Tag Archives: tempeh

The future of plant-based bacon

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Can plant-based bacon taste like the real thing? Americans love their bacon, and it’s going to take a lot to get them to switch to plant-based versions. Vegan bacon brands have been around for years, and many of them are delicious.  They’re made from a variety of products, such as soy, mushrooms, and wheat-gluten, with flavorings such as soy sauce, rice vinegar, herbs and liquid smoke to give that authentic smoky flavor.  Many brands are readily available in grocery stores, giving us lots of choices, but none taste exactly like animal-based bacon.

A French company, La Vie, seems to have cracked the problem.  French farmers are so worried about La Vie’s plant-based bacon that the French Pork Lobby have accused La Vie of unfair competition.  The Pork Lobby claims that La Vie’s plant-based lardons are so similar to conventional pork alternatives that they must have copied the original flavor.  La Vie is flattered by the comparison and thanked the pork lobby for the “nicest compliment”.  Taking out a full back page advert in Le Parisien, a French daily newspaper, the bacon innovator directly addresses consumers first. “The pork lobby is attacking us because our veggie lardons are indistinguishable from pork lardons.” 

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Nutritious Collard Greens – recipes

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collard greensAs a green leafy vegetable, collard greens are among the best available for your health. They’re actually a member of the cruciferous family, along with broccoli and cabbage, and as such they’re packed with vitamin C, soluble fiber, and numerous cancer-fighting phytonutrients.

Collards are available year round, but they are actually tastier and more nutritious in the cold months, after the first frost. For the best texture, they should be picked before they reach their full maturity.

Popular in southern cooking, they are usually stewed with meat for a long period of time, losing much of the nutritional benefit, but there’s many healthier ways to incorporate them into your diet.  They hold up to cooking much better than other greens, so they can be added toward the end of preparing soups and stews and still keep their texture. Sliced thinly, they can be lightly steamed and tossed with a vinegar dressing.  Steamed whole, they are strong enough to be used as wraps for a burrito alternative.

Recipes

Portobellos with Collards and Cannellini Beans

Collard Greens with Almonds

Tempeh Collard Wraps Read more

Tasty Tempeh recipes

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tempeh 2Tempeh is a valuable source of protein, and a great meat substitute. It is made from soybeans that have been cooked and fermented with a special culture that binds the beans together into a firm, sliceable cake. The fermentation process also makes tempeh easy to digest.

Tempeh has a chewy texture and a hearty, somewhat mushroom-like flavor. It’s a nutritional superstar – one serving gives 20 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and plenty of cancer-fighting soy isofavones.

Temeph easily absorbs flavors and can be baked, boiled, fried or steamed. It can be sliced, cubed or crumbled to make a variety of dishes, and keeps well in the freezer without sacrificing its texture.

Recipes:

Curried Tempeh Salad,

Tempeh Tacos

Tempeh Bacon

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Tempeh Gumbo Recipe – from Cookin’ Crunk

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Cookin Crunk_COVER_lo-resBianca Phillips has been piddlin’ around her mama’s and granny’s kitchens since she was knee-high to a grasshopper (that’s Southern speak for “really little”). She hasn’t had any fancy culinary training, but she’s a firm believer that great Southern chefs learn to cook from the soul. The Arkansas native and current resident of Memphis, Tennessee grew up not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. That meant cornbread, butter beans, collard greens, and Paula Deen.

As a 7-year vegan and 17-year vegetarian, Bianca is dedicated to veganizing soul food and country classics. She is the author of Cookin’ Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South, a soulful collection of down-home comfort food recipes made without meats, eggs, dairy, or other animal by-products. She has presented twice at Vegfest in Seattle.  Here’s a favorite recipe from her book:

Tempeh Gumbo

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces tempeh, cubed

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 can (28 ounces) no-salt-added, stewed tomatoes with juice

2 cups sliced fresh okra

½ cup chopped fresh parsley, lightly packed

2 teaspoons dried thyme

½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning

½ teaspoon cayenne

2 bay leaves

Salt

Ground pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the tempeh and cook, stirring frequently, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add the celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Heat 1/3 cup of the oil in a large soup pot over low heat. Gradually add the flour, stirring it in 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. After all the flour is added, continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns dark brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the broth. Add the tempeh mixture, the tomatoes and their juice, and the okra, parsley, thyme, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, and bay leaves and mix well. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaves before serving.