Delishytown

Strawberry Almond French Toast

 Can you see the rain on our porch in the background? We're finally getting rain. This cool rainy weather is so refreshing. It's been a hot dry Winter here in the Southwest. I don't like hot dry Winter. Not at all. I'm from the Midwest, winter is supposed to be cold and wet. So, I'm happy that it's finally raining. This weather makes me hungry though, hungrier than my usual starving self. When I wake up really hungry, I go to my kitchen & look through the fridge, pantry and garden and try to come up with something good. I opened the crisper drawer and there was the container of organic strawberries I splurged on while grocery shopping yesterday  ($5.00, Yikes!). I have strawberries growing out back, but they're still small and green. Other things we had were a few small loaves of day old French bread from weekend sandwich making, eggs, real Maple syrup, and the rest of the almond slivers from making toffee the other day. I decided to make some French toast. The combo of the almonds and berries with lots of real maple syrup turned out to be deliciously amazing. I like the grade "B" Maple syrup from TJ's because it's not as cloyingly sweet as the grade "A", and has a nice bit of earthiness to it.

In a shallow wide bowl scramble 2 or 3 eggs with 1/4 c. milk, a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Slice day old crusty bread and soak it in the egg wash, turning to coat thoroughly. Heat a skillet to med high. Add a little butter or coconut oil to the pan. Cook the French toast slices on both sides until cooked through. Serve with sliced strawberries, sliced almonds and real Maple syrup. Yum!!

Orange Maple & Ginger Tempeh 

So, this makes it official. I'm a crunchy granola, tempeh eating California hippie. I've lived here for twelve years. It had to happen sooner or later.

I bought this organic tempeh at Trader Joes and had it in the cheese drawer of my fridge for a couple weeks, unable to decide what dish it would become. I've never really cooked tempeh, until now. I cook with tofu sometimes.  I'm always trying to eat healthy. I bought tempeh because I like to experiment with new ingredients, & it's supposed to be really good for you. It's whole soy beans and other grains which have been fermented. It has all sorts of probiotics and protein and fiber. The package didn't expire till July, but it's already mid-May, so I figured I'd better get on with it.

I decided to try cooking it in my favorite orange maple reduction, which I usually do with pork tenderloin. This recipe is based on an LA Times recipe from about 12 yrs ago. It's YUMMY! Actually this sauce is one of the best flavors of all time. Sweet and savory and tangy and just really good. I was surprised that I kept sneaking more bites of it after I took the photo & went to put it in the fridge for dinner. I'm curious to see how much more of the maple ginger flavor will be absorbed through the day. If you eat meat, and don't want to try tempeh yet, maybe just go ahead and try this reduction on pork chops or chicken. 

In a sauce pan, heat 2 tblsp olive oil, (not extra virgin, just regular), add 1 chopped sweet onion & saute for a minute. Add 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated, 3 chopped & smashed garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste. Let this mixture caramelize for a minute and then add 2 cups of orange juice, (about 3 large oranges worth), 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup veggie stock. Season with a pinch of ground coriander, and 1/2 tsp Ancho chili powder. Let this mixture reduce on low heat for about 10 minutes.

While the most delicious sauce in the Universe reduces, chop and stir fry some veggies & set aside. Cook some basmati rice. Heat the skillet you used for the veggies, add about 2-3 tblsp olive oil and saute the thinly sliced tempeh, searing it until it's golden brown on both sides. Place the seared tempeh in the orange maple sauce and let it soak up the flavors for a few minutes. Serve with the rice and veggies. Yum-o!