Tag Archives: chipotle en adobo

Tempeh, Poblano and Portobello Tacos with Honey Cumin Slaw

Posted on May 17, 2012 | 1 comment

My third taco recipe of May is a blend of two of my fave recipes: Poblano & Portobello Tacos and TLT Sandwiches.  Sundays are typically a very hectic day at my house cramming all the stuff we should have done on Saturday AND Sunday into just Sunday, so I wanted leftovers for Sunday that I could reheat and not have to spend time on din-din.

Enter, the Tempeh, Poblano & Portobello Taco for dinner guests on Saturday.  Most of this can be done in advance and kept warm in a 200 degree oven until company arrives.  This recipe looks long and drawn out, but it’s mostly done in stages so you don’t even notice it.

Components:

  • 3 packages portobello mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced then roasted
  • 4 poblano peppers, roasted, skinned and sliced into strips
  • 3 red bell peppers, roasted, skinned and sliced into strips
  • 2 boxes grape tomatoes, roasted
  • dairy or nondairy cheese
  • tortillas of your choice
  • dairy or nondairy sour cream
  • cubed avocado
  • lime wedges
  • store-bought salsa (I used Newman’s black bean and corn)
First things first…the prep for the roasted veggies is not difficult, they pretty much do the work for you…it’s magic, but takes time to get that roasty goodness, so plan accordingly.  Before you dive in, read below to prepare your dressing for the slaw and your marinade for your tempeh, get those two things started and then get your veggies goin’-you will want your tempeh to marinade for about 30 minutes before you bake it off.
Roasted peppers from a jar or the frozen food section are adequate, but who the hell wants to be knows as the adequate taco maker?  Not this chic.  Plan ahead and then deny the time it takes to make these the right way like every other reasonably awesome at home chef.  Easy peasy.  Preheat a grill or your oven to super hot (for the oven we’re talking like 450 and open up the windows just in case).  Preheat your oven to 450 and roast the mushrooms and tomatoes indoor while you soak up some vitamin D outside grilling your peppers.  Since it’s summer, grill them your peppers, then you won’t have to disable your smoke detectors to get the perfect charred pepper.  Take clean, dry peppers and drop them on the grill, wait for smoke and or charring and then turn until every side is burned but yet still moist-ish (yeah, it is a word now).  Transfer these little beauties to a bowl, cover in plastic wrap and then wait until they are cool to remove the charring.  After this is done, you will be left with succulent, sweet and smokey roasted peppers.  Resist eating them all before company arrives.  All that goodness and NO oil needed.
Take your washed and dried tomatoes and chopped mushrooms, place on baking sheets in the oven (use the ones with sides to contain the liquid or you will have a fire, and jerky instead of roasted veggies).  Spray with a little cooking oil, pop in preheated oven and wait.  The tomatoes are done when their skins are bursting.  The mushrooms are done with them are still glistening from moisture, not dry like rawhide.  Watch those, they will burn and then you have mushroom chips.  Gross?  Or maybe a new blog post..hmmm.

Tempeh “Meat”

  • 2 bricks tempeh (any flavor), steamed and sliced into strips

Marinade

  • 6 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 C tamari or soy sauce
  • 4 T balsamic vinegar
  • 4 T maple syrup or agave
  • 6 T chipotle en adobo
Toss all marinade ingredients into a food processor and whirl away.  Pour over the top of the tempeh strips that you have nestled into a 9×11 baking dish and let sit for 30 minutes or longer.  When your oven roasted veggies are done from above, reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees and slide the tempeh into the oven.  Bake until the marinade has become basically a syrup.  Watch it though, don’t let it burn.  It will look very dark.  Reduce oven even further to 200 degrees leave in tempeh, then toss back in the tomatoes and mushrooms to keep them warm until guests arrive.

Honey Cumin Slaw

  • 1/2 large green cabbage, shredded (could also use a bag of cole slaw mix)
  • 5-8 radishes, grated and patted dry
Combine both items in a large bowl.  Just before service, top with dressing below.  Serve on top of or along side tacos.

Dressing

  • 1/3 C fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 T vegetable, grapeseed or extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 T honey or agave
  • 1 tsp cumin

Easiest.  Dressing.  Ever.  Combine items in a Ball jar, give it a good shake and let it sit for 30 minutes before topping slaw above.  Serve immediately.

Finally, assemble tacos with your choice of tortilla (I prefer corn), roasted peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, tempeh, dairy or nondairy cheese, avocado, dairy or nondairy sour cream, salsa, slaw, squirt of lime and prepare for leftovers.

