Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Tempeh Tacos

2014_02_17aI’ve made veggie tacos a few times before with beans in place of meat. You really lose some texture with no meat, but the over abundance of cheese seemed to overshadow that loss. Now that we are trying vegan tacos and not having the cheese, I wanted to try something without a mushy texture and this recipe seemed to fit the bill.

I wasn’t too keen on going down the tempeh road again though. I had tried tempeh a few years back with Aya and I don’t remember it fondly. But one main reason of our vegan month is to try new things, so I ignored my hesitation and decided to give it a go.

To my surprise, I found this to be a great substitute for meat. It had a ground beefy texture, and all the taco type spices really covered up the tempeh taste. Add in avocado, cilantro, olives, and all the other fixin’s and it makes a really good taco!

There is a difference in taste with the meat obviously, but I’d assume any open-minded meat eater would appreciate this version.

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RECIPES:

Tempeh Tacos

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Cauliflower Puree with Mushroom Compote, Seared Portabella, and Shiitake Bacon

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Holy mushrooms! Mushrooms on mushrooms topped with more mushrooms. Oh yeah, there is some cauliflower in there somewhere too. If you love mushrooms, you’ll like this.

The original recipe calls for seared king mushrooms, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I opted for a portabella instead. It seemed like it got the job done. I do plan on making this again when I can find some king mushrooms though.

I served this on a bed of arugula mainly just to add some color. But the slight crunch seemed to compliment the cauliflower puree pretty well. The shiitake “bacon” topping is a must for this too. It obviously doesn’t taste like bacon, but it gives a similar texture and salty punch that bacon has. I’m not a huge bacon lover anyway so this was a great alternative.

So not only is this super tasty, but see how awesome this looks (if you like mushrooms)!

The recipe link has great instructions and photos that help in putting this epic fungi-liciousness together.

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RECIPES:

Recipe is from a great vegan cooking blog called vegangela.com

Cauliflower Puree with Mushroom Compote, Seared Portabella, and Shiitake Bacon

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Dilly Stew with Rosemary Dumplings

2014_02_08Wow, this was delicious! What a great meatless version of chicken and dumplings. You really don’t need the chicken after all. I’ve made this three times so far and can’t wait to use fresh herbs from my garden this summer. Ellie loves the dumplings and requested it again.

RECIPES:

This is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz cookbook, Isa Does It.

This recipe is also posted on her website here: Dilly Stew with Rosemary Dumplings

Matt Birthdays, Cooking Stuff, Dad Stuff, Family, Food, Japanese

Ellie, Year Four: The Birthday

IMG_1083In a way I’ve been waiting for this day, for Ellie to be four. My own earliest memories as a kid are from when I was four. And when I first found out I was going to be a father and I started picturing my life with a child, I always pictured Ellie as a four year old toddler. I pictured playing in the leaves in the fall, building snowmen in the winter, her helping me in the garden, and sitting on the couch watching rock concerts and listening to music. Her becoming four always seemed so far away, and yet after what at times feels like a flash, that moment is here.

Continue reading “Ellie, Year Four: The Birthday” →

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Aloo Mattar (Potatoes and Peas) and Mushroom Cashew Curry

20214_02_05This is from a website visit frequently Manjula’s Kitchen. There are a ton of recipes here that are vegan, but we don’t really think about it while we are eating them. It’s just really good food. Ellie, and especially Chloe cobbled these up.

I usually double the ingredients for these recipes when I make them so we have plenty of leftovers. I also usually leave the green chiles out because Ellie is pretty sensitive to the mild heat they bring. My favorite out of these two was the mushroom cashew curry. It’s so good it was addicting. And so good that Chloe devoured three bowls of it.

2014_02_05bRECIPE:

Aloo Mattar (Potatoes and Peas)

Mushroom Cashew Curry