New Stuff

TEMPEH.

Something I’ve been wanting to try actually for years but for one reason or another, kept putting it off. I never knew how to cook it, heard rumors you actually had to go through the trouble of steaming it first (gasp!) and it always just looked so mysterious next to the tofu I buy weekly in my grocery store’s produce section. Hmmm….. But then one day last week I was reading another food blog I love and saw that she recreated tempeh to be spicy chicken wingz! Now, THAT’S right up my ally! During my meat eating days, I was in love with the boneless, skinless chicken wings at Chilis. Gag. Yes, I know. But, I have been and always will be in love with hot sauce (preferably Texas Pete) and spicy-knock-your-socks-off food. I have been known to put hot sauce on everything and even bring mini bottles with me places. But that’s another story. Anyways, I became totally inspired by tempeh wingz and this week at the store picked up some of the mysterious 3-grain tempeh off the shelf. Boy, am I glad I did! They really did taste like chicken wings..must have been the spices in the breading or the ketchup/hot sauce inspired sauce.

Here’s the recipe for you tempeh fans. It’s pretty easy to make (I steamed the tempeh ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge til I was ready to bake it) and very tasty. I added some cayenne pepper as well because, again, I am a spicy girl at heart. I love the heat! Next time I might scale down on the amount of margarine in the recipe. I halved it and it still called for 2 tbsp, which is 200 calories just in margarine. Now, it was buttery and wonderful, but it probably would have still been wonderful with only 1 tbsp of Earth Balance instead. I scaled down on the fat in the rest of my meal (used vinegar instead of salad dressing) to compensate. I ate my wingz (I could only finish almost 3 out of 4 wings—this tempeh stuff is seriously filling and dense!!!) with leftover mashed cauliflower, half a toasted Ezekiel English Muffin, and a huge spinach salad with bell pepper, cucumber, carrots and sprinkled with a little balsamic vinegar.

On another note, my plans to lay by the pool and finish my book were canceled today due to windy/weird weather here in central florida. I instead opted for doing a pretty good upper body/ab workout at the gym and finishing my book on the couch while nibbling on trail mix (sorry no photo–just imagine cashews, pumpkin seeds, banana chips and dried cranberries…..) and sipping on herbal tea. Sadly enough I had to cancel my gym membership today (truly sad because I’ve only been a member for a little over a month) because I need that extra 45 bucks a month to feed myself! I guess I have to stop being a gym snob and work out at the measly apartment gym that’s free for me. Sigh.

Off to a night of croissant baking! I’m bringing a Nana’s Peanut Butter Cookie “Bite” with me for a snack later one… (these “bites” have 130 calories in them and no dairy…they are the best peanut butter cookie I’ve ever had that I didn’t personally bake and they make for a superb nighttime treat).