Tempeh Shepherdess Pie

And hey, speaking of comfort foods, which I was in my last post a couple of weeks ago...

Note - sorry about the delay in posting, but meals have been really routine lately - beans and rice, stir-fry with store-bought stir-fry sauce featuring a tofu attempt that didn't work out right, and baked potatoes with peas and carrots cooked in a ginger-sesame sauce (oops - I suppose I should have blogged and photo'd that last one).

... here's a veganized old favorite that I found when looking up tempeh recipes in my favorite cookbook - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's Veganomicon.

Who doesn't like Shepherd's Pie - mashed potatoes with good fillings? And who doesn't like one-dish casseroles? I don't see any hands raised, so I must be right.

Put those two ideas together and you've got an oldie, but a goodie. Veganize it and the fillings include cremini mushrooms, tempeh simmered in a soy sauce, peas, corn and spices.

Being a casserole, the recipe makes its own mushroom gravy. I used yellow mashed taters - my favorite being Klondike Gold. Talk about a creamy tater - even when just baked plain - wow!

This one was another creative winner from Veganomicon. I'll definitely be making it again.

TEMPEH SHEPHERDESS PIE RATING - 8

Curried Chickenless Salad Sandwiches

One of my new cookbooks (thank you, holiday gift cards) is Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. After reading the recommendation of my good friend, Pixiepine (see her "Palace" on my Blog List at right), I chose Curried Chickenless Salad Sandwiches as my first recipe to try.

This has two ingredients that are considered totally love or totally hate - curry powder and tempeh. I'm fine with both of them.

Curry powder is the essence of Indian food and tempeh, which is a chewy, fermented soy product, can be bitter if not poached or steamed a bit. After 10 minutes in simmering water tempeh is much better.

I don't see the recipe posted online so you'll have to get the book for this one, but what I especially like about it is the contrasts of both flavors and textures.

The flavors combine savory ones like tempeh and curry with sweet ones like golden raisins and sweet pickle relish. The textures include chewy ones like tempeh, red peppers, and scallions with crunchy ones like chopped celery and slivered almonds.

After making the sandwich as pictured above, I realized this followed one of my own guidelines for perfect wraps (a future blog post) for having multiple textures.

Although the recipe just says to put it on bread, I say roll that baby up in a large tortilla and you'll enjoy one incredible wrap.

CURRIED CHICKENLESS SALAD SANDWICHES RATING - 8