A Protein Powerhouse Meal

This dish was made whimsically with whatever grocery was left in our fridge. I know it’s annoying when you are hungry and all you see are a few things in the refrigerator, but you know, sometimes your most creative meals can be made this way. I kind of like the challenge of it all, and I hope you enjoy what I’ve come up with. But first, a word on tempeh…This meal is made of an Indonesian product called tempeh. It’s very high in protein as it’s made of soybeans. It’s gross how they make it, (it’s basically fermented beans) but I try not to think about that because it’s good for you and it makes a hearty meal. Like tofu, tempeh is very versatile and can be put into a variety of dishes. However, most brands of tempeh have a bitter aftertaste that I don’t like. So, I’d suggest boiling the tempeh in water for about 10-15 min to get rid of the bitterness. Now, if you buy the White Wave brand of tempeh, you won’t get much of a bitter flavor and that’s the brand that I’d recommend. Orange Tempeh Marinade 1 package of tempeh 1 orange, juiced 1 tsp orange rind (or to taste) 1 Tbsp almond butter 3 tsp agave nectar 1 Tbsp shoyu sauce 1/4 tsp ginger powder (optional) Tempeh Stirfry 1/2 small red onion, diced 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 head of broccoli, chopped Miso Sauce (optional) 1 Tbsp Brown Rice Miso 4 Tbsp Water (or more if you want a thinner sauce) Mix all the ingredients for the marinade until it’s smooth. Then marinade the tempeh for about 1 hour. If you don’t want to wait that long (I didn’t) you can get away with marinating for about 30 min. Then heat a few sprays of canola oil in a non-stick pan and add the onions and garlic until soft. (because I don’t like to use too much oil, I add a little water after about a minute of stir-frying.) Then add the tempeh and fry for about 5 minutes after which you can add the broccoli. You can put a lid over my pan for another 5 minutes or until the broccoli is soft. If you want this dish to have a fuller flavor, you can add some miso sauce at the very end. I mixed about 1 Tbsp of brown rice miso and 4 Tbsp water and poured a little over my tempeh dish…delicious!