From this recipe, I was able to get dinner on Saturday night for four, TLT’s from the leftovers with the help of some bread from the freezer toasted for two for Sunday night dinner, two lunches of black bean/mango bowls on Monday, and finally…dinner on Monday night for two, roasted veggie quesadillas.  Not bad for a bunch of simple ingredients, a little prep work, and some help from the freezer.

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Posted in Dinner, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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A win for used cookbooks and TVP

Posted on September 15, 2011 | 3 comments

I’ve had this bag of Bob’s Red Mill TVP (textured veg protein) in my freezer for about 4 months.  Sometimes things seem like a good idea when you purchase them only to get a product home and be at a total loss for usage.  I had this relationship with TVP until I stumbled upon a used cookbook that sparked my interest at Schuler’s Books:  Vegetarian Sandwiches from Chronical Books.  In it a recipe for Vegetarian Sloppy Joes.  I basically bought the book because 1) it has really great pictures in it and 2) it has 3 recipes for TVP inside, also with pictures.  Turns out, I had all of the other necessary ingredients at home in my pantry and from my most recent Doorganics delivery to make this magic happen.  I was both shocked and delighted by the authenticity of the texture that this recipe recreated.  It tastes very, very similar to sloppy joes with ground beef, but doesn’t have that super dense and filling aftermarket feeling.  The recipe as it was written was a little too sweet for my sloppy joe needs so I spiced it up a little, the adjustments are worked into the recipe below.  I’m so glad I made a double batch with the intent of taking some along to the next GVSU tailgate to share.  I’m anxious to see meat-eaters try ’em.

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Vegan Sloppy Joes

Filling:

  • 1 C Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP)
  • 3/4 C boiling water
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1/2 C coarsely chopped onion
  • 1/2 C coarsely chopped bell pepper (your choice of color)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 4-oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/4 C water
  • 2 T tomato paste
  • 1 T packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Sriracha
  • 2 whole chipotle en adobo, chopped finely
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 4-6 large hamburger buns or rolls or 10-12 slider buns

Directions:  To make the filling, stir the TVP and boiling water together in a medium bowl, let this stand for 5 or more minutes until the water is absorbed and the TVP is softened.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) over medium-high heat.  Cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic through until the bell pepper is tender (8-10 minutes).

Stir the remaining sandwich filling ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Add this mix and the soft TVP to the skillet; stir until the mixture is bubbly.  Reduce the heat and cook, stirring for about 5 additional minutes.

To serve, spread filling onto a bun and enjoy.

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Posted in BBQ, Dinner, Fall Food, Fridge Finds, Make Ahead, Meat Substitutes, Quick Cooking, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Want some Kale with your Black Beluga Lentils?

Posted on April 1, 2011 | 6 comments

Perhaps you saw the title of this post and thought, WTF I don’t even know what Black Beluga Lentils ARE let alone why I would want Kale with THEM!  I know, I know, weirdo veggie Adrienne wants us to eat crazy stuff and be kind to things with faces…well, yes, but Kale is a powerful, versatile and sturdy vegetable.  It is often overlooked, mostly because the only interaction you ever have with it is under that crappy obligatory unripe melon slice, next to your steak and baked potato at the steakhouse.  Yep, that’s Kale and it’s delicious.

Kale seems a little dark and mysterious, a little scary, and so is the amount of times this woman says “super” in this Kale video.  Nonetheless, it’s a good primer-when you are done watching, come back for the soup recipe will ya?

Black Beluga Lentil Soup

Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Lively Lentil Soup at 101cookbooks.com

  • 2 C black beluga lentils (or green French lentils), picked over and rinsed
  • 2 C great northern beans, cooked
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 T chipotle en adobo sauce (from the can)
  • 2T cumin
  • 2T smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp pepper, ground
  • 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp fine-grain sea salt
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 C water
  • 3 C of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped

Saffron Yogurt

  • a pinch of saffron (30-40 threads)
  • 1 T boiling water
  • two pinches of salt
  • 1/2 C 2% Greek Yogurt

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

While the lentils are cooking, make the saffron yogurt by combining the saffron threads and boiling water in a tiny cup. Let the saffron steep for a few minutes. Now stir the saffron along with the liquid into the yogurt. Mix in the salt and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion, carrot, and spices and saute until tender, a couple minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils, and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens, cooked beans, and wait another minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Ladle into bowls, and serve with a dollop of the saffron yogurt.

This soup hurts so GOOD!!  It has a little kick to it, but the saffron yogurt is cooling.  To make less spicy, just put in less of the hot stuff up there silly!  I of course added Frank’s Red Hot to this before I served it.

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Posted in Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Soup, Vegetarian

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