Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Black Pepper Garlic Tempeh With Cauliflower

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What’s this on the picture… you can ask. I didn’t know either until I met tempeh in October. Tempeh is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia (especially popular on the island of Java where it is a staple source of protein). It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty.

Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but it is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities.Tempeh’s fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. It has a firm texture and an earthy flavor which becomes more pronounced as it ages.

Have you tried tempeh before? You should give a chance to it!

Black Pepper Garlic Tempeh With Cauliflower
(Recipe: Heidi Swanson – Super Natural Everyday)

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 250 g tempeh, sliced pencil-thick
– 340 g cauliflower, very finely chopped
– 3 medium red onion, chopped
– 10 big cloves garlic, smashed
– 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
– 1 teaspoon chili flakes
– 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
– 3 tablespoons soy sauce
– 2 tablespoons water + more if needed
– 20 g cane sugar
– 3 evőkanál coconut or olive oil

Method

In a large pan heat coconut oil, then start cooking slowly the red onion, chili flakes, garlic and ginger. Stirring occasionally cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, cane sugar and water.

Increase the temperature under the pan, add tempeh. Stir to get the tempeh coated. Add soy sauce mixture, simmer for 2-3 minutes then add cauliflower. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat and cook/roast until the tempeh and cauliflower get golden brown. Add 2-3 tablespoons water (for not getting it burnt). Remove from the heat and add black pepper.

Serve immediatelly. We ate it with cooked brown rice.

Herby French Bean Noodle Salad

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On a rainy, grey autumn day this salad made me cheer up. It has so much flavour and beautiful green colours. It is a bit chewy because of the noodles and crunchy of the raw vegetables and herbs. I think it is a great combination.

You can substitute the French beans with aubergine or cauliflower. The Thai dressing is zingy and fresh. This salad packs loads of flavour in one simple dish!

Recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Veg Every Day.

Herby French Bean Noodle Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the noodle salad
– 200 g soba noodles (you can use udon or rice noodles)
– 150 g French beans, ends trimmed
– 1/2 long cucumber, thinly sliced
– 4 spring onions, sliced
– 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
– a small bunch of coriander, chopped
– salt

For the dressing
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
– 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes or a small red chilli, finely chopped
– 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
– 1 teaspoon cane sugar
– 1 teaspoon soy sauce
– 1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Method

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and set aside. In a small bowl mix together all the dressing’s ingredients and toss it with the cooked noodles until well coated. Set aside.

In a pan cook the beans of lightly salted boiling water until just tender and a bit crunchy (4-6 minutes). Drain well. Toss the noodles with the spring onions, cucumber, beans and herbs.

Serve and enjoy!

Weekend Crumbs

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Lots of crumbs about last weekend. On Friday afternoon I bought organic lemons at a cafe and gourmet shop, called Sarki Fűszeres. I needed organic lemons to make Moroccan salted lemons (recipe coming soon!).

If you visit Sarki Fűszeres in Budapest, don’t miss their cappuccino and croissant.

Saturday morning I went to help out at Makifood Cookery School during Dim Sum class. It was a great class, I learnt so much about dim sum and I ate until I was full.

The menu was divine (nearly every dish was vegetarian): shrimp shumai, vegetarian spring rolls, savory radish and shiitake cakes, congee with various toppings (congee), vegetarian steamed buns, sweet coconut balls (mochi) and fot gao (steamed sweet bread).

Making the filling for steam buns…

Buns waiting to be steamed…

Dim Sum heaven…

My favorite steam buns ever!

Sunday morning I developed a vegan sugar-free carrot pancake recipe. We ate it with hot cinnamon honey.

Making the salted lemons…

Sunday evening dinner: spinach goat cheese quiche with a big bowl of fresh salad…

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpeas Curry

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The other day I felt I would love to eat something Indian flavored meal that has a nice aroma, also it is delicous and easy to make. I only cooked curry once before so I needed a recipe to follow because I wasn’t confident with the usage of Indian spices.I found a great recipe on BBC Good Food that stands alone as a vegan main course or as a complex side dish for an Indian feast. You can substitute the pumpkin with eggplant or zucchini anything you would like. I served the curry with simple boiled rice but I would love to make Prerna’s naan breads next time.

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpeas Curry

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

– 1 kg pumpkin, peeled, cut into small cubes
– 400 g (1 can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
– 400 ml coconut milk
– 250 ml vegetable stock
– 3 tablespoons yellow curry paste
– 2 onions, finely chopped
– 1 tablespoon black mustard seed
– 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
– 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
– juice of 1 lime
– mint
– naan bread or boiled rice to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a pan, then gently fry the curry paste with the onions, cardamom and mustard seed for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the cubed pumpkin and coat in the paste. Pour in the vegetable stock and coconut milk. Bring everything to a boil, add the chickpeas, then cook for on lower heat about 10 minutes until the squash is tender. Stir in the juice of the lime. Turn off the heat, sprinkle the curry with mint leaves.

Serve with naan breads of boiled rice.