Tempeh on the Go

As I rolled in my apartment, I opened an 8-ounce block of tempeh and placed it in a small frying pan on the counter. I poured what was left of a bottle of Pinot Grigio, about 1/2 cup, over the tempeh - stored in the fridge for just this type of occasion. Then, I poured 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and another tablespoon of tamari (soy sauce is quite fine, as is another type of oil) right over the tempeh to soak in the flavor.

I walked away and let the flavors set in. After fifteen minutes, I flipped the tempeh. Fifteen more minutes later, I put the pan with soaking tempeh on the stove, turned the fire up to a mild simmer and covered the pan with whatever top would fit. After about 10 minutes, I flipped the tempeh and tossed a few pieces of baby broccoli, which served up quite well besides the tempeh atop olive tapenade (without anchovies) coated toast. The olive oil from the tapenade soaks into the bread so when you take a bite, the oil squishes back out and is all quite lovely. If the liquid dries up during cooking, just add 1/4 cup or so of water under the cover. This prepares so quickly that if you have store-bought tapenade, you could spend less time in the kitchen than it'd take you to write up this text about it. Don't forget to pick up some of Trader Joe's peanut toffee with dark chocolate to finish it off with; it's vegan, and it's amazing - perfectly brittle and sweet like the inside of some candy bar.

Photo: Chris B.