paesono's, eat your heart out

now it's no surprise that us VR sisters love our sammiches. tempeh, tofu, seitan or just some veggies and hummus will satisfy us for brunch, lunch, dinner or even that late night snack. it's fun to watch the ingredients of a sandwich change over the seasons. summer gives us eggless salad, lettuce and ripe tomatoes in a wrap versus that ooey gooey grilled cheese or seitan steak that fills a winter belly and warms cold bones.

i've been making about a sandwich a week these days, almost exclusively using tempeh in a variety of different forms. gone are the light tempeh chicken salad sammies of spring, replaced by smokey tempeh bacon, red wine glazed tempeh strips or spicy bbq tempeh crumbles.

somehow a sandwich of epic proportion came together last week. i decided to next level some shit and purchased maitake (hen of the woods) mushrooms from work on a whim. next thing i know, onions and italian peppers were being caramelized, tempeh was triple hot sauce-ized and kale was getting a healthy shower of lemon and red pepper flakes. spread some veganaise on a fresh ciabatta and there in front of me was a sandwich so full i could barely close it.



a pickle on the side and a southern tier old man winter ale rounded this meal out nicely. a belly so full i could have gone into hibernation after this, but knowing, instead, i could do it all again tomorrow, if i was ever hungry again.

i was pretty much "winging it" when i made the tempeh, but i do believe it was based on a vague memory of the recipe in Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Veganomicon. Enjoy!

hot sauce glazed tempeh
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

ingredients
8 ounce package of tempeh
1/2 cup wine (whatever you have in the cupboard, just nothing too sweet)
1/4 cup hot sauce (i used a blend of frank's, crystal and tapatio)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(i add a a 1/8 teaspoon of pimenton - smoked paprika !!)

directions
- bring a pot of water to boil.

- whisk all marinade ingredients together in a bowl large enough to fit the tempeh slices.

- cut the tempeh into strips. when the water is boiling, add the tempeh, lower the heat and steam for 10 minutes.

- remove the tempeh and then immediately place in the marinade bowl for 1 hour, flipping every now again to cover with the marinade.

- preheat a greased grill pan over medium high heat. to grease it, brush lightly with olive oil. (you can also pan fry,which is what i did, but it won't have those nice grill marks!)

- grill each side for 5 minutes. when the second side is almost done, spoon some of the marinade over the tempeh and let cook for 30 more seconds. (or, saute until golden and crispy!)