Chevre and Jalapeno Jelly sandwich

Abby made some sourdough last night, so we wound up having bread, cheese, and just random pickings of fruit and such today.   

For a wedding gift, one of the band members gave us a jar of home made jalapeno jelly, which is absolutely delicious.  

We decided to participate in the "cheese lovers" share at Doe Run Farm CSA, so we got a big log of Belle Chevre, that we've been slowly working on this week. 

Abby came up with the idea of the sandwich, but I thought it sounded like a great idea.   Comfort food, but weird.   Weird in a really tasty way, though.

2 slices sourdough (home made is best, of course)
spread Chevre over 1 side of one slice
spread jalapeno over 1 side of the other slice

Slap the slices together and eat it.   Sweet, sour, smoky, spicy, creamy...   this hits an awesome chord in your mouth.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I finally did it.

After over 3 decades of living in the south, I finally made and tried fried green tomatoes.  

The CSA gave us some leftover green tomatoes last week.   Maybe some people prefer them, and maybe they just had some heavy wind knock a few off the vines.   Either way, I wound up with a couple of large green tomatoes, and since I have more stuff on the way tomorrow, I figured I should try doing something with these.  Frying them seemed like the obvious choice, and it was not a bad one.

I had some green beans as a side, which got my normal crab-boil, liquid smoke, liquid aminos, and butter treatment.   It works well for greens and black eyed peas, so I didn't see any reason that green beans should be any different.

• Oil to coat the bottom of a pan to an eighth to a quarter of an inch
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1t Old Bay Seasoning
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large green tomato, cut into 3/8 inch slices
• Additional Old Bay to taste

Get the oil heated to at least 250F, and 300F would probably be a bit better (you'll really want a fry or candy thermometer to test that).    While that heats, get a container that will hold at least one (and preferably more) tomato slice, and put the flour, cornmeal, and first bit of Old Bay into it and mix thoroughly.   Put the buttermilk into another, similar container.

When the oil is almost up to temperature, dredge the tomato slices in the cornmeal/flour mixture to coat, then dip them in the buttermilk to coat, and then back into the cornmeal/flour mixture, before carefully placing them into the hot oil (try to lay them so any oil that splashes will splash away from you).   Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, flipping carefully.   When they're finished, and have a nice golden-brown color, remove them to a plate covered in paper towels, and lightly season with the additional Old Bay.

Veggie Bowties (florentine?)

This is basically yesterday's pasta, but with more tomato and some spinach-like greens, rather than a kohlrabi.   I'm really not certain what these greens are...  they're like a cross between what I generally think of as spinach and chard.   Too "ruffled" for most spinach, and without the "earthiness" of chard.

• Olive oil for sauteeing & drizzling
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium/large red onion, sliced into sticks
• 6-8 little carrots (probably 1.5 large grocery carrots), chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped into disks
• 1/2 medium zucchini, chopped into disk
• 1 bunch spinach or other leafy green vegetable...  1/2 lbs, minus stalks. and torn up
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup malty beer (I used My Biere De Garde, this time)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & Black pepper to taste
• 6oz bowtie pasta
• (non-vegan -> grated parmesan cheese to taste)

Pretty much the same process as last night, too.   The biggest difference is that the greens went into the sauce immediately after the pasta went into the boiling water.   This gave them just enough time to wilt nicely, without overcooking.  If anything this one tasted a little better than last night's, probably due to the extra tomatoes. 

Veggie Bowties

The Thursday before last, I picked up some tomatoes at the roadside farmer's market on my way home.   I love cooking with fresh tomatoes, and I'll be glad when I'm harvesting mine, but until then, I won't mind getting them from the CSA and farmer's market.   Those are usually much more ripe and ready than the ones from the grocery.

The CSA this week included a good bit of squash and zucchini, as well as a couple of kohlrabi and a big red onion.   They also had some little carrots, with tops.   Those still have the "carrot" nature, but they have a bit different flavor and texture from most of the carrots that you get at the store.

