Wednesday

Discovery of the day: Tempeh? Eh...

I've been looking for something protein-ish to add to my stir-fries since my son got burned out on tofu. I saw something on TV about tempeh and figured it might be worth a go. I bought a package a few weeks ago and it has since been sitting in the fridge glaring balefully at me. Finally, last Sunday it was time.

I looked up some recipes and decided to go with a simple marinade. I cut the block into cubes and set it soaking for the afternoon. Come cooking time, I fried it up first before adding the vegs and sauce.

Verdict? Eh. My son took one bite and avoided it for the rest of the meal. I ate it, partially out of sheer stubbornness. Probably not wise, since that was four days ago and I can still taste it. Urp.

It was supposed to be good! Why wasn't it good? I feel like I was deceived.

I'm also discouraged. I may just go back to small fried plain tofu cubes as a garnish for my stir-fries. Those were good and my son doesn't have to eat it. Or maybe I'll try some pre-baked tofu from the store. I haven't had luck making my own.

In other news, I'm getting more interested in TVP, texturized vegetable protein. I remember having it around when I was a kid -- my grandpa was a food broker and always brought us new stuff -- and I don't remember it sucking. Besides, it's what some bacon bits are made of. Mmmm... bacon!

I have also heard that today's TVP is new and improved. My only reservation is that my boyfriend adds it to his oatmeal and for some reason that kind of weirds me out. But it can't be worse than the tempeh. Can it?

Anyway, I plan on buying some and giving it a go. I just ordered some really high-quality concentrated soup bases in attempt to pump up the flavor of some of my bean dishes. Think really good bouillon cubes in a jar. Maybe flavoring the TVP with some of that will imbue it with meaty goodness.

Maybe I should stop worrying so much about the meaty goodness and just embrace the natural, clean beauty of the bean-and-veggie lifestyle. But it's a fun project and it would be really cool to find something that we all like.