Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh

Cookbook * The Candle Cafe Cookbook
Recipe * Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh
Yumm or Yuck? * Yumm

A standard on our dinner table, these little nuggets are first marinated in a maple syrup and shoyu sauce then battered and fried. They make a great introduction to tempeh and pot luck friends rave about them. We like to double the marinade - if you do this make sure to keep the cut of the tempeh thick enough so the extra marinade isn't overpowering. Serve as part of an Asian themed meal or with good old American sides, this will hit the spot! Oh, and if you are ever in NYC do stop by Candle Cafe - their seitan skewers should be on my top 5 things to try before you die! Although the recipe is featured in their cookbook, its just not the same.

Long Life Soup

Cookbook * The Candle Cafe Cookbook
Recipe * Long Life Soup
Yumm or Yuck? * Yumm

Thanks to a wonderful week huffing it in the BEAUTIFUL Olympic Mountains, I have a bit of a cold and there is nothing better than this soup to cure what ails you! Its got shiitake, garlic, ginger, and as much or little cayenne as you need. I love this soup not only because it makes me feel better, but because its quick to make and versatile enough that I usually can make it without having to go out to the market for anything. In the first pic, I substituted hijiki for arame and added carrots and purple potatoes. And in the second pic, I added soba, bok choy, carrots, and tofu. Enjoy it with a slice of "buttered" bread. A star replacement for the outdated chicken noodle soup of my childhood!

Chipolte BBQ Temphe Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and Caraway Slaw

Cookbook * Candle Cafe
Recipe * BBQ Temphe-Chipolte Burgers with Grilled Pineapple and Lemon Caraway Slaw
Yumm or Yuck? * Yumm and SoSo

Fire up the grill, this is the best BBQ sauce I have ever tasted and seeing as how I hail from the South, this claim has some substance. I am always annoyed when cookbooks assume you should know little things like how thick to cut the temphe. Here I first sliced the square temphe block to create two equally thick squares. Then I sliced the squares into thirds. This makes for thinner temphe slices and greater marinade success. Save the reserve and use on a pizza - yumm!

The slaw was refreshing in an oh so healthy, but tasteless sort of way.