We all know I have fallen hopelessly in love with tempeh. I may have said that Honey Cardamon Chicken could keep me from being vegetarian, but now I simply desire to make Honey Cardamon Tempeh instead….mmmmmmmmm.

This time I tried out LightLife’s Organic Wild Rice Tempeh.  I didn’t notice a huge difference from the 3 grain variety, but that simply means it was delicious, too.  I steamed the tempeh this time which also meant it took on more of the flavors of the other ingredients which could be why I didn’t notice the rice so much.

I used a Lite style of coconut milk and it worked well in this dish.  (However, my truffles would not set with it since it was not heavy like normal creamy coconut milk is.  *sigh*  So, I had to whip up lemon bars instead….)  The flavors work really well in this dish and it was very easy to prepare.  I like Clean Food the more I cook out of it and this recipe is certainly a Make-Again.






I finally took a nice picture!

Tempeh with Coconut Milk and Snow Peas

adapted from Terry Walters’ Clean Food

Ingredients –

• 8oz package of tempeh
• 1-2 cups snow peas (I love snow peas so I used a lot)
• 2 tablespoons clean tasting oil (like grapeseed)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger…depending on personal preference)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (always have a book of these on hand…they taste great in everything)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine…you can find it at health food stores like Whole Foods)

Directions –

1. Cut tempeh into chunks/pieces and steam 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Trim snow peas and place in a bowl.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil, pour over peas.  Leave for 4 minutes and then drain.  Rinse peas with cool water and set aside.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute garlic and ginger in oil until soft (about 2 minutes).  Add tempeh, raisins, coconut milk, tamari, syrup and mirin and cook 5 minutes or until tempeh starts to brown.  Add water as needed to deglaze the pan.  Add snow peas and cook 2 minutes longer.

4. Remove from heat and serve over choice of grains.  (I served mine over this brown rice.)

I thought I would just be putting my coconut tempeh on plain old brown rice. But that was before I spied this recipe in Terry Walters’ Clean Food. The cinnamon, cumin, and orange flavors are subtle enough to work with many different types of main dishes and sauces, yet are potent enough to be something special all on their own with just a side of plain steamed veggies.

Brown Basmati Rice with Cinnamon, Cumin and Orange

adapted from Terry Walters’ Clean Food

Ingredients –

• 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice (Did you know its best to store this in the refrigerator?  It is.)
• 3 cups water or veggie stock
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon see salt
• Zest of one orange
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 cup cashews (I left this out because I didn’t have any on hand.  But I bet it would be delicious in it.)
  

Directions –

1. Soak rice for 1 hour in a bowl with enough water to cover all the rice.

2. Drain rice and place in a rice cooker of large pot with water (or stock), cinnamon stick, cumin, salt and orange zest.  Turn on rice cooker, or if using stove-top, bring water to a boil, cover, and reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed (about 25 minutes).

3. Remove rice from heat and discard cinnamon stick.  Fluff with fork, toss with sesame oil and cashews and serve.