Cape Cod-induced seafood cravings solved…. Fabulous Beer-Battered Tempeh “Fish” with vegan Tartar sauce

The hubby and myself recently returned from a beautiful long weekend on Cape Cod. We shared a rental house with a whole bunch of family. We did a lot of pre-planning with food for the weekend, did a big grocery shop at home and brought a lot of easy meals to keep us full and happy. The rest of our family's food plan was to pretty much eat out every meal. Well… we’re broke so that’s definitely not an option, and looking online, the vegan options out on the Cape are a bit minimal. When we got onto the Cape, we saw lobster shack after seafood stop after clam shanty, etc.. and really not much else. We ate very well with the food we brought and didn’t go hungry at all. (We made lots of Tabouli and hummus sandwiches for the beach!)

I had done a bunch of online searches before we left, and the only interesting vegan eating-out options I found were in Provincetown, so we did head out there one day to shop and go out to eat for a romantic date. We checked out this restaurant Karoo Kafe in Ptown, it's website boasted it as vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free friendly. By the time we were done looking around in funky shops and enjoying the positive energy of all people in Provincetown, we found the Kafe and were super hungry. Well, the menu is really big and has lots of options, something I am definitely not the used to as a vegan. I went for the "Cape Town Stew" with tofu and the hubby got a Falafel wrap, we shared some deep-fried Pakora's for an appetizer. The service was friendly, food came out of the kitchen really fast and was quite delicious. The atmosphere was upscale fast-food, order at the counter, not really drawn out-romantic-dinner-type of place. We even tried some Cape Cod-brewed beer there. Yum! We are going to remember the name of that restaurant and try to get out there again.

My hubby had some serious seafood cravings while we were on the Cape. It is really the one non-vegan food that “still sounds good.” He didn’t cave to his cravings (his tummy thanked him for good judgment), and on upon our return home, I dug out a recipe we tried about a year ago that I knew would make him happy and satisfy those cravings.

Veg News had a recipe for Beer-Battered Tempeh “Fish” and tartar sauce in the April 2011 issue. I don’t do any sort of frying/deep-frying very often, but this recipe looked so good that I had to try it when I saw it in the issue. When I made it last year, I remember it came out good, but the batter didn’t quite stay on the tempeh and I had made big tempeh chunks... Looking at the recipe again, I hadn't cut the tempeh nearly as small as called for.

The day after we got home from the Cape, my hubby had to go back to work, but I had an extra buffer day off. He was super bummed to be back at work, so... I decided to extend the vacation to dinner that night and made a Fried “Fish”/Cape Cod feast.

I followed the recipe much more closely this time... making two whole packages of tempeh worth of beer battered/fried deliciousness (for only the two of us lol), I also made some tartar sauce, some coleslaw, picked up some Cape Cod Salt and Vinegar potato chips, little soft potato rolls the perfect size for one “fish” tempeh stick and even found some Massachusetts’s brewed beer at the beer distributor (I couldn’t find any brewed on the Cape, boo!). One change I made to the recipe was steaming the tempeh about 2 hours before dinner and letting it marinate in the fridge until it was fry time.  Veg News marinated only briefly before frying. The frying didn’t even make that big of mess! Yay!

When my hubby got home and saw the spread on the table, he was so happy and appreciative. And I was too when I started eating, this recipe came out even better than last time, the beer-batter was right on, the tempeh had a great tangy, flakey, fish-y texture, the tartar sauce was yum yum yum, the rolls were good, and of course  the chips and beer were awesome!!! I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have to show these off... they were too yummy to resist and I enjoyed eating them instead of documenting them. To create this dinner was definitely a bit of work, but I had lots of fun doing it on my last day off.

Disclaimer: I am completely aware this is the essence of a “sometimes food.”

