Chicken Fried Tempeh

Last night I was in the mood for a pile of comfort food love. I created a stacked concoction that had herbed mash potatoes surrounded by chicken fried tempeh, with mushroom gravy and sauteed kale on top. It was a beautiful site, but alas no pictures. I'll make this again and get snap shots to post. 

In a large bowl mix up the following dry ingredients: 

- four or five good shakes of parsley flakes

-four or five good shakes of paprika

-three to four good shakes of garlic powder

-three to four good shakes of black pepper

-four or five grinds of sea salt

-a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper

-three to four shakes of red pepper flakes

-three to four shakes of seasoning salt

-three to four tablespoons of flax seed flour (this works as the egg replacer, so if you don't use this, use 2 teaspoons of potato starch)

- approximately one cup of unbleached flour

Once this is blended, start adding soy milk and mix. You'll want a consistency that resembles pancake batter. Keep adding flour and milk to you get the balance right. You should have enough batter to heavily coat one package of tempeh. 

Cut one package of tempeh into 1/2 inch wide sticks and cut the tempeh once down the middle (lengthwise). Toss tempeh pieces into batter and fully coat each piece. 

In a frying pan, coat the bottom with oil. When oil gets hot, drop the tempeh pieces into the pan. Once one side browns, flip over until all sides are done. The last 2 sides of the tempeh might only need to be flipped for a few seconds. Remove from oil and serve. I used very little oil in the pan and the tempeh wasn't greasy at all. 

I would serve this with something to dip the pieces in, unless you prepare an entire meal (like I did) where all the flavors become combined. I would also suggest marinating the tempeh FIRST for a bolder taste. 

Baked Spinach Manicotti and "chicken"

This idea came to me today. I've been craving Italian food and wanted something more decadent and rich than spaghetti.

This dish knocked the socks off of my husband and I. We both had to force ourselves to not take a second helping!! As a side dish, I served steamed veggies (beets and zucchini) which was a nice, light compliment to the rich main dish.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but I need to start adding pictures to this blog. I took this picture after the food had been in the fridge for about an hour, so it doesn't look that yummy anymore. Believe me - it REALLY is tasty.
____________________________________
Pre-heat oven to 350 to 375 degrees

Stuff you'll need:
1 box of Manicotti (cooked - follow directions on box)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used one called: Sweet & Tangy Tomato)
1 large baking dish (I used Pyrex) - bid enough to hold all of the cooked manicotti squished together, but not on top of each other
1 bag of frozen (fake) "chicken"
Vegan cheese (1/2 block)
_________________________________
(Items for food processor)
1 block of firm tofu
1/2 to 1/3 bag of spinach
3 sprigs of fresh basil
freshly ground salt (to taste)
freshly ground pepper (to taste)
sun dried tomatoes (in oil) (3 to 4 large spoonfuls)
Kalamata olives (a few full spoonfuls)
1 scallion
1/4 to 1/3 cup pine nuts
olive oil
1 large spoonful of vegan margarine
1 pepper (I used an orange bell pepper, but a yellow one would work too)

Blend all the ingredients in the food processor. Add olive oil to make wet but not too much to make it oily. Blend until creamy and no lumps remain.

_____________________________
Pour 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan

Fill each pasta tube with the blended mixture. (I was not talented in this step, so I ended up slitting them down the side, applying plenty of mixture and then putting it back together) Lay the pasta in the pan, repeat this with each pasta tube. Move tubes around if needed to make them all fit. I crammed them together and it was fine.

Pour the remaining mixture across the pasta.

Take the faux "chicken" and lay the pieces around the top.

Pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the top

Shred the vegan cheese (I'd use a mozzarella or jack) over the top.

Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes.

"Chicken" Chowder

Chowders are great for cold or rainy days.

My hubby was sick the other day and I created this soup to make him feel better.

I used fake chicken, but you can leave it out and it would still be a hearty chowder (potato and corn).

First:
Cut up 4 to 5 small red potatoes in small cubes. Boil on stove.

In a food processor blend the following:
1/2 sweet onion
10 or 12 baby carrots
a heaping spoonful of crushed garlic
seasoning salt
Cayenne pepper
hot pepper flakes
a few spoonfuls of olive oil
a cup 1/2 of plain soy milk
Dill weed
ground pepper
ground sea salt
paprika

Remove boiled potatoes and drain - set aside.

Pour blended mixture in soup pot. Add the following as soup cooks:
vegetable soup bullion cube
a few spoonfuls of gravy thickener or whole wheat flour
a huge, heaping spoonful of vegan margarine
a cup of water

As soup cooks, add more soy milk until desired thickness. You can add more water too, but don't go crazy with the H2O or you'll get a runny consistency.

1 frozen bag of fake chicken - cut into smaller pieces. Toss into soup.
Toss in the cubed potatoes
Toss in a 1/3 bag of frozen sweet corn

Cook into thoroughly heated.

Easy Cooking: Tortilla Soup

I made this recipe by guessing what should be in vegan tortilla soup. I never made the non-vegan version, but the challenge wasn't hard at all. In fact, this is so easy to make that when I need a meal made in 20 min and have the hankering for something hot and spicy this is the recipe I like to whip up.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can no fat refried beans
1 can vegetable broth
pepper
1 sweet onion (med)/(green onions work great too - I'd use two)
1 stalk of celery (optional - tastes fine without it, but if you have it on hand, toss it in)
2 heaping spoonfuls of crushed garlic
1 heaping spoon full of salsa
a few shakes of hot sauce
a few shakes of chipotle Tabasco
a few shakes of red pepper flakes
a few shakes of oregano
a few shakes of paprika
2 heaping spoonfuls of chili powder
tortilla chips - for topping
fake chicken cut up into pieces (1 bag)
1 3/4 cups frozen or fresh sweet corn
1 avocado for topping - sliced thin
cubed faux cheese (for topping) - fake Monterey jack with jalapeños

In food processor blend: (if you don't have one - get one, otherwise, you'll have more of a chunky soup.....if chunky is your thing - go for it)
diced tomatoes with green chilies
sweet onion
celery
crushed garlic
salsa
hot sauce
chipotle Tabasco
chili powder
paprika

In a large soup pot:
On medium heat start cooking the blended mixture along with vegetable broth.
Add oregano, pepper and red pepper flakes
Cook thoroughly.
Add refried beans and stir to mix until creamy
Dice fake chicken into 1 inch long pieces - add to soup along with corn
Increase heat and cover. Allow for mixture to boil but not a rolling boil.

Serve:
Ladle soup into deep soup bowls. Arrange sliced avocadoes, tortilla chips and fake cheese on top.

Optional: If you have a can of black beans around, throw those in too (while the soup is cooking). They'll give your soups more substance if you want more of a hearty soup.

Optional: If you're a spice freak, toss a couple of hot peppers into the food processor, sans the seeds unless you're a masochist.

Keep in mind - most of the flavoring stuff is optional. Once I was out of garlic and it came out fine. As long as you cook it with love in your heart, you're golden.