new winner is... (and recent eats!)

okay, the new winner for the Silver Hills giveaway is Born to be Vegan (comment: "Enter me please! My daughter starts grade one in the fall so I see some sandwiches in our future").  Please e-mail me at dreenaburton@gmail.com so I can arrange the mailing!

And, here's some of what I've been making and eating recently...

Cocoa-Goji Granola (yep, new recipe).  Crunchy, sweet but not sickly-sweet (as are most commercial granola varieties).  And, kidlets enjoy eating it and watching their milk turn "chocolate".  Personally, I like eating it straight up! (that brings back memories!)

Marinated tempeh that's been grilled on the bbq along with zukes and peppers.  Man, we love grilled veggies!  And, the tempeh was delicious too.  When tempeh is seasoned and cooked just right, it is far better than tofu in taste and texture (in my opinion).  Served it with short-grain brown rice (so comforting and chewy yummy), and my "Peanut Passion Sauce" from eat, drink & be vegan.  Oh, and the tempeh is also a new recipe, I just have absolutely no name for it right now!

Perhaps in the back of our minds we already understand, without all the science I've discussed, that something terribly wrong is happening.  Our sustenance now comes from misery. ... We perhaps know more than we care to admit, keeping it down in the dark places of our memory - disavowed.  When we eat factory-farmed meat we live, literally, on tortured flesh.  Increasingly, that tortured flesh is becoming our own.  (Source: Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer)

Lemon-Caper Braised Tempeh

I know, for many of you tempeh is like the 'last frontier' of vegan cookery. You see those mysterious blocks of tempeh sitting in the freezer section of your store, and pass by those foreign objects for fear of culinary defeat.

No fears, my dear vegans! Tempeh can be delicious... and easy, like with this Lemon-Caper Braised Tempeh (new recipe). Now, with tempeh, I find it's important to infuse flavor... much like tofu. The beauty of tempeh though, is that it does have a natural nutty, earthy flavor. And while it's flavor (and texture) might take some getting used to for those accustomed to tempeh's better-known relative tofu, it is really very appealing when prepared the right way and with some of your favorite seasonings.

In this recipes, tempeh slices are first pan-fried to sear both sides.

<-- And just look at that golden-brown crust! That's flavah, flavah!

Then, the tempeh is finished by braising in a lemon-caper sauce. I add full slices of lemon as well as fresh lemon juice to the dish, since it infuses a lot of flavor (okay, and I think it looks pretty)! But, eating those lemon slices with your meal is optional, as they are quite bitter with the rind intact.

Now, 'spot the difference' in the photos! See here on the right, the lemon slices are part of the sauce... but in the large photos above, whoops, I forgot the lemon slices during that recipe trial. Which, of course meant that I then had to retest the recipe again to get a fully accurate flavor result.

Yeah, that's what happens to us cookbook authors that recipe test while multitasking mom duties! Had to start the recipe alllll over again another day....

not that I minded too much... it was delicious enough to make again!

News and Chews

Wow, it's been a week since I last posted! We're having 'spring break'... which, in some ways is a break but other ways, very much not a break (you at-home moms and dads know what I'm talkin' about here)! I've enjoyed not having to bustle out of the house in the morning to school and preschool and back to preschool, and back home and back to school, and squeezing in grocery shopping, housecleaning, lesson, activities, and cooking in between! Phew! Yes, having a change of pace from that routine is certainly a welcome break. But, we've been trying to 'spring clean' in a sense, clearing out things we aren't using and getting to chores we've neglected... AND I've been testing new recipes, so it's been busy as ever.

So, let's catch up on some news and chews!

First, some news:
Many of you know I've been writing for VegNews for the last couple of years. Well, I'm no longer contributing articles for VegNews, in case you are looking for them in upcoming issues. I will, however, be contributing vegan cooking articles for alive magazine. I'm very excited about this, because they haven't had a dedicated vegan feature in the past, and so I hope to write for their magazine on a regular basis. alive is available in health and whole food stores across Canada, so the vegan exposure is a very great thing!

Next up in news: eat, drink & be vegan is a Finalist for ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award in the Cooking category. The award is announced on May 29 at Book Expo America... wish me luck! :)

Now, for the chews!

This is the Olive Oregano Wine Baked Tofu from the foodtv.ca recipes. Guys, this dish is wicked tasty, and might even convert the tofu-averse! And though I haven't yet tried it with tempeh, I think it would be smashing good!

