Tempeh Cakes, Raw Oats and Indian Curry!

First I'll start with my raw breakfast, since I've recently gotten a couple of books on raw food.  I thought I'd try my oat groats raw for the first time.  I got the Almond Cinnamon Oatmeal recipe from Ani Phyo's Cookbook Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.  Since I normally use whole oat groats (I cook them in my rice cooker, thanks to my brother for that tip), I already had them in my kitchen to soak.  Anyway, I soaked them overnight and made the oats this morning in my food processor.  It's really good!  I didn't even need to top it with agave or anything, since there are dates already in the oats.  I made a normal batch for my week of breakfasts...

The other day I made Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes from her book Vegan Brunch.  I bought a couple of packages of tempeh on our way home from FL last week...can't find them in my normal grocery store.  These were quite good...I think they tasted like crab cakes (I haven't had one in years, so I'm not sure if I remember them correctly). I left out the oil (of course) and I used Apple Cider Vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.  I also didn't have any fresh peppers, so I used one roasted red pepper from a jar.  I also used some Furikake (seaweed, sesame seeds, salt) instead of the Nori, since I had some on hand, and I used whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of panko.  Last thing: I left out the capers (bleh) from the sauce. I'll definitely make these again and you should too!

And now for my Indian Curry I made for lunch today, seeing as how our local Indian restaurant decided yesterday they weren't going to serve off the menu (pfft).  How can a restaurant do that? Randomly.  We've been there so many times for lunch and they've ALWAYS served us off the menu, even though most people go there for the buffet. Guess we won't be going back there again.

Tanya's Indian Curry:

1/2 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tomato, cut into small wedges
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into smallish florets
1 head of broccoli, broken into smallish florets (you can use part of the stem too)
1 tsp black mustard seeds (you can toast them first, covered, before adding them, if you want)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2-2/3 cup crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
3 tsp arrowroot (mixed with 3 tsp water)
3 tsp hot curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
salt, red pepper flakes to taste


Saute the onion in 1/4 cup water until soft.  Add the celery and saute another 2 minutes.  Add the cauliflower & broccoli and another 1/2 cup water.  Cover and steam for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and turmeric.  Cover and cook about 3 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce (or crushed/pureed tomatoes), garam masala, and almond milk.  Stir and cook about 2 minutes.  Add the arrowroot and bring to boil.  Stir and add salt to taste.  Serve over whole grains (rice, barley, etc.)

Oh, one last thing.  Remember that Sunflower Seed Falafel??  Well, I used it as a spread.  I made a delicious sandwich out of it, on sprouted grain bread, with tomato slices and mizuna. You should try it like that.

Until next time....
Eat smart,
T.