Catch up: Cooking by the books

Here are some dishes I made during November and December. Since I pretty much followed the recipes, I won’t be posting them here but instead a quick review.

First up, Black Pepper Tempeh from Super Natural Everyday. This Asian-style dish was extremely flavorful; very spicy and very sweet. I do not recommend serving it alone as I did here. This dish needs a grain or something to temper the intense flavors here, such as brown rice or potatoes. I also think this would make a great filling for an Asian style wrap along with “cooling” vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers.

Next, the Mushroom Burgers from the Happy Herbivore Cookbook. I really liked these burgers, the spices were great and they held together well. I served these with the sweet potatoes fries from Trader Joe’s. Love these fries! You can find them in the freezer section.

Next is the Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes from Vegan Brunch. Holy crabs! These are absolutely amazing, I have made them many times before. My only complaint is that they are a bit crumbly and don’t always stick together well. Not sure how to solve that one but I don’t really care because they taste so great. I served these with the Maple-Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans from Vegan with a Vengeance, except instead of green beans I used cauliflower because that’s what I had on hand.

Lastly but certainly not leastly, the Pasta de Los Angeles and the Broiled Blackened Tofu from Appetite for Reduction. I love these two recipes and I think they go perfectly together. This meal is now in heavy rotation at my house. The pasta is tossed with tomatoes (I use canned in winter), cilantro, black beans, and spinach, and seasoned simply with lime. The tofu is a wonderful dry rub made up of Cajun spices and then broiled at high heat. I love the chewy texture of this tofu. I will be using this method to make other spice blends with different flavor profiles in the future because it’s such a great idea!