I'm just sort of rambling at this point, I think.   Quick Primavera pastas are pretty much a weekly staple for me during the summer.   Especially since I started participating in the CSA, since I wind up getting a big pile of fresh vegetables that I don't necessarily normally buy, and the pasta makes a really good "glue".   I'll hopefully post a few recipes from these things, though they will mostly be variations on the same theme that this one uses.

Enough talk...   This makes 2 servings.

• Olive oil for sauteeing & drizzling
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium/large red onion, sliced into sticks
• 5-6 little carrots (probably 1 large grocery carrot), chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped into disks
• 1/2 medium zucchini, chopped into disks
• 1 kohlrabi, sliced into chunks
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves
• 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup malty beer (I used my Saison Sombre, since it just went into the keg)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & Black pepper to taste
• 6oz bowtie pasta
• (non-vegan -> grated parmesan cheese to taste)

I chopped all of the vegetables but the tomato, to try and make sure all the water that came out of the tomato would go into the sauce.  Next, I got the fry pan heating on medium high heat.   When water flicked onto the pan sizzled, I added enough oil to lightly coat the pan and added the garlic, onion, and carrots.  At approximately the same time, I got the water for the pasta heating on high.   Next, I got the tomato chopped up, and tore up about half of the basil leaves and set aside half of the oregano leaves.

Once the onion had mostly lost the purple color and started turning translucent, I added the rest of the vegetables, the prepared half of the herbs, the red pepper flakes, and some black pepper and a little salt. 

After the water came to a boil, I added the pasta, brought the water back to a boil, put the lid on the pan and turned the heat off.   I cooked the pasta for about ten minutes.   Meanwhile, I got the rest of the basil ready to tear, and stirred the sauce every minute or two.   It was just starting to stick to the pan with about 2 minutes left on the pasta, and with about 1 minute left, I added the beer to deglaze.

When the pasta was finished, I dumped it and the water into a sieve and shook it somewhat dry, and then dumped it into the pan with the sauce.  I added the last of the herbs and drizzled a final bit of olive oil over the pasta as I stirred it up.   I finished with stirring in some fresh parm.

Pasta Salad

They decided to hold a baby shower for a woman at work, and I offered to make a pasta salad.   It seemed to be a hit, and I had a couple of people ask for the recipe.   This is actually a variation on one that some friends gave me several years ago, but it's simple, and pasta salad is a pretty good glue for all kinds of things.

Pasta:
1 pound of rotini

Salt & boil water, add rotini, and cook for 8 minutes.   Drain and rinse with cold water.

Veggies & such:
1 jar of halved kalamata olives, chopped 
1 jar of roasted red peppers, chopped
1 container of Feta cheese
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 green onions, halved and chopped
1t black pepper (to taste)
1t dry thyme
Fresh Oregano: the leaves from 3 4-inch sprigs, rough chopped
Fresh Rosemary: 2-inch sprig, rough chopped

Dressing:
1t dry mustard powder
1 part balsamic vinegar
2 parts extra virgin olive oil

Mix and shake in some sort of container.

Mix pasta and vegetables & herbs, add dressing to taste.   I used some green onions from my CSA, so if you get scallions from the store, you should probably use 4-5 of them.

Pilaf-Stuffed Delicata Squash

This is from October 31, 2010.   Toward the end of the Winter CSA, I have a bunch of squash and sweet potatoes that need to be dealt with, but I've let them sit, since they can for a while, without going bad.   I was somewhat winging it with this, with the gorgonzola and cranberries, but the sweet, sour, and sharp really worked well together.   The beer is spiced, so that added some additional character, but truly you'd be unlikely to pick out its contribution, what with everything else going on in the dish.   It did make a nice pairing to the food, though.
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Roasted Delicata:

• 2 Delicata Squash
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F.  Cut each squash in half lengthwise and cut the seeds and stringy stuff out with a spoon.  Set them on a roasting pan  Peel the garlic cloves and cut the hard bit off, and cut them in half lengthwise.   Smear garlic over the exposed parts of the squash and then leave a clove's worth of garlic in the bowl of each squash-half.  Brush the squash liberally with olive oil, and then season with some salt and pepper.    Put in the oven and roast at 425F for 40 minutes.

