Coconut Tempeh Tacos

I made a run to the mountains today; and since the cottage is clean now and the kitchen is up and running, I took my lunch.

L
A big ol' buffalo chick salad with cukes, celery, carrots, spinach, red leaf lettuce, and creamy dilly dressing
IZZE drink, clementine
Two Back to Nature Oreo-esque cookies

And I hate to do two soy products in a day and two Vegenaise dressings, but that is just how it worked today. Dinner was awesome tonight. It was just one of those meals when the kids eat like longshoremen and I hear stuff like, "thank you for making my dinner, Mommy" and "Mom, you should open a restaurant called Angela's Great Vegan Cooking." Seriously, Ashton, you are a gem. He went on to say, "You should put pancakes on the menu for brunch, and I would say, 'I'd like the pancakes, please, with syrup and a side of strawberries.'"

D
Coconut tempeh tacos with cabbage, onions, cilantro, and chipotle-lime dressing
Black beans and rice with onions and cilantro
Pineapple-banana-strawberry-flax smoothie

You've got to try these. The tempeh flakes like fish--so if you like fish tacos, this would be a great sub. And, I'm actually going to give you a recipe this time.

Coconut Tempeh Tacos

1 batch coconut tempeh
corn tortillas
finely shredded cabbage
chopped onion
chopped cilantro
chipotle-lime dressing

Warm dampened tortillas wrapped in foil in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes. When warm, stack two tortillas and layer with hot tempeh and veggies and drizzle with dressing.

Tempeh recipe

1 block tempeh, any flavor, cut into thin strips

Marinade:
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 T garlic powder
1 T salt

Batter:
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 cup soy or rice milk
3/4 cup water

2 cups shredded coconut
oil for frying

Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow baking pan. Add tempeh and toss to coat. Marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours. Discard marinade. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredient of the batter. Whisk in soy or rice milk and water until combined. Pour batter over tempeh until all pieces are covered. Put shredded coconut on a baking sheet and press tempeh pieces into coconut, coating each side. Put coated tempeh pieces in the refrigerator to set for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook tempeh on both sides until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Chipotle-Lime Dressing

1/2-1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
Vegenaise
lime juice
Soy or rice milk
garlic salt to taste

Combine pepper (start small and add more for more heat) and Vegenaise in chopper. Process until pepper is chopped. Add lime juice until mixture is thinned slightly. Add milk to achieve desired dressing consistency. Add garlic salt to taste.

Yum!

The tempeh recipe is an adaption of a recipe in Refresh, a vegan cookbook by Ruth Tal. The original recipe uses curry instead of cumin in the batter. I have made it that way with pineapple quinoa and salad. It looks like a lot of steps to make, but it goes fast and it so worth it.

You have been cooking?