Tempeh Time!

Tempeh. The word itself even sounds a little weird, I realize. But it actually tastes good, and that is what's important. And is full of protein. And easy to cook. And I needed tasty, protein-packed, simplicity after my workout. I was beat. This getting in shape business is hard.

Stir fry is an easy way to pack in a lot of veggies in a short amount of time. Cook times are relatively short (in fact the most time you spend is the prep time to chop all those veggies) but the payoff is big. If you're tired of chicken or pork or tofu, tempeh does provide you with a different flavor and texture and works well in stir fry. Don't be scared, tempeh won't hurt you. And especially after kicking your own ass at the gym, you need lean proteins and veggies to feed those battered and bruised muscles!

Tempeh Stir Fry
--TBSP seasame oil
--2 TBSP canola oil, divided
--2 TBSP soy sauce, divided (I use the low sodium kind)
--8 oz. package of tempeh (found in the refrigerated section with the tofu), sliced into strips
--small onion, diced
--large shallot, diced
--ginger, minced
--garlic, minced
--medium jalapeno, sliced in rounds
--medium red bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced into strips
--small yellow squash, sliced into strips
--small zucchini, sliced into strips
--medium carrot, peeled and sliced into strips
--small package button mushrooms, sliced
--1 bunch red chard, stems removed and cut or ripped into business card sized pieces
--1 pear, core removed and sliced into thin slices

Heat the sesame oil, 1 TBSP canola and 1 TBSP of the soy sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the tempeh strips until browned on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add remaining TBSP of canola oil to the skillet. Sauté the onion, shallot, garlic, and ginger for a few minutes until fragrant and tender. Add the jalapeno, bell pepper, squash, zucchini, and carrot pieces and sauté for several minutes, stirring regularly. When the veggies begin to soften add the mushroom pieces, again stirring regularly.

Add the remaining TBSP soy sauce and stir to combine into the veggies. Add the tempeh back into the mix and also add the chard pieces at this time. Mix it all up and sauté for a few minutes to allow the tempeh to get warmed up and the chard to begin to wilt. Remove the stir fry from the heat and stir in the pear slices. The cold, crisp pear will provide a nice flavor and texture contrast to the warm, tender veggies!

Serve! This is not a meal that re-heats well so adjust ingredient quantities as needed to avoid leftovers.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 35 minutes (most of it prep time)
Serves: 4 bowls
Calories: 300 per bowl

Don't Go South For Winter, Just Go South of the Border

All cooks find inspiration somewhere. I read a lot of other food blogs and subscribe to recipe feeds. One of my favorite finds is from Whole Foods Market. While I don't always follow their recipe true to course, sometimes something they feature gets my brain into thinking along a path. This recipe is *almost* what was printed, but I of course had to make a few tweaks... I changed up the order of things and made my own "taco seasoning." I never was terribly good at following the rules...

Taco Soup
--1 pound of ground chicken or turkey
--
cumin
--paprika
--ancho chili powder
--garlic powder
--onion powder
--crushed red pepper flakes
--oregano
--salt & pepper
--1 medium onion, chopped 

--garlic cloves, minced
--1 large zucchini, quartered
--1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
--2 cups chicken broth
--1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
--1 cup frozen corn
--
1 cup salsa

Brown the meat in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the meat with the dried spices. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until onion is translucent.Add the zucchini and saute for a few minutes to allow the veggies to start to get tender. Add the meat back to the pot. Taste it! Does it need more seasoning? Add some spices if it does!

Add each of the remaining ingredients one at a time, stirring to mix each individual ingredient before adding the next one. I don't know why, but in my head soups and stews always taste better when you add in each ingrendient singularly.

Simmer, pot covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortillas or corn chips.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...

Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Estimated Calories: 396 per serving

Squash: Roasted and Stuffed

It's squash season and different squashes that I've never heard of before keep arriving from the farm. One got delivered yesterday called a Turban Squash. It looks more like the little toadstool guy from Super Mario Brothers, but I bet it tastes delicious... I haven't cooked that one up yet, but I did recently stuff some Carnival Squash with a tomato and spinach concoction...

This is hearty enough to serve on it's own as a vegetarian meal or will make a lovely companion to a slab of tasty meat.

Roasted Tomato Stuffed Squash
--4 tomatoes, whole
--2 TBSP olive oil
--dried oregano
--1 carnival squash, sliced in half and seeds removed
--cooking spray
--garlic, minced
--1/2 small onion, diced
--1 dry cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried

Using a paring knife, cut out the core of the tomatoes but only down about 1/2". Make x's on the bottom of each tomato. Coat with 1 TBSP of the olive oil and dash with oregano. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the skins are easy to remove.

In a separate baking dish, spray the squash halves with cooking spray and simultaneously roast cut side down.

Once the tomatoes are done, remove them from the oven. Flip the squash so that it is now cut side up and continue roasting until a fork slides easily into the thickest part of the squash.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high and add the remaining 1 TBSP olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute to translucency, 2-ish minutes. While the garlic/onion mix cooks, remove the skins from the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and mash with a fork. Add the spinach and toss regularly so spinach gets warmed and wilted but not soggy. Remove pan from heat.

Remove the squash from the oven and place on a plate. Stuff each squash half with the tomato and spinach mixture and eat everything except the squash stem and skin.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
Calories: 272 per serving

Hello Stew, Meet Curry & Saffron

I tend to eat a lot of warm foods in the winter time. Winter just seems to loan itself well to soups, stews, and ragouts. The following is a modified version of one of my favorite recipes. It combines lots of veggies with two of my favorite spices: saffron and curry!

I made this while housesitting and just threw it together with what veggies were fresh on hand along with some from the freezer. Stews like this one can change throughout the year to reflect whatever veggies are in season.

Winter Vegetable Curried Stew
--olive oil
--yellow curry powder
--pinch of saffron threads--onion, chopped roughly into medium sized pieces
--garlic, chopped
--assorted chopped veggies (I used squash, kale, spinach, and carrots)
--1 can white beans
--1 package of chicken sausage, links chopped into 1/2" thick slices
--24 oz. container chicken or vegetable broth


In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Once the oil coats the bottom of the pot add in the saffron threads. Adding heat to the threads releases their flavor. Add several healthy shakes of curry powder. Add chopped onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. The curry and saffron will coat the onion and garlic and make your stew taste delicious!

Begin adding in your vegetables one at a time. First I added my carrots and then stirred them all together so the curry/saffron mix coated them. Then I added my different squashes (I used 3 different types: delicata, yellow, and zucchini) and stirred the mix all together. Then I added my white beans on top and stirred together.


Pour the chicken broth over the veggies mix. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes. You can simmer for up to 2 hours, but if you intend to simmer for this long, please turn heat down to low.

While the soup is simmering it's time to cook up our chicken sausage. I buy the package of 4 links and am really fond of the chicken and apple sausages because they add great flavor to this particular recipe. Most chicken sausage links are already pre-cooked but we want to sear the sides and warm up the sausage.

In a small to medium sized skillet, heat the sausage over medium heat until seared and warm.
Then add it to the simmering stew!

Toward the end of your simmering period add in the spinach and kale (or whatever greens you'd like to use). I remove the stems and either roughly chop these or rip them into pieces by hand.


Once everything is nice and warm it's ready to be scarfed!