An heirloom recipe inspired by my mom.

1          Package Lite Life Tempeh (Flax or Three Grain)

5-6 TB Vegenaise or Other Vegan Mayo

3 TB     pickles diced (Can substitute Sweet Pickle Relish)

¼        med purple onion diced

1          celery stalk diced

1          carrot diced

¼        red pepper diced

Dash of Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 350.  Slice the tempeh in long strips about ½ inch thick.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake the Tempeh for 10 minutes.  Use a food processor to “crumble” the Tempeh.  (You can also mash the tempeh with a fork as well.)  Mix the tempeh with the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  If you like a saltier or sweeter taste add more pickles or sweet pickle relish.  Serve on your favorite bread.

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

half a cup diced red pepper

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pack 8 oz tempeh

1 T soy sauce

1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

¼ cup dry red wine

1 T Hungarian paprika

1 T maple syrup

noodles/ quinoa cooked

sour cream of choice

green onions, sliced

Cashew “Sour Cream”:

1 ½ cup raw cashews

juice of ½ lemon

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

½ cup water (approx.)

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend but adding water one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. I start with half the amount and then go up from there. If you want a thick cream (it is hard to get a perfectly smooth sauce with a food processor, but it is still delicious!)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add onions and saute 5 min till slightly brown. Add peppers and cook another 3-5 min.

Crumble the tempeh in (if you have a food processor, it crumbles the tempeh nicely in 3 sec, if not, crumble by hand) coat with the soy sauce, you may need a bit more than 1 T, and saute till slightly browned.

Add the tomato sauce and paprika, and maple syrup and cover on low and let simmer for 10 min.

Serve over noodles of choice or quinoa (my favorite) with your choice of sour cream (I make a cashew sour cream!) and green onion.

My parents used many tricks to get me to eat. Some of them were bribes, which I think every parent tries. A lot of them were disguising my food as something else. My dad tried the “Close your eyes and you’ll get a big surprise” approach, but that only worked a few times. Sometimes they just flat out gave me what I wanted. I had the metabolism of a gazelle at that point in my life, so why not let me eat a Manwich Sloppy Joe?

Fast forward, many, many years and I am a vegetarian and no longer have the gazelle metabolism. My rendition of a sloppy joe uses tempeh, which is very hearty and has a nice grain like texture, savory veggies and toppings, a sweet tomato drizzle, and a sliced pita bread. Enjoy!

FILLING: 8 oz (1 package) chopped tempeh, half an onion, 1 large pepper or two small peppers, 4 minced garlic cloves, handful of cherry tomatoes, and a pinch of salt.

1. Put a skillet/frying pan over medium heat. Add olive olive oil and peppers. Sauté and let them soften for 5 minutes.

2. Add the chopped tempeh to the skillet (a trick to get the tempeh extra brown is to add a little soy sauce while sautéeing).

3. After the tempeh has started to brown, add the garlic, tomatoes, onions, and a pinch of salt. Cook until everything is wilted.

SAUCE: 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4  teaspoon black pepper & 1/2 cup water.

1. In a sauce pan, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, salt, chili powder, black pepper & water.

2. After the sauce starts to boil, reduce the heat. Let it reduce for 5 minutes and remove from the burner.

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: Chopped scallions, olives, sour cream & pita bread.

Toast the pita bread and carefully cut it in half from the side. You can add whatever toppings you like. If you want it more traditional, you can stick with cheddar cheese and just the sauce. I, on the other hand, enjoy savory, so I topped mine with the sweet tomato sauce mixture, olives, scallions, and sour cream.

I prefer to have the tomato sauce as a drizzle and not completely submerge the tempeh and veggies. That way I get to see all the healthy veggies I am about to eat.

Looking at all these pictures makes me want to get a second helping. I think I will.

