bbq tempeh on focaccia

African-Inspired Night

This was another recipe from Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry, 'Open-Faced BBQ Sandwich on Foccacia with Cayenne Coleslaw.' Tempeh is what is being barbecued. I don't know if I've blogged before that my hubby has a few culinary dislikes, tempeh being one of them.

I haven't been able to convince him to give tempeh a try after he had it in a few times in restaurants, but I know that he just hadn't had it prepared the right way. He had the same dislike of Brussels sprouts until I made them and thereby convinced him that Brussels sprouts are not supposed to be bitter balls of blues.

Same deal with tempeh. If you've had bland tempeh, you need to cook it differently. Terry and I concur.

For flavorful tempeh, choose one:

(1) simmer on the stove in a flavorful broth

(2) bake in a marinade or sauce

(3) fry in fat and sprinkle with salt

Most people steam tempeh, to make the it more ready to absorb marinade or to reduce the bitterness. However, if you will be cooking it using method (1) or (2) for at least 20 minutes, steaming it is not necessary - in fact, it's overkill. Save your time!

Since this recipe called for focaccia, I was on the hunt for a whole wheat version. I found it! Super easy to make, especially in the bread maker. Not super low in fat, though; it can't really be focaccia without the 1/4-1/2 c of olive oil. Of course, if you'd like to omit most of the olive oil, I would omit it from the dough completely and drizzle a half teaspoon on a slice just before eating . Maximize the flavor.

This was a great meal, both men in the house loved the tempeh and the focaccia was an all around hit.

Cost Breakdown:

focaccia: $2

tempeh: $6

lime, tomato paste: $1

cabbage: $2

tamari, Dijon, maple syrup: $1

Total to make 7 sandwiches:

$12.00

Focaccia, Whole Wheat Recipe

(coming)

cinnamon rolls

Kate made today's lunch.

She has been wanting to make cinnamon rolls for a few weeks now. I told her she is welcome to make them as long as there is a vegetable dish to precede the meal. She agreed.

This left me with finding an easy and fast cinnamon roll recipe. I remember making one from Baking with Julia cookbook, but as we all know Julia was neither vegan-friendly nor quick. I think that particular recipe took me a day to make.

So I opted for having her make a quick sweet dough, using half whole wheat flour, and the rest using just cinnamon-roll-additions - sugar, cinnamon and Earth Balance. This is a quick dough because it does not use yeast to rise the bread; it has baking powder to do the work. Having Kate make it, it was ready in about an hour, an adult making it, it would be ready in less than 45 minutes, including baking.

Cost Breakdown:

flours: $1

sugar, cinnamon: $1

Earth Balance: $.50

maple syrup: $ 1

almond milk: $.50

Total to make 6 big or 12 smaller rolls:

$4.00