We are enjoying tempeh more than tofu these days. Not only do I dig the earthy, nutty flavor and beany texture, but since it is fermented (and retains fibre, unlike tofu) it is much easier to digest. So, tempeh is making its way to our table more frequently, and as a result, you'll see more tempeh recipes coming from this cookbook author (I already have two insanely delicious ones that I will soon post about)! I think seitan would also be well suited to this recipe. Seitan is not my specialty. Why? Well, while I think it can be fun, and versatile and a great protein source, it's just not a food that my family ever likes. I have enjoyed the occasional seitan recipe, but not the kids or mister-man. Plus, though I've sometimes enjoyed eating seitan, I don't always feel the best after eating it. Maybe because it's such a concentrated and processed wheat product... perhaps it's my constitution... whatever, I'm not sure. What I do know is that if you want some kick-butt seitan recipes, then go to the experts - wheat-meat queens Bryanna or Isa and Terry. They'll serve up some winner seitan recipes for you! Now... back to our recipe at hand...

The tofu bathes in a marinade of white wine, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, oregano, agave nectar sun-dried tomatoes, grapes (yes grapes!) and Moroccan dry olives. Do try to use these Moroccan dry olives, rather than kalamata or other olives. They lend a very distinctive taste that is superb in this dish. Also, do try to use organic grapes if at all possible. (they are part of the dirty dozen, remember). While the recipe calls for red grapes, I used organic green grapes this time, and they worked fine. Oh, and use 1/3 cup of grapes rather than 1/4, as per edits here. Serve it with a whole grain, or with roasted potatoes, or polenta. This is also a marvelous dish for those of you that cannot eat garlic and/or onions (I have heard from quite a few of you with this dietary restriction). Plenty of flavor in this dish with no garlic or onion to be found.

Speaking of spuds. What's this, what's this? This bowl of tater temptation is Vive's Lemon Rosemary Potatoes. I've posted about them before, check it out.

All the news and chews fit to print for now. So, please try out the tofu dish folks, I think you'll LOVE it!

I'll be back with more soon... stay tuned, stay vegan!

Tempeh & Lightlife Part I

Two things to post about today. First, more recipes for ED&BV. These are Sweet and Sour Tempeh with Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Lime Basmati Rice.

Still tweaking the sweet and sour recipe, and it can be made as a side dish without the tempeh. Also, if you prefer, the tempeh can be swapped out for tofu or even seitan. The rice dish is finished - though, I could test it over and over - I love eating it! The two dishes complemented one another perfectly, with the creamy rich rice balancing the tangy, sour sauce coating the tempeh and sweet potatoes.

With this recipe test, I used Lightlife Organic Flax Tempeh. Like some other bloggers, I received a sample box of products to try. There were a few items I was eager to try, and this was one of them. I was quite impressed with this tempeh. It's taken our family a little while to accept tempeh, mostly because some trials it has tasted a little bitter and even marinades couldn't mask that flavor.

(As a tip, you can simmer tempeh for 15-20 minutes in a couple of cups of vegetable broth to help draw out some bitterness. This helps, though sometimes the tempeh loses its firmness.)

I didn't simmer this Lightlife tempeh, and tasted little to no bitter flavor which really pleased me. One less cooking step! If you don't need to simmer the tempeh, that makes cooking a whole lot faster and simpler.

Unfortunately this and the other varieties of Lightlife Tempeh are not availabe in our area, which really is too bad (for me!), because with this first trial I prefer the clean taste of this tempeh to the other variety I can purchase here.

If you are interested in trying some of Lightlife's products, they are offering $1 off coupons here. I will do a "Part II" post about some other Lightlife products soon, including their Tempeh Bacon, Ranchero Tortilla Wrap, and their Smart Chili.

Tempt-eh

I know... I won't be winning any awards for recipe naming...

but I swear to you that this new (& easy) recipe for tempeh will knock those hemp socks right off your feet!

um --- us veggies all wear hemp socks, right?

I know some of you are tempeh-averse or tempeh-afraid... fear no more my veggie friends, this tempeh is SO scrumptious that even my "never want to touch the stuff" husband scarfed it down like it was - well - potatoes. I assure you that you will love this Tempt-eh recipe too!

On to helping a fellow blogger... Mrs. Carlson asked this in my last post:

"I am wondering what vegan hot breakfast dishes anyone would recommend for a large group? Our school does a monthly breakfast for all the teachers, and it is my grade level's turn to do it this month. I would like to "wow" everyone with a yummy vegan dish that is hot, and perhaps one that I can prepare the night before and bake or reheat in the morning?"

I told her I'd send the question out to our divine veggie bloggers... any suggestions, guys?