Lemony Asian Tempeh

DH: Hey! What's for dinner?
ME: Don't know. We need to use some peppers, how about a sweet and sour?
DH: We have mushrooms, too. Why don't we use some of those?
ME: Don't usually put mushrooms in Sweet and Sour.
DH: What about that dish with the oranges?
ME: Uh, maybe.
DH (waxing nostalgic): Remember that great Chicken Bird's Nest we used to get with the lemon and mushrooms? Can you do something like that?
ME: Sure. Just so you know it won't have either chicken or a bird's nest

So you see why my husband wanted to call this post "Chicken Bird's Nest without the Chicken....or the bird's nest".

I based this dish on another favorite, an orange-y General Tang style tempeh dish.

Lemony Asian Tempeh

4 oz of tempeh, sliced
6 hot dried red peppers

the zest from 1 lemon- I used a microplane for a finely grated zest
2 cloves of minced garlic
About 3/4-1 cup of roughly chopped onion
one red pepper and one green pepper chopped in large bite sized pieces
2-3 carrots sliced
Optional, but good, broccoli florets
One large jalapeno, finely chopped
Mushrooms, sliced. I used three very large ones which yielded at least a cup sliced
Juice of one (juicy) lemon
2-4 T Chopped cilantro


For the sauce, mix together:
1/3 cup vegetable stock
1 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T dry sherry
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 T sugar

Set aside 1 T cornstarch mixed with  2 T water

This will be served over rice, so start your rice.  Parboil and drain the broccoli if using. It should be al dente.

Saute the tempeh in a very large pan or wok until nicely browned. Remove from heat. In the hot oil, cook the dried hot peppers until they look black, but do not burn them. Reduce the heat if they seem to be burning.

Throw the onions and mushrooms into the hot pan and cook them until the onions start to go translucent. Toss in the jalapenos and the carrots, cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic, and finally the peppers.  Keep stir frying until the veg is nearly tender.

Give the sauce ingredients (from veg stock through sugar) a stir, and throw in the pan. Bring it to a bubble.  Add the lemon juice.

Stir in the cornstarch mixture and let the sauce thicken a little, throw in the broccoli to heat it up. Before serving, stir in the lemon zest and top with cilantro. Serve over rice.

Notes: Do use a washed organic lemon when you are making your lemon zest.
Also use organic cornstarch in order to avoid GMO corn products.
I try to use organic everything because I don't like eating pesticides and frankenfoods.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad is quintessentially summery. It goes with sandwiches, hot dogs, barbeque, picnics....

I made some recently and it was so good I had to make some more. We had it with sandwiches on fresh baked rolls. Mine is a no-mayonnaise vegan version.

Potato Salad

About 4 cups of diced potatoes. They don't need to be peeled if they are clean and organic. The dice should be a medium-large bite size.
1/4-1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4-1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 T yellow mustard
4-5 finely chopped sweet pickles and 2-3 T pickle juice

Place the diced potatoes into a saucepan with water to cover. Bring the potatoes to a boil and boil for about 4-5 minutes. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Check a large piece of potato for doneness. It should be al dente to tender but not mushy.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and add to the bowl with the dressing. Toss everything together and taste for seasoning.

If you want a creamier dressing, all you have to do is cook a handful of the potatoes for a few minutes longer. The longer the potato cooks the more it dissolves into the dressing.

This is a slightly tangy salad. If you want a milder or sweeter flavor, use less vinegar and a little more sugar.

Kung Pao Noodles

This is a dish I have made many times. It is a nice spicy way to use a mixture of fresh vegetables. It all began after I had a pretty good meal in a restaurant in Northern VA. I had never had a kung pao with noodles before. So when I came home, I wanted to try to replicate the dish.

Kung Pao Noodles with Vegetables and Tempeh
1/4 c. minced onion
1/2 T. finely chopped fresh ginger
2-3 cloves of finely minced garlic
6-10 small dried red peppers
3-4 sliced scallions
1/2 cup peanuts
peanut oil for stir frying
Tempeh, cut into slices, approxiamtely 1/4" x 2" 
up to 2t. Szechuan Peppercorns, ground in a motar and pestle (or spice grinder)
1T cornstarch mixed with 2T water (set aside)

Vegetables of your choice:

green beans, cut into 2" sections
green or red bell pepper sliced or cubed
sliced carrot
water chestnuts
mushrooms

Mix together for the sauce:

1/3 c. light soy sauce
2 T vinegar
4 T dry sherry
3t. sugar
3/4 t black pepper

In hot oil stir fry the tempeh until golden brown. Remove from pan and reserve. Add additional oil if needed. Roast the dried red peppers in the oil over medium heat. When they begin to turn black, begin to stir-fry the vegetables, except for the green onions, in the same pan for 2-3 minutes. The vegetables should be crisp. Add the ginger and garlic, being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add cornstrach mixture and as the sauce begins to thicken, return the tempeh to the pan. Finish by adding the peanuts, green onions and Szechuan pepper. Stir these in and serve with brown rice.
Variations:
You can adjust the heat on this dish in a few ways. If you like it milder, use only 3-4 dried peppers and reduce the amount of black and Szechuan Pepper. If you like it hot, increase these ingredients. I use about 8 dried peppers and 3/4-1 teaspoon of black pepper which makes it quite spicy but not painful.

Meat eaters can certainly add chicken or other meat to this.