Please see this and other recipes at ChickyPea.com

Tempeh Bolognese

1 8-ounce package of organic tempeh – I like to put mine in the food processor to get the crumbles really small but it’s not necessary

I medium onion, finely chopped

1 shallot, also finely chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped (food processor is an option)

½ cup red wine

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce or crush tomatoes

3 Tbsp. chopped basil

½ teas sea salt

Toppings

½ cup grated manchego cheese or thickly grated into pieces

½ an avocado, finely chopped or sliced thinly

toasted pine nuts

Optional – green olives

Preparation

Crumble the tempeh to the food processor for a few seconds. Do not process too long or it will be mush! Remove and add the onions. Or, chop onion finely and crumble tempeh by hand.

In a medium pan, add the onions to the olive oil till yellow and then add the shallot and tempeh. Coat the tempeh with the soy sauce and sauté for approximately 8 min.

Pour in the wine and let sauté for another 5 min. Add the tomato sauce and basil and let simmer for 15 min.

I have served it all over all types of noodles. For this recipe I used angel hair spelt noodles.

Top each portion with manchego cheese, avocado, toasted pine nuts and or olives.

Summer Chopped Salad with Tempeh Croutons

1 package tempeh cubed into croutons and marinated for 10 minutes in 2tbsp balsamic vinegar mixed with 2 tbsp olive oil plus 2 tbsp water then either   sauteed in olive oil until crisp or baked at 400 until crisp

1 mango cubed

I avocado cubed

3 radishes sliced paper thin or Daikon julienne

1/2 bermuda onion sliced thin and then quartered or thinly sliced green onions

Various mixed greens chopped

Arugula chopped

1/2 c pine nuts

Add anything else you like in a salad. Toss it all together and dress it with a nice olive oil and freshly squeezed lime juice.  Toss again and enjoy.  Its light and a deliciously perfect summer salad!

This chili was inspired by my sis, Robin. She usually makes it with turkey but she wanted to make me something so she made it with tempeh when she was visiting. WE. Gobbled. It. All. Up!!!!!

Cinnamon Chili

2 packs tempeh (8oz each)

1 Tbsp olive or grapeseed oil

½ cup water

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

1 chopped small shallot or garlic clove or 1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 15oz can kidney beans
Topping

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

green onion

Saute the onion and shallots in the oil until cooked. Then add the crumbled tempeh, water and chili powder and keep turning it till browned. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer for 20min.

Add above toppings or toppings of choice.

I used to love the bar-b-q pizza at California Pizza kitchen – I would get it without the chicken. I decided to recreate it with tempeh and the result was delicious!

Crust of choice – I use a spelt crust recipe from Phyllis Stanley, author of Healthy Recipes from the Heart of our Homes –healthy-recipes-from-the-heart

Pizza topping

Bar-b-q tempeh – saute  tempeh in Annie’s Bar-b-q sauce and 1 Tbsp olive oil till slightly browned. Set aside.

Saute a sweet onion, thinly sliced, in a little,oil of choice and a few shakes of balsamic vinegar, till slightly brown and soft.

Grate cheese of choice – I like goat mozzarella

Chopped cilantro

1 large tomato, chopped

Assemble pizza by starting with pouring the bar-b-q sauce on the rolled out pizza dough, add the onions, cheese, then tempeh and then sprinkle the cilantro on top and chopped tomatoes.

Cook for 10-12 min or until crust is cooked.

Check out the movies she’s been in:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338976/

Olivia Wilde on the Cover of Women's Health Magazine

Actress and co-star of the TV Show House and the hit movie Tron: Legacy Olivia Wilde is a vegan and loves this great  recipe for vegan tempeh bolognese. Check out what she has to say about it and her recipe for tempeh bolognese at:

Here’s one of Olivia’s favorite vegan recipes she shares in Women’s Health magazine. “Eat this with any kind of pasta you love or with fresh arugula leaves,” Olivia says. “You won’t miss the meat!” [Access Hollywood]

-Joy

The Sexy Vegan Cookbook

This e-mail came in from The Sexy Vegan – if you have not been to his website, click here – it’s hilarious and full of great recipes.

Hi Joy! That is one badass site you’ve got there! It looks fantastic! Great concept…love the whole design, especially the caricatures! I would love to contribute.. [The Sexy Vegan]

-Joy