Tempeh Saute, Eggplant over Seeded Ciabatta, Corn Cobs

I had leftover eggplant and corn from a party we had this past Sunday. They nicely collaborated with a saute to make a tasty and quick meal.

Rice-Amaranth-Quinoa Pasta with Vegan Sausage

Cabbage-Tempeh Saute with Mashed Potatoes

Brussels Sprouts - Louisiana Vegan Sausage Saute

Vegan "Broccoli and Beef"

I have never eaten a dish that I believe is reasonably popular called "Broccoli and Beef", but my wife had picked up cubed seitan, and I knew we had broccoli, so I thought I would try what turned out to be a filling and tasty meal. Over medium heat, I started sauteeing a package of the seitan. I let it get well done over perhaps 10 minutes or so. A few minutes into the saute, I added two minced cloves of garlic, and a third clove perhaps two minutes later.

While this was underway, I took advantage of my wife's purchase today of several organic red bell peppers. I roasted a small pepper by simply placing it on the gas range and turning the flame on, turning the pepper every 15 or so seconds till it was mostly all blackened. I then put the pepper in a brown paper bag and curled it closed so that the smoke flavor could get absorbed into all of the pepper.

Maybe eight minutes into the saute, before the seitan was very brown and crispy, I added maybe twenty or so broccoli florets. I then opened the bag with the pepper and ran cold water over the pepper, easily rubbing the blackened skin off. I discarded the seeds and membranes, and cut the pepper into large chunks, adding to the saute. I cooked for another few minutes then served atop boiled rice noodles which had a bit of low-sodium tamari sauce sprinkled on them.

My wife and I enjoyed the meal! In hindsight, I had forgotten but should have included some ginger late in the saute.

Rice-Amaranth-Quinoa Pasta w Tempeh

We don't follow a gluten-free diet, but I recently picked up DeBoles brand whole-grain spaghetti-style pasta, a gluten-free pasta with whole grain brown rice flour, white rice flour, rice bran, amaranth flour, and quinoa flower. I prepared it with marinara sauce and tempeh - it was good!

Thai Stirfry with Potatoes and Beans

Okra and Savvy Savories Louisiana 'Sausage'

On our short California trip at the beginning of July, I found an interesting looking vegan sausage made from wheat, as is the sausage that we usually eat from the Field Roast Grain Meat Company. This one was from a local San Francisco Bay Area company called Savvy Savories, and we purchased their Louisiana sausage.

I prepared a simple saute with that sausage, okra, and red onions, and served it with ramen noodles and avocado. This sausage is good, but we much prefer the Field Roast ones.

Asparagus-Spinach-Tempeh Saute, Crackers with Tapenade

Cooking Class: Thai and Indonesian

It's amazing how quickly this six-week cooking class went - we finished up tonight with a great Thai / Indonesian meal. Dishes my students prepared included tempeh with vegetables, curried vegetables, Jasmine rice, and two kinds of salads. It turned out great!

My wife, daughter, and I enjoyed a short trip to both Southern and Northern California, leaving on Saturday the 3rd and returning last night. My wife and baby didn't join me for dinner out the last night, but I ate at my favorite restaurant, Millenium, then, to get together with friends and the SF Vegetarian Society to start 2012 World Vegetarian Congress planning.

Earlier in the trip, the three of us loved eating at Native Foods (all organic and vegan) and Juliano's Raw (organic, almost all vegan, and all raw) in Southern California, and a new (for us; all organic and vegan) restaurant in Palo Alto, Loving Hut. We also stumbled upon Que seRaw seRaw, an organic vegan raw place in downtown Burlingame (the city that the San Francisco airport is in) next to an old haunt of mine, the small Earthbeam grocery store (I think with 100% organic produce!).

At Earthbeam, we discovered a good looking vegan sausage, wheat-based like those that we often eat from Field Roast, from a Berkeley company called Savvy Savories. I'm looking forward to trying these (I bought their Louisiana sausage), perhaps at dinner tomorrow.

Cooking Class: Greek

My students made a very tasty dinner tonight, consisting of (vegan of course!) spanakopita, a crunchy and colorful Greek salad, baba ganouj and hummus dips served with pita wedges, whole wheat couscous, and ending with delicous chocolate baklava!