Here are the recipes mostly as printed in Veg News:

for the beer-battered tempeh "fish":
ingredients-
2 packages tempeh, in 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup malt vinegar
2 Tb agave 
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 c AP flour
1 Tb baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp cayenne powder, divided (I used Indian chili powder)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 bottle organic pale ale (I used 20 oz of Rolling Rock)

3 cups oil, for frying (I used peanut)
1/2 cornstarch  

directions-
1) Steam tempeh for 7 minutes. Remove into bowl.
2) Combine malt vinegar, agave and Old Bay seasoning. Pour over tempeh, and stir gently to coat. Allow to marinade in fridge for an hour or two. (my marinade got completely soaked up by the tempeh)
3) Prepare batter: whisk together the flour and seasonings until smooth. Using whisk, slowly stir in beer until a smooth batter forms. Put in fridge for 10 minutes while you prepare frying stuff.
4) Heat up oil (med-high heat) in a large skillet (mine is cast-iron). Set up frying station: marinated tempeh, a bowl with cornstarch, the batter, and something to put the hot/cooked food in (w/ lots of paper towels).
5) Dredge individual tempeh sticks into cornstarch, shake off extra. Then dip into batter, and allow the big globs to drop off. Then into the hot oil!! Only cook a few at a time to keep the oil nice and hot and, prevent splashes and burning yourself, etc... Cook until you see the batter puff up and get a lil browned,  turn over with tongs, 2 minutes or so a side.
6) Drain on paper towels, then eat while they are hot!


for the tar-tar sauce:
ingredients-
1 1/2 c Vegenaise
5 slices of sweet pickle-minced or 2 Tb relish
5 stuff green olives- minced
2 tsp dried onion powder
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
dash of salt
pinch of chili powder

directions-
1) Combine together.
2) Slather all over tempeh "fish."





*Bonus/Exciting News*

So this recipe makes a ton (a TON!) of “fish”, definitely at least enough for 6 or more people. I was a bit puzzled with what to do with leftovers. I did some Google searches for “how to store fried food” “can you freeze fried food”, etc… Basically everything I saw online said that batter fried foods can’t be stored, eat them right away or they are gross. I was NOT going to waste all this yummy “fish”!! So I took the cooled “fish” put it in plastic freezer bags and hoped for the best.

Well, we were hungry for an easy dinner the other night and I took out some of the frozen “fish” and attempted to reheat in an cast-iron skillet, it worked awesome, the batter got crispy, the “fish” was hot and maybe even tastier than the first time. I used my well-seasoned cast-iron, (added no oil, this stuff is fatty enough!) heated it up on medium heat, then simply put the frozen pieces right in, I turned them and cooked on all four sides, until hot and a little browned.  (Take that Google, you don’t know everything!)

re-heated, previously frozen "fish" guys :) sooo yum

i made some food and used my BREADMACHINE!

I basically spent the past week and half sicker than I've ever been. It was a super rough time and I am so so glad to feel like myself again. It's weird to be stuck on the couch and not have the energy or willpower to do any of the things that usually are done in a day.

Now that I am back to feeling like myself, I was super glad to get back in the kitchen. I spent some time organizing the fridge, hitting the health food, grocery stores and restocking my fridge. This is the type of household chore/task that my hubby just isn't his best at... and he's been the one trying to hold our lil house together while I've been sick.

Onto my cooking catch-up,

I bought some Tamarind pulp a while back and I was tempted to make an Indian-style Tamarind sauce, like the kind that comes pretty standard at Indian restaurants with Samosas? Well.. My attempt didn't taste anything like that, but did have a BBQ saucey vibe. I had started with some Tamarind pulp, some toasted cumin seeds, some molasses and some water, then simmered this on the stove until syrupy. I let this concoction bubble away for like 30 minutes, it got thick and saucey... but I really didn't love the direction it was headed on its own.

