Veganomicon: Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls

I'm back!

These babies made an appearance as Sunday lunch. They were pretty good. I've never had sushi with mayo in it, though I've heard it's very popular here in the States. I added all the hot oil that I had which was much more than the recipe called for, and it still didn't qualify as spicy for me, so either my hot oil wasn't very hot, or the mayo took away too much of the hit. The tempeh filling was a bit like "tuna" salad, and the fillings squished out the sides as I was forming the rolls. I think I would like to see some red pepper strips in this next time for a touch of color and sweetness.

Veganomicon: Tempeh Shepherdess Pie

I can count on one hand the number of tempeh dishes that I really love, and now this is among them. I get nervous using tempeh. When I was still a young vegetarian living at home with my parents I tried to cook with tempeh. I knew nothing. I thought that tempeh would be like tofu and that I could cook it any old way I liked. Needless to say it wasn't and my first tempeh creation was completely inedible. It wasn't until a few years ago that I tried tempeh again using a Carolina-style BBQ recipe from Veggie Life Magazine. And then more recently, the other tempeh recipe I've tried from Veganomicon was great. The texture of the filling was perfect. The taste was fabulous, though I'll probably boost the thyme next time. The one little problem I had with the recipe was that the potatoes came out a bit crumbly and dry when I first mashed them, so I added a bit more soymilk to them. But with that one exception the dish was a huge success. I might just have fallen in love with tempeh after all!

Veganomicon: Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe with Rotelle

This dish is unctuous -- in a good way. Paul described it as tasting like sundried tomato, but the fennel and red pepper flakes give it a taste reminiscent of sausage. The tempeh is triple cooked: simmered, steamed, and fried leaving the texture both firm and yielding with a very pleasant tooth. I used baby broccoli since I don't have ready access to broccoli rabe at my local stores, but I think that's a minor concession that many people outside of urban America might need to make.

This dish was so tasty that Paul went back for seconds and that rarely ever happens. I will definitely be making this again, though hopefully I can figure out a way to reduce the oil from 1/4 cup to something a little healthier without compromising the flavor or texture. Also worth noting, I think the recipe may have been the victim of some improper editing as the ingredients list the red wine vinegar twice but the instructions only call for it once. I simply added it once at the end where it was called for in the instructions.