Spinach Salad with Smoky Tempeh, Gazpacho Soup

A few days ago, I bought some prepared gazpacho soup from Trader Joe's. I thought that I would prepare a largely raw meal, including the soup, that included a spinach salad with cooked tempeh. I sauteed smoky tempeh that I had cut into maybe 1/2" squares and a coarsely chopped shallot. As the tempeh started browning, I added a little green bell pepper, cut into squares a little smaller than 1/2". I continued sauteeing for another two minutes or so, then served, with salt, atop baby spinach greens.

Unfortunately, the soup seemed to be opened. As we sat down to eat, I asked my wife if she had sampled it - she hadn't. So we didn't chance things - I'm going to return it to the store and get a fresh container. In its stead, I quickly heated a vegan apple-sage sausage by the Field Roast Grain Meat Company that we shared. I'll serve cold gazpacho soup soon!

Yesterday, my wife and I came home from a lecture on an art exhibit and from some errands to find a message from my Mom that she had made homemade pizza. We went over and enjoyed her tasty pizza for dinner!


On Saturday, we had my favorite potluck of the year in our vegetarian society, a joint event with the NC Society for Ethical Culture. Each year for about ten years now, I moderate a discussion with three panelists from our group and three from theirs, addressing the question "What do you think are the two or three most important ethical issues of our time and what, as individuals, can or should we do about these issues?". I'll post a link to the podcast soon.

Anyway, I was anxious to share that great Turtle Mountain "Purely Decadent" coconut milk-based ice cream that I just found at Whole Foods on Thursday. I brought a pint of each flavor - chocolate, cookie dough, and mint chip (I see on their website that even more flavors are available!!). They are all great - rich, tasty, creamy, and just a hint of coconut taste. The cookie dough is probably my favorite with mint chip a close second, and even my third choice, the chocolate, is delicious! That was my contribution to the potluck; there was a good variety of other dishes that folks had brought.