Tempeh makes my belly smile

I’ve been on a cooking kick lately, I think it’s all the great food I find at the farmers market.  The farmers markets here are only open for a few months and I take advantage of them as much as possible!

Last night I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat. So, I went out to my own herb garden and cut a slew of basil, oregano, chives, thyme and cilantro. Then I picked some cherry tomatoes (yum!) and inside I went to see what I could come up with. Here’s my dinner:

Pita pockets stuffed with tempeh salad, lettuce and tomatoes. Heaven!

Let me tell you what I did.  First, I took an 8oz package of tempeh and cut it in two.  I put both pieces into the steamer.  While that was going, I took some onions and peppers and lightly cooked them in a bit of canola oil.  You want them soft but not mush.  Once the tempeh was done being steamed I crumbled it (very easy to do – either with a fork or your hands – just let it cool first if you are using your hands) into the skillet with the onions and peppers.  I let it cook until the tempeh had a nice color to it, similar to browning tofu.  I added fresh ground pepper and all the spices from my garden.  I did not, if you notice, add salt to my tempeh.  You could if you wanted.  I tend not to use salt in my food as much as possible.  I cooked it for another minute or so then I took it off the heat.

In a separate bowl I made a quick BBQ sauce (or you can use store bought) and dumped it all over the tempeh and veggies.  Once fully incorporated I stuffed it into a warm pita with lettuce and tomatoes.  It was a quick and simple meal that was so good.  I love the taste and texture of tempeh and it holds up well in the pitas.

Tempeh is a great source of protein for vegans and vegetarians alike.  A four ounce serving of tempeh provides 22 grams of protein at only 225 calories and 3.7 grams of saturated fat.  That rocks my world!

Anyone have a great tempeh recipe that they want to share?  I would love to try them out.  Share those and your opinions on tempeh in the comments!