Orange Tempeh and Stir-Fry

I’ve had one of those weeks where I’ve thought that every day was Friday.  I don’t know why my brain has been trying to trick me…midterms are over and my stress levels have definitely gone down.  I think I’m just in need of some really solid, long nights of sleep.  The transition to winter has made it harder and harder for to get out of bed each day and I’m looking forward to one of those long, lazy, sleepy mornings that only the weekend can provide.

In the meantime, I’ve been seeking out healthy and energizing foods to help mitigate this season’s effect on my energy levels.  For breakfast, I’ve been having either a green smoothie or The Wannabe Chef’s Hot Banana Breakfast Quinoa (so good).  Lunch today was a lazy version of my Sweet Potato Nachos in which I elected to microwave the sweet potato and used only refried beans, salsa, and sour cream as toppings.

For dinner I tried a new recipe for Orange Tempeh from (again) The Wannabe Chef.  It was surprisingly easy and un-fussy.  Which is good because I don’t think I’ve ever cooked tempeh and it’s always a little intimidating to add a new food to the repertoire.  Evan’s recipe is reproduced below and the only thing I would add is that I did not end up needing to use all the starch.  I just slowly added it at the end until the texture looked right.  I ate the tempeh with jasmine rice and stir-fried broccoli, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms.  Enjoy!

Orange Tempeh
serves 2

Ingredients
– 1 block tempeh, cubed
– juice from half an orange
– 2 Tbs agave syrup
– 1 Tbs soy sauce
-1/2 Tbs sesame oil
-2 tsp rice vinegar
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1 tsp siracha sauce (optional)
– 1/2 Tbs tapioca or cor starch mixed with 2 Tbs water

1. Mix together the orange juice, agave, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and sesame oil in a small bowl.

2. Pour the mixture into a frying pan and heat over a burner set to medium.

3. Add tempeh and coat.  Cook until half the liquid has boiled off, about 5 minutes.

4. Slowly pour the dissolved starch into the pan, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens.  Add water if the sauce seems to thick.

5. Remove from heat and serve over rice and vegetables.

Here’s all the veggies I stir-fried.  Plenty for leftovers!