January 25, 2012

Slow-Roasted Tempeh

Good things come to those who wait.

New Apple products

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Roasted vegetables

Harry Potter books

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Spring flowers

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And now slow-roasted tempeh.

I love tempeh enough that I often eat it raw out of the package. Yes, I’m gross. But if you’re a tempeh hater or newbie, this is for you.

The tempeh is baked in a marinade for about an hour until it soaks up all the flavor. No bitter tempeh here! I’m sure this recipe would work well with pressed firm tofu too.

Ready for baking

The marinade is loosely based off of Evan’s wonderful maple soy tempeh. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a quick tempeh recipe.

I served mine with the caulipots from Appetite for Reduction and carrots.

Slow-Roasted Tempeh

  • 4 oz tempeh (1/2 package)
  • 2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 2 t olive oil
  • 1 1/2 T soy sauce
  • 1 T maple syrup
  • 1/2 t thyme
  • 1/2 t chili powder

Preheat oven to 350*.

Cut tempeh diagonally so you have two triangles. Cut each triangle in half so you have four thin triangles.

Mix marinade ingredients together and pour  half of it into a small baking dish. Place the tempeh in the dish and pour the rest of the marinade on top.

Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Take off the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Serves two

Do you like tempeh? What’s your favorite way to prepare it?

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January 16, 2012

It’s Spring in January

Happy Monday!  If you have the day off, I hope its been a good one.

Today is my last day of break, so I’ve been making the most of it.  Luckily the weather has been cooperating.  It was 65* degrees today!  And tomorrow it’s back down in the 30s.  Tornado weather? We’ll see.

There was no way I was letting this good weather go to waste.  My mom, sister and I walked up to the YMCA, did some weights and walked back. It was a little under four miles of walking over all.  Just beautiful.  It feels (and smells) like April!

I have a lot of updates, so it’s time for a list.

1.  I went to a basic DSLR photography course recently.  I’m sloooowly getting the hang of it.  This camera is definitely a learning experience for me.  Sometimes I can’t even get it to take a picture.  I’m getting better though.

Here are a few of my favorites I’ve taken recently:

 

Peppercorns!

2.  My new love: this milk frother.

Source

Guaranteed to make any drink taste four dollars more expensive.  Could this be the end of Starbucks drinks for me?  Well, I can hope.

 

3.  I made little individual lasagnas for my family and grandpa based on this butternut squash lasagna with goat cheese sauce recipe.

It didn’t turn out much like lasagna (this was entirely my fault), but man did it taste good!  My family liked it, and thought it tasted like mac and cheese.  Even mom, who doesn’t like squash, enjoyed it.

4. Unusual flavor for Larabar, but I liked it.  Of course, it could be improved with some chocolate chips, but that could be said for just about anything.

5.  My poor old car was viciously attacked by a younger one the other day.  Luckily it didn’t suffer too much damage.

This happened the day after it came home from the car doctor with a new gas door (I accidentally ripped the old one off with my bare hands.  No joke.).  Back to the car doctor!

6.  Anyway else attracted to weird sounding recipes out of curiosity?  This morning I tried out Tina’s oat-less oat bran even though I couldn’t imagine how it would turn out.

WAY better than I expected.  And strangely enough, it really tasted like oat bran.  I think I’ll stick to oats for the most part, but I could see me making this again.

Off to watch Modern Family! I’m behind.

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January 11, 2012

WIAW + Peanut Butter Banana Hot Chocolate!

Guess who is joining the party today? (Fashionably late, of course.)


Thanks to Jenn!

Breakfast

Recently I went to Whole Foods and picked up some new products to try.

Siggi’s Yogurt–on sale! This stuff is super expensive so I usually avoid it.

Look how thick it is! Almost too thick. Tangy, but not overly so. I like.

I made a yogurt bowl with multigrain Puffins, strawberries, and cinnamon raisin PB. I try to be a seasonal eater, but my mom bought them so I thought why not? Turns out strawberries are much more tasty during the summer. It was a nice treat though.

Lunch

I also bought some brown rice tortillas, so quesadillas were on the menu.

I added sauteed broccoli, green pepper, shredded cheese, nooch, and hummus.

Snack

Peanut butter banana hot chocolate! LOVE this. I’m surprised that the recipe has never made it onto the blog. It’s funny how some of the foods you eat often misses the blog sometimes.

There’s a lot of variations of this recipe on the internet, but here’s the jist of what I do:

Peanut Butter Banana Hot Chocolate

  • 1 banana
  • 1 T peanut butter
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1 cup milk-of-choice (I use almond.)
  • sweetener, optional (I usually add 3 stevia drops.)

Blend all the ingredients together. Add to a large mug. Microwave for 2 minutes.

The best part is the thick foam on top!

Variation #1: Use sunflower, almond, cashew, coconut or even cookie butter instead of peanut butter. I’ve tried all of these and they are all great, but peanut butter is the best.

Variation #2: Omit the cocoa powder, and add maple syrup and vanilla extract for a Hot Vanilla. (Made that name up myself.)

Dinner

After an afternoon of work at a used bookstore, I picked up some dinner from Crazy Bowls and Wraps for my dad, sister and me.

I got a bowl with quinoa, vegetables, tofu and a hot and spicy sauce. Hit the spot.

Do you like hot chocolate? What’s your favorite variation? It’s hard for me to believe that anyone wouldn’t like hot chocolate. I’ve been having a mug nearly every evening or afternoon since its gotten cold. I love the peanut butter version, but Mexican hot chocolate is awesome too.

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