“Pulled” Tempeh Sandwich

I came up with this recipe last week to take advantage of the sunny weather and the grill. Even though I don’t eat meat I still love the look of a good Pulled Pork Sandwich and one passed by me while eating at Russell Street BBQ here in Portland. At that very moment I knew I had to replicate it. I have read somewhere that the best way to marinade tempeh is to cook it as opposed to letting it sit for a long time in your sauce, which makes this go from grill to table even quicker. This recipe is fun simple and delicious (and requires a little bit of beer drinking, not a bad way to cook!).

Ingredients:

1 lb. Tempeh

BBQ Sauce from a bottle or your own if you make it (I Love the Red Hook Sauce even though it can be spendy)

1 Beer (1/2 for cooking 1/2 for drinking) I went with the an Amber Ale which has a really nice malty taste that works well with the tempeh

1/3 Cup Soy Sauce (approximately)

Chili powder (I always go with Frontiers’ “Fiesta Blend”)

Garlic to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Nice Hearty Bread or Roll

Fixin’s (The wife loves pickles and cheddar cheese on this meal)

Directions:

Put beer (1/2 of bottle), soy sauce, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper into a “grill safe” baking dish, I use a 8×8 Pyrex, and stir together. Add the tempeh and spread a little BBQ Sauce on exposed tempeh. Cover with foil and place on grill at medium high heat for 10 minutes and then turn tempeh over and cook for another 10-15. This is a good time to finish the leftover beer

Place the tempeh on the still hot grill racks (with or without foil) to brown the outside (leave some nice grill marks!) for about 5 minutes each side. Meanwhile empty the marinade from the pan so you can use the pan again.

Slice the tempeh into long strips. I cut 1/4 inch slice off of the loaf and then cut those pieces in half lengthwise to have long, skinny “shoe string” pieces.

Put sliced tempeh into the pan, add about 1/2 bottle of your BBQ sauce and carefully toss like a salad. I stick the pan full of tossed tempeh back on the grill to heat up the sauce and coat the tempeh well.

Place on bread, add fixin’s and eat.

I have also made this for my diabetic mother-in-law and instead of serving on bread I grilled a bunch of vegetables and served this on top of them. She loved it and it was very little additional work.

Eat well!

Real Simple Breakfast

The wife and I this morning are watching the epic tennis match between Federer and Nadal and while I opted for some chips and salsa to snack on, Sarah requires a little more traditional breakfast. Inspired by her love of the smell of salsa I whipped up real quick like a little Salsa omelet.

Ingredients:

two eggs

about 1/4 cup of skim milk

salsa (Trader Joe’s Salsa Especial)

cheddar cheese (about a handful)

tablespoon of butter

salt and pepper too taste.

Beat the eggs, milk and a pinch of salt together with a fork until well beaten.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium sized pan.

When melted and the pan hot add the eggs and cook until firm (pushing the eggs toward the center until a flippable “pancake shape” is ready.

Add the salsa and cheese (drain salsa if you don’t want a runny omelet I usually don’t)

Cook about two minutes covered until the cheese is almost melted but the bottom isn’t over cooked)

Flip into the classic omelet shape and slide onto a plate.

I garnished with some cilantro from the garden.

Eat well

Welcome

A new recipe is coming soon…..