Pilaf:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 large portabella mushroom cap, cut into small cubes
• 1T unsalted butter
• 1 cup Rice Select Royal Blend rice blend (texmati, brown, wild, & red rices)
• 3/4 cup Terrapin Pumpkinfest ale
• 7/8 cup water
• 1T fresh sage
• 1T Bragg's liquid aminos
• 1/4t fresh-ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup dry cranberries
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts  (toast in a dry skillet over medium heat just until aromatic, and remove from heat)
• 1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese
• salt & pepper

Melt butter in a large sautee pan, and add the onion, sweet potato, and mushroom.   Add a little salt to help pull moisture out of the vegetables.  Cook on medium heat until the sweet potato is just softening, 10-15 minutes.   Add the rice and stir around and make sure it's all covered with a slight sheen of butter.   Deglaze with the beer.   Add the water, sage, nutmeg, Bragg's, and any additional salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, toss in the cranberries, Cover and simmer for 15 minutes (or slightly less time than the rice package recommends).    Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts and cheese until the cheese has mostly melted.

Pile the Pilaf into the roasted squash until it's mounded over the top of the squash.   Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, or until the pilaf has slightly crusted on top.

Butternut Squash Soup

November 8, 2009.   I made this for Abby the first time she came up to the house.   I'd had some squash from the CSA sitting around, and wanted to make something good for a cool day.    Looks like today is another of those, though the butternut are no longer in season.   Nutmeg and Sage go amazingly well with winter squash.
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2 small/medium butternut squash, halved & seeded
4 cloves of garlic, crushed & peeled
olive oil

Rub each squash half with a garlic clove, drop the clove into the seed cavity, then brush with olive oil.  Roast at 425F for 30 minutes, and then rotate the pan and roast an additional 20 minutes at 350F. Set out to cool.

1/2 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, bias cut
3 medium/small carrots, quartered & diced
2 cloves garlic
olive oil to coat bottom of soup pot
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon powdered thyme
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground nutmeg
10-15 small-medium fresh sage leaves, chopped
2oz heavy cream
4 cups water
sea salt & pepper to taste

Put onion, celery, carrots, and garlic into a pot with olive oil to sweat, with just a little salt. While the vegetables cook, rough-chop the garlic that was roasted with the squash, and then use a spoon and the back of a knife to scrape the meat from the skin of the squash. When the onions were nice and translucent, add the squash and the water. Then added the herbs & spices, and the cream last. Simmer slowly for an hour or so.

Serve with grated parmessean and toasted ciabatta bread, with a little bit of butter.

Honey Beer Bread

 December 4, 2010.   I pretty much just threw this together and it worked.   I was trying to make a decent "rustic" loaf of bread.   In my experience that basically means a big lump of dough that's cooked on a flat surface.   Having a pizza stone makes this particularly easy.
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1/4 cup warm water
1 pack active dry yeast

Rehydrate yeast in water

1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix dry ingredients

1/2 cup malty beer (yazoo fall fest in this case)
1/4 cup clover honey
1 cup warm water

Mix everything together and turn out and knead for 10 minutes let rise for 90 minutes, and then punch down and fold into a loaf and let it bench proof for another 80 minutes. Cut slits in the top & bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Broccoli Pasta

I should have gotten some pictures, but I was too busy cooking and eating...

1 shallot, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
4oz mushrooms, sliced
2 broccoli crowns, cut into bite-sized pieces
Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1T fresh oregano, chopped (1/3-1/2 of that dry)
1t fresh basil, chopped
1/4t crushed red pepper
6oz rotini

Fresh grated parmesan to taste

Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven, and turn it to 500F.   Sautee the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms in some olive oil in a large, oven safe sautee pan for 3-4 minutes before turning the pasta water to high in a covered pot (I use a 4-quart saucepan, you may need to just time or sautee temperature according to your equipment).  The mushrooms should  be taking on some nice color just as the water comes to a boil.   Add the broccoli and herbs and some additional oil and stir thoroughly, so everything is mixed well, and then put the entire pan into the oven, uncovered.   Add the pasta to the water.   Cook the pasta for the time specified on its container.   Drain the pasta, remove the sauce from the oven, and combine (careful of that handle, it'll be hot) everything in the sautee pan.   Add parmesan and stir until it has melted into the dish, and serve.

