree until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. For a less tart sauce, add more water and/or maple syrup. For more spice, add some crushed red pepper or more cayenne.

Coat an oven-safe dish with cooking spray. Spread tempeh in one layer and coat completely with sauce. Turn over tempeh to coat both sides. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and tempeh has browned. Remove and serve with couscous.

Apricot Couscous

Makes 3-4 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2/3 c. Couscous

½ c. Zucchini, diced

½ c. Carrot, shredded

¼ c. Roasted cashews

2 Scallions, finely sliced (green parts only)

6-8 Dried apricots, diced (Turkish, unsulphured)

1-2 T. Fresh lemon juice, from ½ lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pour 1 ¼ c. boiling water over couscous and let sit until all liquid has absorbed, about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous and mix in remaining ingredients using as much lemon juice as fits your liking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta Puttanesca with Seasoned Ground Tempeh

Some nights you just need something quick and easy – everyone has a favorite go-to pasta with tomato sauce dish, right? Maybe the sauce comes from a jar; maybe it’s not even a sauce but just some chopped tomatoes with basil. Most of us refer to pasta when the hour is too late for a grand feast or when there is not enough time to prepare one. In our case last night, it was much to late for anything complicated and we were much to hungry for just chips and salsa.

In my younger omnivore years, we usually pulled out the Ragu and some ground beef to throw on top of spaghetti. I remember coming home from soccer practice really not wanting to wait for food and even waiting for the meat to cook was too time consuming. This was very much the sentiment when we got home last night from the first official volleyball match of spring followed by a beer to welcome the season (I’m in the fan club though I prefer the unofficial coach title). With only rutabaga and beets for exciting vegetables in the fridge, even I wasn’t really feeling the bulbous vibe at 9:30pm. I wanted to save those for a more intentional, playful meal. Referring to my sweaty, sandy, and hungry volley baller, he echoed my exact memories of coming home from games….how about some pasta? Sounds good. I had an open can of diced tomatoes to use up and a fresh package of tempeh.

When I think of traditional red pasta sauce, Bolognese comes to mind. This version is what we all typically think of when we see a red sauce with ground meat. When I think of a less traditional sauce but that can be made in a flash with tons of flavor, I think Puttanesca. Less familiar in the American crowd, it is devilishly delicious and takes hardly any time to prepare. Puttanesca is derived from the Italian word for whore (I’m not making this up) and is suspected of being name so for its enticing aroma – sounds like a G rated version of some saucy story, but who knows. Core ingredients in the classic recipe include onions, garlic, olives, capers and anchovies. With just a few herbs to top it off, this is a salty and sinful treat. Of course I unapologetically skip the anchovies, which doesn’t seem to harm its flavor. Instead of choosing, I decided on a Puttanesca flavor base with ground tempeh to get the feel of one and flavor of the other.

Just a quick note about cooking tempeh: when you buy tempeh raw from the store, it needs to be steamed or boiled to loosen it up before cooking. This will allow it to absorb flavor well and will keep it from becoming too tough when pan fried. I combine the loosening and flavoring in one step rather than steaming it first like most recipes suggest. The texture and flavor of the tempeh held remarkably well after browning it for a while. It gave just the right amount of herbal flare to the sauce which could even stand for some fresh parsley or oregano to top it off, though I didn’t have any at the time. I’m sure adding a dash of red wine vinegar would be positively wonderful as well.

Pasta Puttanesca with Seasoned Ground Tempeh
Makes 2-3 servings
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

5-6 oz. Whole wheat or gluten-free spaghetti

For the Tempeh
2 c. Water
1 tsp Basil, dried
¾ tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Fennel seed
½ tsp Thyme, dried
½ tsp Onion powder
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Crushed red pepper
½ package plain Tempeh, cubed
1 T Olive or canola oil

For the Sauce
½ T Olive oil, divided
¼ Medium onion, chopped
1 Medium celery stalk, chopped
1 Large clove garlic (½ T)
4 Kalamata olives, chopped
1 T Capers
1/8 tsp. Crushed red pepper
1 ½ c. Diced tomatoes, canned in juice
Fresh parsley or oregano, chopped

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Set aside.

