Honey-Sesame Tempeh with asian flavored carrot slaw over quinoa

Hello Fall!   Can a blog go on hiatus?  well apparently so because that's what I did with my blog.

   The truth is that I really only planned on taking a couple months off over the summer, time is hard to come by for me in the summertime.   And truthfully taking pictures step by step of each and every recipe is a bit too much sometimes.

  But I miss blogging, and some of my followers have been asking me to re-start up. That makes me happy.  So here you go my handful of followers, and Thank you for your support.

   If you are new to my blog, and like what you see, please join in, I would love to have you.

 

   I took this picture on a trip up north about a hour away from home, at a little camp site by the river.  I loved it because it seemed worlds away.  Trees, river, fishing I almost forgot I was in south Texas. I was lying on the ground looking into the trees, the kids playing in the pond and laughing, and this giant web was fascinating me.

 



    During the summer I still kept up in the kitchen, I love summer fruits and veg.  There are plenty of delicious dishes I will be doing over so I can share.  A few I took photos of, though just the final outcome, and that will do for this blog.  When I am feeling all creative, or when I think it's necessary, I will shoot more pictures of the steps. 
    Your feedback, as always is much appreciated.

So here is what I did.

First of all, in case some of you are wondering what the heck Tempeh is, here's the photo of what I used.

 

 

   I read this recipe in Eating Well magazine, I really love this magazine and pillage a lot of recipes from it.  Most of the time I make changes to suit my taste and ingredients that I have handy.  But in this case I followed it exactly.   It was so worth it.  What I nice protein rich, but lite feeling dish.  It was such a hit at home I have made it a few times since I made it the first time early summertime.

 

 

   Honey-Sesame Tempeh

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 8-ounce packages tempeh (see Note), crumbled into bite-size pieces
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 scallions, sliced

Quinoa and Carrot slaw

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups grated carrots (about 3 large)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar-OK maybe I used a bit more vinegar.  I love vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (see Tip)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1. To prepare quinoa: Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook until the water is absorbed, 10 to 14 minutes. Uncover and let stand.
2. To prepare carrot slaw: Meanwhile, combine carrots, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. To prepare tempeh: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 7 to 9 minutes.
4. Combine honey, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened and coats the tempeh, about 1 minute.
5. Divide the quinoa among 4 bowls and top each with 1/2 cup carrot slaw and 3/4 cup tempeh mixture. Sprinkle with scallions.

Ta Da!  a wonderful bowel of yumminess.  Yumminess, is that a word?  I like to serve this with some tropical fruit.  Mango, papaya, and pineapple.  The sweetness and coolness of the fruit really compliments the Asian flavors of the quinoa bowl.

 

Happy eating!