Quick Steamed Corn on the Cob

 From July 16, 2009.   I think I was explaining this one to someone who'd never heard of steaming corn.    I may be confused, though.
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Some ears of corn

Shuck the corn and remove the silk. Take a microwave safe dish (I prefer pyrex or some sort of ceramic) that's large enough to put your corn in. Put about 1/4" of water in the dish, and put the corn in. Cover the dish with plastic wrap (i wind up using 2 pieces: one vertical, one horizontal). Microwave for 2.5 minutes per cob, turning the dish midway through if your microwave doesn't have a turntable.

Roasted Beets and Leeks with Spicy Couscous

From June 9, 2009.   Once the CSA started coming in, I had to think of things to do with various vegetables that I don't normally buy in the grocery.  Roasting almost always works well.   If you eat a lot of beets, remember that you ate a lot of beets in visits to the toilet over the next day or so.  Well, you'll probably remember it either way, but if you go in thinking, "I ate a lot of beets recently," you're more likely to just let things go, rather than immediately coming to the conclusion that you've got cancer and need to call a doctor.
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2 bunches small beets
4 leeks
1 carrot
2T olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2t - 1t garlic powder or 2-3 cloves of garlic

Wash and cut stems and taproots from the beets, then quarter or half them, depending on the size of each individual beet. Half, clean, and then chop the leeks into 1-2" lengths, and cut the carrot into pieces of a similar size to the beets. Put the vegetables in a 9x13 casserole and drizzle heavily with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt and 15-20 grinds of black pepper. Sprinkled garlic powder over it all, or peel and cut the ends off of 2-3 cloves of garlic and toss them in whole. Toss to get everything coated. Baked at 400 for 25 minutes, stir the mixture, and let go for another 25 minutes.

1/2 cup water
2-3 T bragg's liquid aminos
1 1/2T watered down miso paste
1T chili paste
1/2t chipotle powder
1t garlic powder
1/2t thyme
1T olive oil
1/2 cup dry couscous

Put everything but the couscous into a pot and brought it to a boil. Added couscous. Stir to mix the "broth" evenly, and then take it off the eye and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

Dish couscous onto plate, spoon vegetables on top of couscous.   If I have it, I'll add gorgonzola, as the sharpness of the cheese matches well with the sweetness of the roasted vegetables and the spiciness of the couscous.   It will be just dandy without the cheese, though.

Tofu Curry

 From March 1, 2009...  This is another one I really need to revisit.  It's sort of in the spirit of a thai curry, but uses almonds, rather than peanuts.   The sweet and spicy combination with the almonds and coconut milk really made this dish.
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1T butter
2t olive oil
2t walnut oil
1t sesame oil

1.8oz ginger, peeled & minced

1/2t black mustard seeds

whole spices:
1/8t anise seed
1t coriander
1t fenugreek
1t cumin
1t black pepper
3 cardamom pods
2 dried thai chilis

other spices:
1/4t cinnamon
1/4t allspice
1t turmeric
10 grinds nutmeg

1/3 cup ground almonds
1 can coconut milk
1 can water
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1.5T soy sauce

1/2t salt (to taste)

1 package nasoya fresh (not silken) tofu, cut into little cubish bits (1/2" x 1/2" x 1-1/2" bits or so)

Heat a pan on medium heat until it's hot. Add oil and butter. When butter has melted, and oils have mostly mixed, add onion, garlic, mustard seeds, and mushrooms. Stir occasionally until the onions are starting to carmelize (10 or 15 minutes). Add ginger and mix in and cook for about 1 minute. Meanwhile gather up the whole spices and grind them up. Mix in with the ground spices, and add the spice mixture to the hot stuff, and mix that in and cook for about 30 seconds. Add tho coconut milk, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, and ground almonds. Stir to mix up and bring to a simmer. Add tofu. Make sure tofu is covered with sauce, and return to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, then uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice.

