The perfect bite: date, blue cheese and truffle honey
I have been absent. I know. I apologize. It was necessary.
Breaking in the new kitchen: Buffalo Runner Bean Chili & Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread (GF!)
You see I have been taking care of one of my goals, a necessary thing to go forward with my life: finding a place to call home. For the majority of this year I have bounced around, having with me only enough stuff (including my knife roll!!!) to cover the bare minimum. Everything else was stashed in storage. I have been all over the world this year, spent copious amounts of time in Seattle, San Francisco and Colorado. This whole time however, I have circled and circled the same central issue when trying to tackle other goals in my life: lack of roots, absence of home, no place to provide routine, consistency and roots. Over the summer and early fall, I really focused on deciding where I want to be and came to the answer I have known for a long time but was unwilling or able to accept: my heart is in San Francisco. The food, the trails, the people, the family, the vibe, the weather, everything is just me. It makes me happy. And so over these past couple of weeks, I have been in a fever pitch trying to get moved. My sister and I found a place in the City and we went in to go mode in order to get the place sorted before Christmas. I have been to Seattle and gotten all of my things out of storage, unpacked box after box and even managed to sneak in a few phenomenal meals cooked in my new kitchen, which is absolutely fabulous. And I have been good about snapping pictures with my Nikon camera, I have loads of shots of drool inducing food (included here, a sample).
GF Ginger Molasses Cookies and Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
One of the things that has not been able to be a priority is a weekly (or three) post. I wish that was not the case, but on the list of dire necessity it does not rank highly, maybe at some point in the future when I am a famous writer, but not right now. I often wonder if I would even be missed in the massive blog-iverse. Probably not, but I’d still like to believe that my voice matters, to someone.
A Thanksgiving Salad
If you’ve had a chance to read my Delicious Journey, you’d know that I have a clear goal of making this blog into something. And I am more resolved than ever to do so. Starting with the new year. So awesome reader(s) enjoy your holidays and happy new year! May you have a safe, beautiful, delicious holiday! Cheers!
Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey Mole on handmade tortillas.
Delicious Food from Squid & Ink in Seattle. A must get: Fried Pickles! They are delicious
Thanksgiving:
Roasted Garlic Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Amazing homemade gluten free gravy
Homemade cranberry sauce with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon
Vibrant Green Beans with Shallots : Good enough, I would have gone without everything else just to have room to eat more!
Rice Bread Stuffing
Turkey
Homemade Spelt Bread
Homemade Spelt Bread
Mashed Potatoes w/ sauteed red cabbage, shallots and garlic
BBQ Brussel Sprouts w/ Tempeh, Apple and Persimmon
BBQ Brussel Sprouts w/ Tempeh, Apple and Persimmon
The idea for these brussel sprouts came to me in several parts and through many test kitchens. I tried a Brussel Sprout and Apple recipe from 101cookbooks and found it absolutely delicious and thus knew the apples would do well. However, the BBQ tempeh part and the persimmon parts came later when I was waiting with my friend Lauren for a pickup order for her at a restaurant and a BBQ’d chicken pizza went by. I thought suddenly thoughts about the brussel sprouts and apple flavor combo and how it would absolutely pop with a good BBQ element. I decided that a homemade baked tempeh with a BBQ glaze would do perfectly and the persimmons would freshen the dish amazingly.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Amy’s organic BBQ sauce
1/4 Agave sweetened ketchup
about 2.5 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP roasted & minced garlic
1 package garden veggie tempeh
1 pink lady apple, diced small
1 persimmon, diced small
2 cups shredded brussel sprouts
2 tbsp earth balance spread or olive oil, divided
2 tbsp Amy’s organic BBQ sauce
salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. On the stove top, bring enough water to a boil to steam the tempeh. When the water is boiling, steam tempeh for 2-3 minutes until it softens up a bit. While that cooks, combine the BBQ sauce, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic in a small bowl, stirring to combine. When the tempeh is tender and pliable, remove from steamer and crumble into a bowl, it should be smallish pieces about the same side as the dice you will do on the fruit. Pour the sauce mixture on top and stir to combine. In a small baking dish or aluminum foil mock baking dish, pour the mixture and spread until in a thinnish layer. Bake for 10-12 minutes while you cut up your fruits and veggies. You can cook it longer, but I was getting too excited to wait. You are baking it to help intensify the flavor and remove some of the liquid. Remove from oven and divide in half, saving half for later. In a skillet over medium high heat, heat 1 TBSP of earth balance or olive oil. I had to use earth balance as I was out of olive oil. Put half of the tempeh (half of the original amount, i.e. what you didn’t save for later!) in the pan and cook until it starts to brown and get crispy, 8-10 minutes, it really depends on how long you baked it for. I am pretty sure as I develop the recipe further, I will find a better balance. The only benefit of baking, then crisping is that you can make extra baked tempeh for another recipe for later. Once the tempeh starts to get some crispy bits, add the apple in and saute for another 2-3 minutes, just until the apple is cooked through. Salt and pepper to tast. Remove the tempeh apple mixture from the pan and set aside on a plate. Heat the second TBSP of oil in the same skillet, no need to wash it and saute the brussel sprouts until they start to get crispy and tender, about 4 minutes. Add the tempeh and apples back and toss to combine. Heat another minute. Add diced persimmon and the remaining 2 TBSPs of BBQ sauce and cook 1 more minute until everything is warm. Salt and Pepper more to taste. Plate and top with avocado.
Serves 2 with a side of mashed potatoes or better yet, maple smashed sweet potatoes or chili spiced sweet potato fries. Or serves 1 as a single dish (if you are a hungry runner). Use the leftover BBQ baked tempeh to make a sloppy joe or as a stuffing for a stuffed bell pepper with cheese (or vegan cheese) and rice. Ummmm the possibilities.
Oh yes, in the new year look for my blog to blossom into an out and out website with searchable recipe index and all sorts of good stuff!
