There are so many things I love about our plant-based cooking and eating life style. One of the more fun benefits, however, has been how creative you can be in creating amazing dishes -- and without using third party recipes. You don't have to be a seasoned (no pun intended) chef to throw together your own delicious recipes using an assortment of your favorite plant-based foods along with any combination of seasonings you prefer. Really, the hardest part of creating a new vegan meal from scratch is finding the courage to just go for it.
Below is my latest "new" concoction (can call it Mama J's Tamari-Tempeh Stirfry) and it has definitely been dubbed a keeper recipe for us. And, yes, I know there are no quantities included for how much of this or that...that's purposeful because (1) I didn't measure anything out as I created - just went with what seemed right, (2) not having a formal recipe to go by is fun, adventurous and daring for a change (fun!), (3) just add the amounts that are right for you, delete what you don't like and add what you do, and (4) have fun creating and then reaping the benefits via a great, new meal!
- 1Chopped up 3 packages of Lightlife Three Grain Tempeh and doused with a generous amount of Tamari Sauce (if there's only soy sauce on hand, that works).
- 2Sauteed red onion and garlic powder together then after softened a bit, added mushrooms and more garlic powder (starting with a high-low setting then gradually increasing to medium-medium high temperature).
- 3Added the tempeh and gave everything in the skillet a generous splattering of tamari sauce (and knowing me, I'm sure I added more garlic powder too).
- 4Next I added some steamed broccoli florets to the mix.
~ Before I added the cashews and brown rice ~
- 5While all that was heating up together, I threw some unsalted raw almonds into the blender and pulsed them to a fine texture - just beware of over pulsing or blending because otherwise, you'll end up with a pasty goo.
- 6I let it all heat up together for a few minutes while I got our brown rice ready to serve with it.
- 7Add some raw cashews on top (or perhaps use them instead of almonds altogether), offer extra tamari sauce if someone's palate prefers more of it and serve with salad or whatever (a glass of red wine tastes great with it too?or while cooking - if careful - and as demonstrated in the cartoon at the top of this post??).