Spent Grain Granola, Mark II

This is my second attempt at making a granola out of some leftover spent grain from a beer.     It seems like sort of a waste to just turn all of that grain into compost, and this is an interesting method of turning it into something edible.  I tried some other nuts before, and left out the peanut butter and wheat germ, and it was a bit loose, and a pain to eat, but it tasted really good.   I figured that the new ingredients would help bind it.   If that doesn't work, I may use some whole wheat flour or oat flour to help it stick together.

4 cups spent grain
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup flaxseed meal
8oz honey (spring blossom, in this case) + 2-4 oz hot water to rinse honey bear
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix thoroughly and scoop into a 9x13 baking dish.   Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.   Let cool in the oven.

Roasted Root Stew

This was for a get-together with the Nashville Smial (Tolkien fan group) around January 24, 2009.   The idea was to make something that hobbits would eat, and I was trying to aim for something sort of seasonal, too, so I decided to go with some perennial herbs (rosemary & thyme can handle pretty chilly weather) as well as some that are easily dried, and root vegetables. I don't know if hobbits would have sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil, but that's OK. It turned out delicious, though. This makes 3-4 servings.


4oz onion quartered
.1oz garlic, crushed, mostly whole
3.3oz parsnip, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch lengths, 1/2 inch wide or so.
5.3oz turnips, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch cubes
4.7oz carrots, peeled and cut pretty much like the parsnip
11oz small red potatoes, quartered
.18oz rosemary
.18oz thyme
3 small bay leaves
1T dry parsley (fresh would be better, but i don't have a lot of that, so i'll use it for the real one)
3T olive oil
1t sea salt
20 grinds black pepper

Combine in dutch oven. stir so everything has some herbs and oil on it. Bake at 400F without lid for 40 minutes. Stir at least twice.  Be sure to remove the thyme and rosemary from their stems, since it's a bit of a pain to do that once everything is cooked.

Remove from oven and add:

1 large pinch dry basil
1T (mounded) tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1/4-1/2 cup water


Bring to a boil and let it simmer back down for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is nice and thick.  Serve with some good crusty bread.

Black Eyed Peas

 I also made these for New Years, 2009.   This would also work well for the various cow peas and Lentils.   Again, the soy, butter, and smoke really help bring out the flavors of the peas.   Great with cornbread.
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8oz dry black-eyed peas
1/2 capful liquid smoke
1/2T butter
1 capful soy sauce
1 capful apple cider vinegar
kosher salt to taste
water to cover peas by 1-2 inches

bring to boil and simmer 50 minutes, or until soft, stirring occasionally

Greens

This is what I did for New Years 2009.   The combination of flavors and the butter gives them a good full flavor, without going overboard on any one thing.   This will work with kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens as well.  
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9oz collard greens (after cleaning and stemming), chopped into rough 2 inch squares
4 cups water
1/2 capful liquid smoke
2 capfulls soy sauce
1/2t sugar
1/2t red pepper flakes
1/2T butter
kosher salt to taste

bring to boil, cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring every 15

Potato Soup

From December 21, 2008.   Potatoes and cream in soup.   It's a good soup that will "stick with you".

For some additional interesting flavor and texture, 5-10 minutes before serving, add ~8oz of imitation (or real) crab meat, or a few chopped-up stalks of broccoli (or both).  
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1T butter
2T olive oil

1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced

~2lbs of golden potatoes, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
4.5 cups water

2-3T fresh parsley, chopped
black pepper to taste
1 vegetable bullion cube.

2oz cheddar cheese, grated
2oz monterey jack cheese, grated

In a large pot, got the oil & butter just up to the smoke point, and then added the onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and a dash of kosher salt, to help extract water. Sauteed all of those for a bit, and then added the potatoes, water, and cream (in that order). Ten I added the seasonings, and sprinkled the cheese into the pot while stirring. Brought it back to a low simmer and cooked on medium low for about 45 minutes.

