Shreya's Basil Tempeh and Vegetables over Brown Rice Penne Pasta

Friends of mine visited us today from Poughkeepsie, NY. Their younger daughter, named Shreya, commented so nicely a month ago and her parents told me that she wanted to see a meal being put together for her.

It was a delight to have her, as well as her older sister and her parents, over today, and I named my dish in her honor. I sauteed on medium heat in a combination of olive oil and tangerine-pressed olive oil some half-moon sliced onion (one small red and one small yellow) for a few minutes, then added a package of tempeh, cut into small rectangles. Several minutes later as the tempeh started to brown, I added two zucchinis cut into long strips, one summer squash sliced into maybe 3/8" thicknesses, and a lilac bell pepper cut into medium cubes, and also sprinkled on a little Mongolian Fire Oil.

Maybe five minutes later, I added a fair amount (maybe 3/4 cup, packed?) of basil that I had purchased yesterday, after roughly slicing it, stems and leaves all, roughly into thirds. I let the basil cook down a bit, then mixed in some alder-smoked salt, tarragon, and freshly ground black pepper. I served this atop organic brown rice penne pasta by Tinkyada.

My friends had wanted to try vegan apple-sage sausage, so I also served that. Yesterday at a farmer's market, we discovered excellent cracked wheat bread, and I served a small slice, toasted, with Earth Balance margarine. Everybody seemed to enjoy the meal, and I appreciated my young friend's help and enthusiasm!

Yesterday more relatives of mine arrived, my Dad's cousin and his wife. We had homemade dosa (a South Indian crepe - one of my favorite dishes) at my parents' home - yum!