I decided to use this sauce as a flavor component in a BBQ sauce. I started out the base of the sauce with peppers, onions, garlic, and celery. I sauteed this for a while, then added canned tomatoes, brown sugar, spices, vinegar, etc. I added in my Tamarind mixture and let this all cook together for over an hour. Then I blended it smooth with a stick blender. Came out TANGY TANGY TANGY. Had a lil with a pan-cooked Gardein chicken cutlet, tasty BBQ-y to me.

I made enough to fill three jars!  No exact recipe... but slightly structured by ideas in cookbook BBQ sauce recipes.

I also decided to put together some "Crock Cheez" from the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. I used the basic recipe (Tofu, nooch, spices, Miso, etc..) I substituted Malt Vinegar for the lemon juice, and I think it gave it a bit of a "Beer-y" vibe. Like most recipes I've tried in this cookbook, it came together really easy, with ingredients I usually have on hand, and tastes like something not home-made. I referred to it as "Beer Cheez" when I packed some in my hubby's lunch.

I really enjoy this recipe, I noticed that overnight it has became really thick and really reminds me of Crock cheese I remember my parents getting in gift baskets when I was a kid.  As you can see, the recipe made quite a bit, I was able to fill up two containers. Although, I'm sure this stuff won't last long once my husband tastes it.

Whole Wheat-Sunflower Bread

The last "cooking" I did before I completely exhausted myself was baking a loaf of bread. I have to admit I've been baking quite a few loaves of bread lately. I've been slightly-obsessed with using my "new-to-me" breadmachine.  5 minutes worth of work, a little patience, and then, Ta-Da- Hot Bread!

I inherited a Breadman Ultimate from my Mother-in-Law who no longer wanted hers. I got offered it months before I actually remembered to bring it home with me from her house. I did not know what I was missing! Ever since it has arrived home, it has been getting a lot of use. I've really been quite impressed with the product that it makes, especially in regards to the amount of effort I've put in to making the loaves.

(Before I got sick) I've been making at least 2-3 loaves a week, and we've stopped buying commercially made bread.  This has definitely been saving me cash! (Flour=way cheaper than $4 loaves of artisan bread) I've really indulgently enjoyed the loaves I've made with all-purpose unbleached white flour, but I've also been searching for great tasting-healthier bread. The "French" cycle makes really wonderful, chewy "European" bread, it's hard not to eat the whole loaf.

The loaf I made last night was Whole Wheat-Sunflower, this was an all-whole wheat flour loaf. I have enjoyed the ALL whole wheat loaves, but they are definitely denser and don't offer the same chew factor as the white flour loaves. I am still looking for the perfect recipe that balances the yum-factor with the health-factor.

I have been trying out recipes I've found online, and utilizing the recipes that come with the breadmachine, I think I am going to be working on finding perfect, vegan recipes and posting them in the near future. I've definitely had to search for recipes, as many I've found contain milk powder, eggs, and other non-vegan ingredients. I find this a bit frustrating as the best tasting bread I can find at the grocery store contains the shortest list of ingredients.

I promise I will keep you posted on breadmachine adventures.

Here are some of the resources I've found online, please share with me if you have any good (and healthy) recipes!

"Fat-Free Vegan" forums- Breadmachine Recipes
"Go Dairy Free" forums- Honey 1/2 Whole Wheat Bread Recipe * Delicious
"Veg Source" forums- Bryanna's Breadmachine Recipes w/Starter

Vegan MOFO day 20- Charbroiled Butternut Squash and Cheezey Spinach Spaghetti

I didn't do the greatest job packing myself lunch today, so by the time I got home, I was starved! I decided to make some Charbroiled Butternut Squash recipe by PPK. This came out super yummy! The squash became super sweet, and very tender. Really easy recipe too!

I also wanted to make some pasta, as I crave it when it's cold and I'm grumpy/hungry (grungry). I cooked up some whole-wheat spinach spaghetti, tasty and nutritious! I topped the pasta with some sauce from 'The Uncheese Cookbook,' this is the Ultimate Mac and Cheez sauce, definitely not my favorite uncheese sauce, but tasty regardless. I think I liked the Melty White Cheez that the hubby made last week better....

