Tuesday, July 26, 2011

bbq tempeh & kale

O.M.G. I don't know if it's possible to accurately describe how full and incredibly content I am right now. I don't know if it was sheer genius, or dumb luck, but tonight's dinner was incredible. I'd like to make this introduction better, but let's skip it and get right to the food. BBQ tempeh and kale! *drool*

For the BBQ Tempeh
Stuff you need: 1. 1 block tempeh 2. 1 bell pepper 3. 1/2 onion 4. your favorite BBQ sauce

Start off by bringing approximately 3 cups of water to boil in a saucepan. When the water is boiling, put some salt, and the tempeh brick into the water, and let it simmer on medium for 20 minutes. While your tempeh is boiling, thinly slice your bell pepper and onion into strips and sauté them in in a little olive oil, until they're nice and tender. When the tempeh is done, drain it, and slice it into long thing strips, just like the onion and peppers. Combine the tempeh, veggies, and a healthy helping of BBQ sauce in the skillet or saucepan you already used, and let everything heat together.When you can stand it no longer, dish it up, and dig in!

For the Kale
Stuff you need: 1. 1 garlic clove 2. a bunch of kale 3. 1 can diced tomatoes 4. brown rice

For the kale dish, I was inspired by this recipe from Epicurious, but I altered it according to what I had on hand. I started by making a pot of rice- using leftover rice would be helpful, but it wasn't a problem to prepare everything else while the rice cooked. Meanwhile, mince the garlic, roughly chop the kale, and open and drain the can of diced tomatoes. Sautee the garlic in a little olive oil, and when it's just starting to turn golden, add the tomatoes, kale, and a good sprinkle of salt. Occasionally stir it every few minutes, and when the kale is tender, add the rice, toss everything together, and serve.
Holy shit that was a good meal. The tempeh is just like good ol' fashioned BBQ- a little sweet, and the texture is perfect. Substitute this into a Philly cheese-steak, and you'd never miss the meat! Also, the kale concoction was just the right side to serve with the tempeh. The slightly-sugary BBQ sauce was nicely complimented by the savory, tenderness of the tomatoes, rice, and kale. Omg I just can't say enough good things about this dinner. Tonight's meal = AMAZING!! :D

2 comments:

  1. Love that BBQ sauce idea.....was terrific....you might think about hoison sauce as a substitute....still sweet and tangy and a nice compliment to the rice and kale. Keep cookin' and sharing.

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  2. that's a fantastic idea! i like that the substitution of hoisin for BBQ could easily take this dish in a number of other directions- asian-esque bbq, a nice addition to stir fry, or a tasty protein mixed in with the kale & rice.

    thanks for the wonderful suggestion & thanks for reading :)

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