Oatmeal Apple Cookies

From December 20, 2008.   This is my take on quaker's vanishing oatmeal cookies.  I mix the dry ingredients with a wire whisk in a steel bowl, and then everything else with a wooden spoon in a huge ceramic bowl that my grandmother gave me that probably has lead in the glaze. It never gets hot, though. I think most people would prefer a mixer, though, since getting the butter and sugar to a smooth consistency is a pain.

I'll also sometimes switch the apples out for other dried fruit and nuts.   just a cup of those combined.  (cherry & almond would be good in this).
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1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 cups Oats (quick, uncooked)
1 cups Oats (whole rolled, uncooked)
1 cup chopped sour apple


preparation
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and apples; mix well.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Vegetable Casserole

 From Dec. 10, 2008.   This was an attempt to make something tasty and reasonably healthy, that was also relatively easy to throw together.   It wound up being a whole lot like a pot-pie filling.   I need to revisit this one and actually put this inside a pie crust sometime...
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1 large potato, diced
1 large stalk of broccoli, chopped
1/2 of a large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup brown rice

Some random frozen vegetables to fill the casserole dish, I used peas, limas, and some corn.

1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Water to fill aforementioned can 1.5 times
12 grates of sharp cheddar (2 oz, maybe?)
20 grinds of black pepper
1t thyme
1/4t cayenne

Get everything mixed well and bake with a lid at 425 for an hour. Take it out of the oven, crumble 10 saltines over the top of it, and return it to the oven for 20 minutes.

Thai-Style Tempeh and Asparagus

I cooked this on September 22, 2008.   I've made something similar a couple of times since, but I should really revisit this one this spring.   My comment when I wrote down the recipe:  "Tastes like summer."

Tempeh is one of the more interesting meat substitute type things.   Mostly (to me) due to the fact that it has some texture that tofu really can't reproduce.  

Remember that this is stir-fry, so have everything chopped up on a board next to the stove, ready to shove into the wok at a moment's notice.
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4oz tempeh

Marinade:
1/2t lime - juice
1/2t sesame oil
1T soy sauce
1T rice wine vinegar
1t hoisin sauce

Cut tempeh into sticks and marinate for at least 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

Sauce:
Outer part of the lower section of lemon grass stalk
1/4 veggie boullion cube
1/4 cup hot water
1T soy sauce
1T rice wine vinegar
1/2t sesame oil
1/2t lime -juice
1 1/2 t sugar
1/2 t ground white pepper

Flavor veggies:
1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small thai hot pepper, diced
The heart of one lemon grass stalk

Veggies:
1/2 onion, chopped into sticklike pieces
6oz asparagus, after breaking ends off, cut into ~2" pieces
3 stalks of bok choy, leaves cut into 3" squares, stalks cut into piece of a similar size to the asparagus

finishing:
1/3 cup unsalted dry roasted cashews
2t of cornstarch in 2T of cold water, stirred up.

Put 1T of walnut oil (I thought I was buying peanut) into a wok, and got it hot. Added the marinated tempeh to the hot oil, and let it sit while I shook the pan around some, to keep it from sticking. After a minute or two, I turned the tempeh over and let
it cook for another minute or two, so it would get a nice little crust on both sides. It absorbed almost all of the oil, and I let it cook mostly dry for another 30-45 seconds before dumping it out to a rack. I added another tablespoon of walnut oil and got it hot, and then added all of the flavoring vegetables and stirred them around in the oil for 10-15 seconds (until they were fragrant, i.e. until the pepper made me cough) before adding the onion and bock choy stalks. I stir-fried that until the onions turned translucent, maybe a minute and a half, and then added the asparagus and stir-fried that for another minute and a half before returning the tempeh and adding the bok choy leaves. I continued to cook everything just until the leaves started to wilt, and added the sauce and cashews and let it cook for another minute. Then I re-stirred and added the cornstarch mixture and cooked for another 30 seconds before pulling it off of the heat.

Serve over brown rice.