Ginger Peanut Soba Noodles with Maple Tempeh

For fourth of July this year, one of the dishes I made was Oh She Glow's Rad Rainbow Raw Pad Thai. It had an amazing lime-peanut dressing that I thought would go great on a soba noodle dish. I added a bunch of veggies, some sweet maple-glazed tempeh, and voila! A yummy, easy new dinner favorite!

Apple Cider Glazed Brussels Sprouts, Tempeh, and Greens

Sweet, warm Fall flavors. Filling and healthy. This dinner is a variation on a tempeh & Brussels sprouts dish I've made a few times before, but with plenty of fresh apple cider mixed in - perfect for a cool Fall day.

White Acorn Squash with Sweet Tempeh and Mushrooms

I love "squash bowl" meals. Give me a fall squash and I'm happy. Add some more veggies to it, even better. There are a million variations to stuffed squash dinners- here's another tasty one!

White Acorn Squash with Sweet Tempeh and Mushroooms
Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 1 white acorn squash 
• 8 oz shittake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 package of tempeh, cubed
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
• A few dashes of sriracha (I used about 6-8 drops)
• 1 tsp fig jam
• handful of almonds, chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Slice squash in half and remove seeds. Place face down in large dish with a few inches of water. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until tender with a fork.
2. After putting the squash in the oven, mix together the maple syrup, soy sauce, sriracha and jam in a small bowl. Place the tempeh in a bake safe dish and pour the sauce over it; toss to coat. Place in the oven with the squash for 15 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, place the sliced mushrooms with 1 Tbsp soy sauce and toss.  After 15 minutes of cooking the tempeh, add in the mushrooms and sliced almonds, stirring to mix around the sauce. Add more maple syrup and/or soy sauce if needed, and cook for until 10-15 minutes, until tempeh is browned.
4. To serve, place the tempeh mix inside each half of squash and enjoy warm. 

Deeeeelish. The sweet tempeh, mushrooms, and almonds go so well with the acorn squash.

Other squash bowl meal ideas:

• Acorn squash stuffed with roasted veggie quinoa, rainbow quinoa with cranberries, nuts, and spinach, or quinoa with cashew butter and apples
• Butternut squash with farro or wheatberry salad
• Spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, broccoli, and mushrooms

Gotta love those fall squashes! 

Sweet Orange Tempeh and A Week of Asian Meals

Asian meals are great for summer because they are often light and quick to whip up. These noodle dishes taste great cold as well, so feel free to make the night before, have leftovers for lunch, or bring something more interesting than pasta salad to a picnic!

Veggieosity: Tofu and Tempeh

I'm starting a series of posts designed to be helpful references. This post is for those of you not so familiar with tofu and/or tempeh.

I'm not a fan of veggie pho-meats (other than the occasional Morning Star Farms chick'n patty when I want a quick, easy, I'm too lazy to make anything and want to eat like an 8 year old meal). But I do really like tofu and tempeh. Yes, that's what I said. I really like them. Some of it is developing a taste for them, some of it is learning which variety and brand you like best, and some of it is learning how to best prepare them. So let's take a little stroll down soy-protein lane, shall we?

Sweet & Tangy Brussels Sprouts & Tempeh

Not too long ago I discovered the secret to yummy Brussels sprouts made at home - roasting 'em. So when I saw this recipe from Lux Hippie, called "Bitchin' Brussels Sprouts," I knew I had to try it out. She had me at bitchin ;-)

Ingredients:
Recipe adapted from Lux Hippie's Bitchin Brussels Sprouts

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts, cut lengthwise into quarters
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 oz tempeh cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1/3-1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Sea salt to taste

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, brown sugar, red pepper, and salt, and mix well.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss until well coated.
   
4. Spread on large baking pan and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
   

YUM!

Roasting always gives veggies a wonderful flavor, but the sauce in this recipe adds so much to it - slightly sweet, slightly tangy, with a tiny kick from those red pepper flakes. It all blends so well. A new, easy dinner fave!

Thanks to Mandi from Lux Hippie for this kick-ass recipe!