Tempeh-tations

Another week, another dolla, hey??! Last week was BUSY, but in an uneventful way- I worked late several days, and also most of Saturday. Saturday evening was spent enjoying a fun feast (post coming as soon as I sort through the billions of pictures I took !!), and Sunday also had me running with a full agenda: TJ?s grandpa?s 85th birthday, free ice cream day with Ash, stop at mom & dad?s to pick up my laptop, come home and clean, sit down for dinner, realize it?s already 9:30 pm. CRAP.

And this week is not looking much different- lots more work, and a trip planned for the weekend! Hint, hint?.

HMMM

So, a few weekends ago, when I was downstate for my cousins baby shower, I INSISTED we stop at a Traders Joes before returning home. Ask, and you shall receive! A few of the highlights I picked up included the cilantro jalapeno hummus (TO DIE FOR), a basmati wild rice blend, mini pb cups, and a couple of packs of TEMPEH! I have been dying to experiment with it, and cannot find it anywhere locally (slight lie- one store does have it but it is like $10 a block?no thanks). So the other night, I played around with it and came up with this extraordinary dish.

In case you are unfamiliar with tempeh- basically it is a highly nutritious fermented food traditionally made from soybeans and its high protein content makes it an excellent substitute for meat. It is typically made by cooking and dehulling soybeans, inoculating them with a culturing agent, and then incubating the innoculated product overnight until it forms a solid cake.

Hmmm, sure sounds interesting, no?? I promise- it tasted GREAT!

1 package tempeh

1 bundle asparagus

1 red bell pepper

1/2 an onion

1 cup matchstick carrots

2 garlic cloves

1 jalapeno

2 tbsp ground ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp mirin

1 can pineapple chunks in juice

2 scallions, diced

Sesame Seeds for garnish

1. Start by cubing up your tempeh. I used the 3-grain variety. I steamed my tempeh for about 15 minutes while I diced up my veggies.

2. After my tempeh was steamed, it went in the marinade- which was the soy sauce, garlic (minced or pressed), ginger, vinegar, mirin, scallion and pineapple juice whisked together.

3. Start by sautéing the onion and jalapeno  over high heat (don?t mind the few rogue carrot strips). Once soft and fragrant (about 2-3 minutes), add the rest of your veggies.

4. Stir fry for another 4-5 minutes, then add the marinated tempeh and the sauce. Cook until asparagus is fork tender and sauce has reduced (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in pineapple chunks. Serve topped with sesame seeds and sriracha for extra heat!

YUM! Juicy pineapple, sweet & spicy sauce, crisp asparagus and the TEMPEH! I LOVED! Chewy, nutty, awesome texture and it really absorbed that marinade. Delightful!

And on that note, I am off! Gotta run these pups before our first co-ed softball game tonight! Wish us luck!

Quite the change from the snow last week, eh?!