Recipe #13: President's Day Tempeh with Lentils and Barley

Hear ye, hear ye!  I declare this dinner to be AWESOME!

Folks, when you eat lentils or barley you are quite simply taking a bite out of history.  According to my sources, barley has been around since about 10,000 BC and archaeologists have discovered 10,000-year-old lentils in Greece.  Soooo old!  This recipe also includes tempeh, which is fermented soybeans.  So basically, tempeh is old before you even bring it home from the store!  OLD!  So, on this eve of President's Day 2011, let us honor history by eating some really old foods.  

1 package tempeh (8 oz)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup uncooked yellow lentils

1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

3 carrots, peeled and shredded

1/3 c. minced red onion

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons Bragg's or tamari 

1 Tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (I recommend Annie's Naturals)

1/4 teaspoon (plus an extra pinch) sage 

1/4 teaspoon (plus an extra pinch) thyme

Pinch rosemary

Black pepper

Pour broth into a large pot with carrots and onions.  Bring to a boil, add lentils and barley and 1/4 tsp each sage and thyme and the pinch of rosemary.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for about 40-50 minutes until almost all liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender.  During the last 25 minutes of cooking time, get the tempeh going.  First, cut tempeh into very small chunks or just crumble it with your hands.  Steam tempeh in a covered steamer basket over boiling water for 10 minutes.  Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet and when a drop of water sizzles in the pan, add steamed tempeh chunks.     Stir fry the tempeh for about 5 minutes then add the Bragg's or tamari, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, pinches of thyme and sage and cracked fresh pepper.  Stir fry about 5 minutes more.  Serve tempeh on top of barley and lentil mixture.   A simple spinach and tomato salad with Three-Two-One Blast Your Face Off Dressing, is a nice compliment.   

"I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it".  ~Abraham Lincoln

       

 

           

Recipe # 2: Tiggy's Shepherd’s Pie

A perfect winter recipe!  My good friend Tiggy sent this to me.  She is a great cook and this recipe was easy and awesome.  The original recipe calls for mashed potatoes only, adding the cauliflower was my touch.  Instead of corn and celery you could use just about any veggie- parsnips are great in this dish too.      

One 32 oz carton of vegetable broth    

½ cup uncooked barley

1 cup uncooked lentils

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced

½ cup corn

½ cup Boca or Morningstar crumbles (sausage) OR 1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced

1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder

1/8-1/4 tsp each Rosemary, Sage, and Italian Seasoning (or to taste)
1/3 cup soy sauce or Bragg’s amino acid

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 c. chopped cauliflower
about 1/3 cup vegetarian broth 

1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes    

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Reserve 1/3 c. vegetable broth and set aside.  

In a covered saucepan, bring remaining vegetable broth, barley and lentils to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

In a large pot, add potatoes and cauliflower and cover generously with water.  Boil potatoes for 20-25 minutes.  Drain well and return to pot.  Mash well with a potato masher, adding the nutritional yeast and reserved broth as needed to reach desired consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet, stir fry onions, carrots, celery, corn, mushrooms or crumbles and all remaining seasonings in oil for about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked barley and lentils to the skillet.  Mix well until combined.  Add more seasonings if needed.   

Spray cooking spray into a large casserole pan and add barley mixture to pan.  "Frost" the top with mashed potatoes and cauliflower.  Spray frosting utensil with cooking spray to avoid potatoes sticking.

 Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.  Serves 8-10.