Vegan MOFO day 16- Smokey Cheez Sauce, Yellow Cauliflower, Broccoli and Brown Rice

Tonight we really wanted to get some burritos with friends, but they needed to reschedule, so we decided to save money and make ourselves dinner instead of going out just the two of us. The hubby and I had one of those back and forth conversations.... "What do you want for dinner?" "I dunno, What do YOU want for dinner?" UGH! After a completely unproductive 5 minutes, we looked in the fridge and decided to heat up leftover brown rice and eat some vegetables.

We decided to cook up some veggies we got at the Greenmarket, we bought a beautiful head of broccoli and some yellow cauliflower. I've never had yellow cauliflower before, but our farm stand guy said it was creamy and sweet and delicious, so we bought some.

I steamed up the veggies while the hubby whipped up some cheez sauce. He used the Smokey Cheez recipe from 'The Uncheese Cookbook,' this recipe was a variation of the Melty White Cheez. This sauce called for no added oil, so we weren't convinced that it would be cheesey and satisfying, but it totally was. It thickened up and had a nice complex flavor, perfect on the veggies. I told the hubby he is officially the cheesey-sauce cook of the house :) This would be really good on some macaroni. ::hint hint::

Vegan MOFO day 14- Roasted Veggies, Peanut Sauce and Brown Rice

Tonight's dinner wasn't the most photogenic, but it tasted fantastic. We went to the Greenmarket this morning, and I knew I wanted to use some of the veggies I had in the fridge. I decided to roast up a butternut squash and some beets. I cut them up into like cubes, tossed with a lil olive oil, sprinkle of salt, and generous fresh ground black pepper. These roasted at 400F, for about an hour.

While the veggies were in the oven, I tried to figure out the rest of the meal. I threw some brown rice in the rice cooker, and decided to make some sort of sauce to go over this all. I decided to make some spicy peanut sauce :) I really like peanut sauce, I wasn't convinced that this would all taste good together, but in the end I was quite impressed with how the sweetness of the squash and beets played off the spiciness of the peanut sauce.

We eat peanut sauce fairly often, as it comes together so quickly, and requires no cooking. I used my standard peanut sauce recipe, that I posted here ---> on vegweb.com, I smashed up, then stirred in, half a baked sweet potato that was hanging out in the fridge from the other night. In the sauce, I skipped the thai curry paste and didn't use much brown sugar, as the sweet potato was so sweet.

Not the prettiest dinner, but the flavors were great, and it was filling and nutritious!

Vegan MOFO day 3- Spaghetti Squash w/ Tomato Cream Sauce

Dinner tonight introduced me to a new favorite vegetable! We bought a spaghetti squash at the Greenmarket last week, and hadn't gotten around to cooking it. I've never actually cooked (or eaten) any spaghetti squash before, but I'd heard so many times that it tastes super yummy and very spaghetti-y. I don't think I really believed people, but DAMN! yum yum yum! This was a really good dinner!

Spaghetti Squash:
Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and other funky junk. Place on baking sheet, cut side down. Then roast in oven @ 375F for 45-50 minutes. When it's done the skin will be a lil golden and the flesh will be easily pierced with a knife. To make the spaghetti strings, just scrap the flesh with a fork, and long strings will form.

Tomato Cream Sauce: (I used lots of stuff I had left in the fridge, so I don't really have exact measurements)
1 medium onion- diced
2 cloves garlic- finely diced
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb tomato paste
1 26 oz. carton diced tomatoes
onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and dried basil to taste (maybe 1 Tb each)
1/4 block extra firm tofu
3/4 cup coconut milk.
3 T nutritional yeast
salt and pepper
hot sauce

I sauteed the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until tender, then I added in the tomato paste and a shake of red pepper flakes. I cooked this over medium heat until fragrant (*sniff* what's cookin, good lookin?). Then added in the diced tomatoes and seasoned it up with the onion powder, garlic powder and dried basil. I simmered this on the stove while the squash was cooking in the oven.

