Pepper Steak With Tempeh

I have my favorite vegan cookbooks and I use them all the time. I also have my favorite family recipes that I've been missing from my "now" medically necessitated vegan world. How to combine the two separate ways of eating into one lifestyle has long set my mind a thinkin'. After all, in my 53 years of marriage I gathered a lot of recipes that were worth making again and again. With the kids grown and parents in their own right and my hubby gone off to heaven before me, I yearned for the "comfort" foods of my old days.

I know it sounds silly, but I've been missing Pepper Steak. You can tell by the recipe card sitting in my big blue recipe file box that it has been used over and over because it is stained to the point of being nearly unreadable. In the days when two kids and hubby were around the table with me, I had to double the recipe because we all loved the dish to the point of  being pigs about the whole thing. But that's another story.

This particular recipe is a delicious blend of round steak, vegetables, and spices that cooks into a fragrant, saucy mixture that I always served over mashed potatoes. My taste buds been longing for that old favorite from the time in my life when I was surrounded by a happy and loving family. So I set out to veganize it. Nobody was more surprised than me when it turned out to be nearly as good as the real thing.

For the mashed potatoes, I just did them the old way. Peeled, cut into chunks, and boiled to tender. Then I warmed some rice milk, which I find far more palatable than soy milk, with some vegan margarine and whipped them into fluffy clouds. I added salt and pepper and sprinkled them with paprika just before serving. Doggone good if I do say so myself.

As for the Pepper Steak itself, I changed nothing except for substituting tempeh for the round steak. Who knew the whole concoction would be good enough to deserve its own blog? Happy chomping.

PEPPER STEAK/TEMPEH

1 package tempeh

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. flour

Cut tempeh into bit size pieces, dredge in the flour, then brown in the hot oil in an oven-proof pot with a lid. The tempeh will look and taste more like the real thing if it has a good crust on it. Remove from the heat.

Add to the pot:

1/2 cup catsup

1 cup No Beef broth (use vegetable broth if you can't find the other)

1 large onion, chopped

2 green peppers, sliced into rings

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas)

3 Tbs. soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything to distribute the seasonings. Cover and cook in the oven at 350 for an hour. Serve over the mashed potatoes. Enjoy.

Vegans never sleep; we are always thinking up
new ways to veganize old favorites

Meatloaf And Gravy That's Doggone Good

My husband loved meatloaf. Not me. No matter what I did to the fixings, the meatloaf was always too dry for my taste. Even smeared with catsup, it was barely tolerable. Fact is, I'd never had meatloaf in my life until I married my husband. He always raved about his mom's meatloaf, so I asked her to teach me how to make it. Jim always thought it was the best supper ever. He even liked leftover meatloaf in sandwiches. I tried. Honest, I did. But I just never liked it.

So last November, when I brought home a copy of the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook from my local bookstore and saw the meatloaf recipe, I skipped over it. Again and again and again. There would be no meatloaf in this house, even though all the other recipes in Lindsay Nixon's book had turned out delicious. Still, I had no hopes for anything called meatloaf.

Then came a dark and dreary winter eve when I looked into the pantry and came up with nothing that sounded good. Same with the refrigerator. But wait. I did have an unopened package of tempeh. What could I create with that?

Out of curiosity, I hauled out the Happy Herbivore cookbook and looked up tempeh, trying to get some ideas for dinner. Actually, the meatloaf recipe sounded like it might be tasty so I decided to give it a try. I added a few more ingredients than the recipe called for and stuck the dish in the oven. Thirty minutes later out came something that actually resembled meatloaf. I served it with my own version of brown gravy, along with creamed cauliflower, and garden peas.

It was delicious. I even have enough left to make sandwiches. Who knew?

MEATLOAF AND GRAVY

Set your oven to 350.

Place in a mixing bowl:

1 c. instant oats

1 8 oz. package tempeh, shredded with a box grater

1 small onion, minced

1/2 celery stalk, minced fine

4 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves of garlic, minced fine

1 jalapeno pepper, minced fine, seeds and ribs removed

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and let it set for a few minutes. In the meantime, grease a small casserole dish or small breadpan. I used a casserole dish so I wouldn't have to slice an already delicate product.

Pack the ingredients tightly for good cohesion. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Smother with my own version of brown gravy if so desired. Serves 4.

Faux brown gravy:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. flour

Mix together in a saucepan set over medium heat, stir until the mixture looks somewhat like paste. Add 1 cup vegetable broth. Whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet if a deep gravy color is desired. Serve over the meatloaf.

I apologize there is no photo of this delicious dish. When I went to download my pictures, I accidentally clicked remove instead of upload and before my brain registered what I'd done, the photos were gone. Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Caldo Verde--I Did It My Way...

You've heard me say it a dozen times: I hate cooking. I read recently that those who hate to cook are always bad cooks. No one should make blanket statements like that because the blankets are never big enough to cover everyone. Just because I find cooking to be boring, time consuming, and about as much fun as falling down four flights of stairs doesn't mean I can't do it. Truth is, I'm a really good cook. I just don't think it's fun.