For the Tempeh
Combine all tempeh ingredients and bring to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Slight reduce heat to medium high and maintain rigorous boil until half of liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Drain tempeh reserving liquid and transfer to food processor. Pulse a few times until tempeh is coarsely ground. Heat olive oil over medium high heat and add tempeh. Cook until brown, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to pan. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Sauce
Heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions and celery until translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, olives, capers and red pepper. Cook an additional minute or until garlic becomes very fragrant. Stir in tomatoes and remaining cooking liquid from tempeh. Lower heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Taste the sauce and add additional pepper to your liking. While simmering, remove 1 cup of sauce and transfer to food processor. Puree until completely smooth and return mixture to sauce. Stir in tempeh and adjust salt and/or pepper if necessary. Ladle sauce over noodles and enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Entertaining is a feat I take on as often as possible. I constantly look for excuses to have people over, whether for the social aspect, a reason to drink wine, or to justify elaborate menu scheming. Moving into a new house is the perfect excuse for multiple events: extended family dinner, ladies night of course, mid-week happy hour with co-workers, and finally the big bash with everyone. Our new home is cozy and spacious at the same time. The open kitchen is perfect for preparing food and socializing (my two favorite activities in the world). This week we started with family dinner – nothing too large or fancy. However, I was met with the additional challenge of making this meal gluten-free along with other allergies of sorts - no tomatoes, peanuts, or chocolate.

My favorite whole grain to cook is quinoa, hands down. It is also my favorite grain to prepare for others who are looking into wheat alternatives, less adventurous, or skeptical of how vegans get their protein. Quinoa is a complete protein which means it has all the amino acids the body cannot produce itself. When a big criticism of plant-based diets is that plants cannot give you complete proteins, I usually pull the quinoa card. It has a nutty taste and is often mistaken for couscous because of its similar shape, though it has a more pearly consistency. It can be used as a breakfast grain, in a bean and grain salad for lunch, or as a base to a warm stew. This was the first time I had used it for stuffing.

There are so many stuffed pepper recipes floating around that it’s hard to settle on any particular approach. Somewhere along the line I had decided to cook up a southwest themed dinner with two kinds of salsa, vegan nacho cheese and seasoned stuffed peppers. Growing up, my mom always made stuffed peppers with ground beef and rice. I never really cared for them, but I felt like with a good spice combo I could jazz it up. Instead of beef, I used tempeh. Much like quinoa, I often use tempeh to showcase meat alternatives to omnivores. It has an intriguing texture and will take on any flavor you lend it. I looked up a good chorizo spice mixture and read up on a few ideas of how best to cook the spices into tempeh, rather than just cooking it up in a pan with oil. This boiling/simmering technique worked really well and it took on a fabulous flavor. I topped the peppers off with Daiya cheese, the newly famous vegan cheese alternative. The Daiya didn’t add a whole lot to the peppers, but in combination with the vegan sour cream I whipped up – the condiments were lovely together. This recipes responds well to variations.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Serves 5-6
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45

Ingredients

3 Large bell peppers, halved with stems in tact and seeded
4 T. Oil, canola or olive
½ Medium red onion, diced
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 c. Red bell pepper, diced
1 c. Corn, thawed if using frozen
½ tsp Salt
1 ½ c. Quinoa, cooked
1 ½ c. Tempeh Chorizo (below)
1 T. Red wine vinegar
¼ c. Cilantro, chopped
1 c. Vegan cheese, shredded (optional)*
Vegan sour cream (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450º F. Place pepper halves facing down on a glass baking dish or roasting pan. Coat pan and peppers with cooking spray. Roast in oven 10-15 minutes or until softened (but not blackened). Lower oven temperature to 400º F.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add tempeh chorizo and cook until browned, 8-10 minutes.

Add onions, garlic and bell peppers. Sauté until vegetables are nearly tender, 8-10 minutes. Add corn and salt and cook an additional 5 minutes until corn starts to brown. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, tempeh, sautéed vegetables, vinegar and cilantro. Toss well to incorporate all flavors. Fill each pepper half with about ½ cup of the filling. Bake in oven about 20 minutes. Add shredded cheese if using and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese has melted. Serve with salsa and a dollop of vegan sour cream.

Tempeh Chorizo
Serves: 5-6
Cook time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

1pkg Tempeh, cut into ½ - 1 inch cubes
1 c. Vegetable broth
1 c. Water
2 T. Apple cider vinegar
4 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp. Cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook at a rolling boil uncovered until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 30-45 minutes. When the sauce is thick, stir tempeh and remove from heat. When tempeh has cooled slightly, transfer to food processor and pulse until tempeh is ground (but not to a complete mush).