Tempeh tacos

A few weeks ago, Meghan posted about making tempeh tacos for dinner. I was immediately intrigued - I've mentioned before that tempeh is not my favorite vegetarian protein, and that I have only really enjoyed it in veggie burgers. For some reason, I prefer tempeh when it is crumbled rather than eating it in large pieces, so the idea of trying it in tacos appealed to me. I decided to create my own spin on this idea, adding some brown rice to the filling to give the texture more variety, and flavoring the filling with ingredients I usually use when making chili: onion, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, chile powder, smoked paprika, and cilantro. For toppings I used some red cabbage that was quickly marinated in lime juice and honey, which added both color and crunch, as well as creamy avocado and salty feta cheese. I really, really loved the result. These were wonderful vegetarian tacos that didn't use the typical combination of beans and loads of cheese. I think this might be my favorite tempeh preparation so far, and I'm definitely more open to playing around with more tempeh recipes now.

Thai cabbage salad

Are you looking for another healthy recipe to help you recover from Thanksgiving overindulgences? Or do you want to prepare your waistline for an onslaught of Christmas cookies? Or maybe you just like food that tastes good? Whatever the case may be, this is a recipe you should try. It's a Thai salad packed with colorful crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and your choice of protein, all tossed with a sweet and sour dressing. I had tagged this recipe last year in Food & Wine, and adapted it quite a lot to create this version. I kept the dressing similar but changed pretty much all the main ingredients. I was really happy with the final version - the flavors blend beautifully and this dish makes a wonderful light meal.

What kinds of fall/winter salads are you making?

Soba noodles with mushroom-ginger broth, vegetables, and tofu

I ate a lot of pie yesterday. Like, really, a lot. And it was delicious. But as much as I enjoyed it yesterday, I definitely did not feel like eating pie today. Good thing we don't have any leftovers around! (that would be because, um, I ate the slice we brought home last night). I don't know about you, but on the day after Thanksgiving, I like to eat light and healthy food. Plus to be honest, I like vegetables better than turkey anyway.

I was craving Asian food today, and found this recipe while I was looking through magazine recipes I have tagged in the past. It's got soba noodles, tofu, and seasonal vegetables (cabbage, carrots, sweet potatoes) topped off with a warm and comforting broth that is made with ginger, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro, and kombu (a type of seaweed). It is packed with good-for-you ingredients and there is zero added fat. It tastes good and will make you feel good too. And with a bowl of this for dinner, you definitely deserve to have some pie for dessert!

What do you feel like eating the day after Thanksgiving? Do you go right for the leftover turkey, or take a break with something different?

Pasta with cabbage and potatoes

Okay, I hope you're ready for a recipe full of carbs! I normally wouldn't put pasta and potatoes together in the same dish, but the New York marathon is coming up this weekend, so I figured something carb-heavy was appropriate in honor of those running. Personally, I know I'll never reach the level of athleticism of a marathon runner, but the carbo-loading part? That I can handle =).

This recipe is another one from the November issue of Food & Wine which I've been cooking a lot from lately. It's described as "peasant food" - simple, tasty, and filling. The pasta is tossed with steamed cabbage and potatoes, and a sauce that is flavored with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and cheese. It's a nice rustic dish that is perfect comfort food for colder weather.

Stuffed cabbage leaves

Yum...this may be my new favorite way to cook cabbage. I know I just told you about a cabbage recipe last week, but that one only used half a head, so I still had the other half to deal with. I had been thinking about making stuffed cabbage for a while, but most of the recipes I'd seen included ground meat of some kind, and I was really looking for something vegetarian. I finally found the perfect recipe in World Food: Greece, which is a big, gorgeous cookbook that my sister gave me. Greece is probably #1 on my list of places to visit, but until I find an opportunity to go, I'll have to make do with getting a taste of it at home.

The cabbage here is stuffed with a sweet and savory mixture of rice, raisins, and nuts, and then braised in tomato sauce. The ingredient list is simple, and the dish doesn't take much active time, but it takes quite a while for everything to cook, especially if you choose to use brown rice like I did. Totally worth it though. This made a great dinner with some bread on the side to dip in the sauce. And I bet the leftovers will be delicious!

Hot and sour cabbage soup

Cabbage is one of the only non-root vegetables that is available right now, and it's cheap, so I'm trying to get it into our dinner rotation more often. This weekend I wanted to play around with cabbage soup, and thought that the flavors of Chinese hot and sour soup would work really well. I've eaten hot and sour soup plenty of times at restaurants but had no idea what ingredients gave it its unique flavor, so it was fun to learn how to make it. It's really not that complicated - the ingredients are fairly basic, and the signature hot and sour flavor mainly come from white pepper and vinegar.

I started with a recipe from Gourmet Today and adapted it quite a lot, simplifying the ingredients (e.g. shiitakes instead of more obscure Chinese mushrooms), adding cabbage, using only 1 pot, and making it vegetarian. It came out really good - way, way better than the downright bland version I got last time I ordered Chinese takeout. How on earth did they make a bland hot and sour soup? I can't understand it. Anyway, I'm definitely glad I don't need to depend on restaurants anymore to get some!

Indian cabbage slaw

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend! I certainly did, and am now enjoying the wintry weather from the comfort of my favorite couch, with a mug of hot buttered rum. As it is snowing busily outside, I decided to tell you about a recipe from a warmer place - India. This site has definitely been lacking in Indian recipes so far. I grew up with Indian food and love eating it, but don't cook it that often. One of my resolutions for the new year is to cook more Indian food, and learn to cook the South Indian dishes that my family makes.

This dish is one that I found in an Indian cookbook that my mom gave me - Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking. You might not think to look to a Betty Crocker book for authentic Indian food, but the recipes are by Raghavan Iyer, who is a well-known Indian chef, and everything I have tried has come out really great. The cookbook has recipes from all over India - this cabbage slaw is from the region of Gujarat. It's a different part of India than where my family is from, so it's not quite the food I grew up with, but it is a recipe that I turn to often when I have cabbage waiting in the fridge. The balance of sweet, spicy, and sour is just perfect in this slaw, and it works well with many different main dishes, Indian or not.

Indian cabbage slaw
Adapted from Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking
Serves 6-8

1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil (you can substitute some sesame oil for part of this for some extra flavor)
1/4 tsp asafetida powder (omit if you don't have it)
1 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 medium head cabbage (1 1/2 pounds) finely shredded (8 cups)
1/2 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 fresh Thai, serrano, or cayenne chilies, chopped (remove seeds if you are sensitive to heat)
3 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

Heat oil in a wok or deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add peanuts and asafetida, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add all remaining ingredients except lime juice. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until cabbage is heated through and just barely wilted. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.