In a separate bowl, I combined the tofu, nutritional yeast and coconut milk. I blended this together to a frothy cream with my immersion blender. When creamy, I stirred this into the tomato sauce.

I seasoned the sauce with some hot sauce, salt and pepper.

I topped the spaghetti squash with the yummy cream sauce. Then we ate it and were very happy.

brussels sprouts with peanut sauce

This is one of my absolutely favorite dishes! Brussels sprouts have always been my favorite vegetable, even since I was a little kid. Much of this can be attributed to my earliest brussels sprout experiences being my grandma 'Bushie' cooking them for me. They were straight out of her garden and smoothered in butter... I fell in love right there.
Theses days I can't get enough of brussels sprouts anyway they are cooked. They are super yummy roasted, or shaved and made into a slaw. Mostly, I'm a sucker for my sprouts covered in peanut sauce and served on brown rice.

This is a dish authentic to no culture but my own, and I like it that way.. haha I used my standard yummy easy peanut sauce. I cooked up the brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed and cut in half, then steamed in a little water, when the water evaporated, I added a little EB to the pan and fried them til a lil crispy. Then I added in my peanut sauce and stirred until nicely coated.

vegan mac with horseradish and cauliflower

I made this yummy pasta on sunday when we were feeling lazy and wanted something satisfying. I was inspired by this Rachael Ray recipe, I used my regular vegan mac cheese sauce, but added a whole bunch of prepared horseradish, and a good squirt of horseradish mustard, yummy!!! (hubby laughed at use of "good squirt"). The cauliflower was fresh from the Greenmarket.
It's amazing to me that I bought this huge plant, then once I peeled and took off the stem, only a pretty lil cauliflower was left.
This bread was an afternoon snack! It's a salt-stick, also purchased from the Greenmarket. It's an organic whole wheat and rye loaf with caraway seeds and salt all over it! I sliced it, put a lil olive oil and a lil earth balance, some garlic powder and some fresh parsley and basil inside. I warmed it up in the toaster oven for a few. It got gobbled up with a lil balsamic in about five minutes flat. yummy!

its too hot! lets eat pesto pasta!

It's CRAZY hot today, so I didn't really feel like cooking. But I'm usually a hungry kid, so I knew I had to make something . My husband was feeling junky, and craving some protein. So the original plan for dinner contained some beans. I had some pinto beans in the fridge, that had been thawing out all day. I decided to just fry up some pinto beans and mash em up. I added a lil tomato paste and some chili powder. Creamy and yummy! What the heck else do I want for dinner? How about some pasta?!?! I'm always happy with pasta!
I cooked up these cute squiggly noodles, and tossed them with some homemade pesto (basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil, miso, and almonds). I added in some chopped zucchini from the in-laws garden! (I love free veggies!!!!)

adzuki chili w/ cheese sauce!!

This was a cozy weekend dinner :) A couple weeks ago I bought some bulk adzuki beans, I've never cooked with them before. So I made a big batch not really knowing what I was gonna do with it. So early in the week, I made some adzuki bean hummus w/ marinated artichoke hearts in the mix, using my standard hummus procedure. The hummus came out quite delicious, but had a weird brown-grey color from using dark beans. I wanted to make something with adzuki beans that had a bit more visual appeal. I made this chili with carrots, fire-roasted canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers, some frozen corn and a bunch of spices. I let the chili simmer for about an hour, the flavor was wonderful and zippy. Our carni dinner guest said it was the best chili he'd ever eaten :) (thanks ritch!). I made a cheese sauce using this handy recipe to top the chili. We ate it topped with a lil kalamata/cilantro topping and frito chips :)

asparagus risotto and pesto beans

I made some risotto and added in some asparagus that I had already steamed. The beans are navy beans with some homemade pesto. yum yum :)

vegan mac w/ sweet potatoes

Our honeymoon in Mexico was wonderful, we stayed at a fancy resort and ate tons and tons of guacamole :) The food we missed most from home was vegan mac.
So I made it right away when we got home..

