Lunch. That has sort of been my daily dilemma since I became a vegan just 5 days ago. Yup, just last Saturday I had a grilled chicken salad from Chick-fil-A for lunch, and an array of yummy gourmet cheeses and wine pairings for dinner. On Sunday morning I woke up, and it was back to my usual flax oatmeal for breakfast. I pretty much went vegan cold turkey from that day on.
Yesterday I was able to 'wing it' for lunch since I had some leftover quinoa and steamed Brussels sprouts on hand from the previous night's dinner. I whipped up some creamed tofu sauce from my favorite vegetarian restaurant, Green Temple in Redondo Beach - the sauce is seriously delicious and goes PERFECT with most cooked veggies and grains.
Today I wasn't so lucky. I didn't want to eat another plate of steamed veg for lunch but wanted to experiment a bit more for flavor and substance. However neither my fridge nor pantry is fully stocked with vegan-friendly items; all I had was some cooked tempeh - leftover from my vegan Thai green curry with eggplant. I simmered the sliced tempeh in some veggie broth first (that much I knew to do from my vegan cooking class with Spork Foods (LOVE Jenny and Heather - they are awesome!), seasoned them with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and granulated garlic, then sautéed them in a pan with a little drizzle of canola oil and about a teaspoon of vegan buttery spread (I use Smart Balance but I am thinking of switching to Earth Balance without soy, since that seems to be the most recommended brand). I sautéed the tempeh slices till they had light golden crust. I had some chopped cabbage leftover from earlier in the week, which I also sautéed in the same pan (without the tempeh) with some oil, salt and a little sprinkling of cumin.
The result is the above photo. I know, I know... far from a cookbook worthy dish. But it was the kind of quick stir-fry I would fix if I were using slices of beef or pork and some leftover veggies. Basically, instead of trying to adopt 'new' recipes, I decided to adapt my recipes so they can be vegan. I already know it takes a bit more prep work for some ingredients (like soaking grains and legumes hours ahead of time before cooking), and some dishes are more labor-intensive, but I realized that just because the ingredients are slightly different, I can still cook the way I know how, the way I love - I just need to adapt a little.