With Christmas on the horizon, I've been sitting in my chair knitting up a storm. That's what you  do when you're a senior citizen on social security. Keeping those needles flying leaves me little time to cook--as if I'd spend any time on it anyway. Because it's easy for me to knit and listen to television at the same time, I've got my channel set to the cooking shows. Truth is, I learn something new nearly every day without having to pay too much attention to what's actually going on. At least once a day, I hear one chef or another say that in order for food to taste good, it has to be made with love. I don't think I've ever put love into anything I've ever cooked. In fact I know I haven't. Well, maybe popcorn on the stove. The old time kind with melted butter. But that's another story.

I came across today's recipe in a vegan cookbook. It was called Caldo Verde. As I understand it, that translates into green broth. So I followed the recipe. Personally, I thought it looked boring. I also thought it tasted boring. Now my rule is if I'm gonna spend time cooking, the end result jolly well better taste marvelous. So I went to work on the Caldo Verde and when I finished fixing it, the aroma filled the house with such a tantalizing expectation of something good that the two guests I'd invited for dinner came snooping into the kitchen to see what was cooking.

"It's soup," I told them. "It used to be boring but I fixed it." They know me so they understood what I meant. I took the hot garlic bread from the oven, dished up steaming bowls of my version of Caldo Verde and we all declared it a winner. Now I have a reason for telling you this story. I want you to know that even if you find cooking a necessary drudgery, that doesn't mean you have to be a bad cook. And if anyone suggests that you should put more love into your food, look them in the eye and tell them the only love you feel toward food is the eating part. I can't tell you how many guests I've served in my many years of living who have eaten my food and said to me, "I thought you didn't like to cook. This was delicious."

I don't know who made up the rule that someone has to like doing something in order to do it well. Whoever it was, they lied.

No more nutritional yeast; used real Parm
to show what the finished dish looks like.

Caldo Verde 

Into your soup pot put:

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 medium potatoes, cut into small bites

1/2 cup celery, sliced small

1 tsp. marjoram

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper or to taste

Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes

Add:

1 15.5 oz cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I used canned)

4 cups vegetable stock

4 cups water

1/2 cup dry white wine

Bring the soup to a boil then turn the heat to low, cover the pot and let the soup simmer about an hour, stirring every now and then.

Approximately 15 minutes before serving add:

1/2 cup tempeh that's been cut into small pieces

1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped

Turn the heat to medium and allow the soup to simmer 10-15 minutes. If desired, individual servings can be sprinkled with a bit of nutritional yeast to add a sort of Parmesan cheese taste to the soup.

This recipe serves 4-6, depending on whether it is used as a main course or a side. Any leftovers are even better the next day.

Holiday Travel Temp

Holiday traveling may present a special issue for vegans; try getting through an eight hour drive on potato chips from the gas station alone; and maybe a tomato juice if you're lucky (and lucky enough to pay less than a dollar an ounce!) With a little foresight and preparation, a satisfying meal for 2-3 servings can be made in a short time and travels well. Chopsticks optional; forks may be easier in the car!

Vegan Supper To-Go!

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced diagonally
1 medium onion, chopped



In a large skillet on med heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and saute the carrots, celery, and onion for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season a bit with ¼ tsp each of: salt, pepper, celery salt, and onion powder.

1 package tempeh, sliced into cubes
2 tablespoons tobasco sauce; Texas Pete is a good choice
2 tablespoons Bragg's apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon olive or avacado oil



In a separate medium skillet on med, add a bit of oil and allow it to heat up. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together, then add the tempeh and tumble with a fork until all sides of all cubes are coated. Once the oil is hot, add coated cubes to the pan and situate evenly and allow to saute for about 3 minutes per side, or until light browning occurs. Add a little extra oil here and there if the tempeh absorbs too much from the pan.

1 cup sushi rice OR brown rice
2 teaspoon vegan boulion
1 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon salt
water (use the knuckle trick)

This you may want to consult the directions on the rice package; I picked sushi rice because it cooks much faster than long grain rices. If you are using brown rice, be sure to start Ahead of time! For either rice, it is a good idea to saute the rice for a couple of minutes in the oil before adding water to enhance the flavor.

1 green pepper, washed & chopped
Soy sauce or Bragg's
Lemon
Ginger root, frozen
2 cloves garlic, chopped



Now add about ½ the amount of the cooked rice to the vegetable saute we started with along with the green pepper and garlic. Add about ½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger, 2 teaspoons Bragg's soy proteins, juice from ½ lemon. Let cook just until the green pepper starts to change color. Now pack up in a plastic travel container, add some fresh cilantro, leave room for the tempeh on top, and test the seasoning; top up with a little soy sauce if needed- my guess is you probably won't!



Now, you can gas up and hit the road without worry for what the gas station snack bar bringeth or that there is only fast food from here to there!