Here's the recipe for my standard "cheese" sauce for vegan mac :) This amount of sauce is good for 16 oz box of pasta (shells, noodles, whatever...) I usually add some sort of veggie, this time I added sweet potato cubes

(note: this recipe was inspired by vegweb.com)

ingredients:
1 1/2 c. nutritional yeast
3/4 c. canola oil or earth balance
1 1/2 c. soy milk
1/3 c. Bragg's Liquid Amminos
1/4 block extra firm tofu
1 T paprika
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
1 squirt dijon mustard
lots of fresh ground black pepper

-combine all ingredients together and blend, i like to use the immersion blender and blend until its a thick-creamy cheesey sauce

-stir in with cooked macaroni (1lb), and veggie of choice, top with bread crumbs, bake for 20-30 mins until bubbly and a little browned

Kale and Peanut Noodles

I wanted to cook up some kale that I got from the Greenmarket last weekend, so I steamed it, then sprinkled a lil salt, nutritional yeast, grated some nutmeg and ground some black pepper. Delicious! Kale is so nutritious and really yummy!

The peanut noodles are multi-whole grain angel hair tossed with my easy peanut sauce :)

ingredients: (these are estimates, I'm not really into measuring...)
about 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cloves garlic- pressed
1 squirt Siracha sauce
2 Tb brown sugar
2 Tb Bragg's
1 Tb tomato paste
2 Tb fresh chopped cilantro
1 Tb rice vinegar
2 cups hot starchy pasta water (more or less)

-stir it all together and put on pasta, yum yum!

sundried tomato-arugula pesto pasta

It was a nice lazy saturday today :) I made a pesto-pasta for dinner.

ingredients:
1 small onion
1 clove raw garlic
4-6 cloves roasted garlic
1/8-1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup walnuts
1 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 handfuls arugula
salt and pepper
starchy cooking water from pasta

1 batch cooked farfelle pasta
handful bread crumbs

-mix pesto ingredients together in food processor, process until nice and smooth
-mix pesto with pasta in large bowl, add pasta cooking water until moist
-top with some breadcrumbs

sundried tomato alfredo over fettuccini, grilled asparagus and double-garlic bread

It was time for another "Lost" night dinner :) Leah brought over some nice wine and some really yummy garlic bread (the bread had whole cloves of garlic already baked in). I grilled some asparagus on the stove top on a grill pan, just tossed with a lil oil, salt and pepper.

I also made some fettucini alfredo, I cooked up a pound of whole wheat fettuccini, and tossed it with the sauce. Here's the recipe for the sauce:

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 box silken tofu
2 Tb nutritional yeast
1 Tb earth balance butter
2 Tb soy milk
salt and pepper
1 chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
2-3 Tb sun dried tomatoes

-In a food processor, place all of the cashews in, and pulse until the nuts are a fine powder. Add in lemon juice, tofu, nooch, butter, process until smooth. Add in the soymilk, process-- this should be a thick paste now (cream cheese texture)
-In small frying pan, cook up the onion and garlic in a little oil, until a little brown.
-Add onion, garlic and sun dried tomatoes into food processor, process again until smooth.
-Transfer sauce into small sauce pan
-While your pasta is cooking, add in some starchy pasta water into the sauce, and whisk until you get the consistency you want, I added about 2-2 1/2 cups of starchy water.
-Combine the pasta with the sauce (yum yum!)

cashew alfredo angel hair w/ broccoli

i was hungry for something creamy and easy... so i made cashew alfredo sauce, i found the recipe on vegweb.com, i did some major tweaking, came out delicious and creamy :)
i tossed the sauce w/ multi-whole grain angel hair pasta and frozen broccoli.