Warmup Cooking Class: "3 a.m. Pasta with Tempeh"

Tonight was the first of six nights (Tuesdays, skipping August 15 and ending on August 29) of the vegan cooking class that I teach. This is the cooking of my students - today was mostly lecture and getting to know each other, and they had about 45m to put together this dish named after a friend's visits.

I had a friend at Brown University in graduate school who would go to work on boats for weeks at a time and come back at indeterminate times for just a few days. Rather than pay rent, she stored her items at my place and stayed over the few days when she was in town. Hospitality is important to me, and I would prepare dinner for her when she arrived - including, as I recall, at 3 in the morning at least once. So what do you do when a hungry friend shows up at your home at 3 a.m.?

My answer is tonight's dinner. You make a quick saute of tempeh, shiitake mushrooms, and onions, and serve it over pasta with salad and bread/toast.

I am lucky that my classes attract such fun and interesting students, and this new class is certainly no exception! I am looking forward to these classes; two of my friends are taking it, and everybody seems quite nice.