Warm Up

I could not warm up at work today.

Does anyone else ever suffer from the "I work in the Arctic" syndrome?

I sat on my hands. I held them under my armpits. I wrapped my jacket around my shoulders. Yes, my shoulders. I've officially convinced myself that I'm a senior citizen trapped in a 26 year old body.

One of the student workers in my office asked why my lips were blue.

Needless to say I day-dreamed all afternoon about the warm-fest I would create for myself when I arrived home. I'm currently wearing five shirts.

In addition to wearing five shirts, the other cure for the Arctic Syndrome is a warm bowl of soup. Ah, yes. Just what I needed to warm my bones and eliminate that case of the shivers.

Adam created an interesting Peanut Tempeh Soup this evening from Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen cookbook. While the recipe was delicious and super-filling, it tasted strikingly similar to the Moosewood's West African-Peanut Stew. This isn't a bad thing of course (we love the Peanut Stew), but I suppose tonight's soup just lacked the innovative and "exciting" piece we always seek in a recipe.

Nonetheless, if you love tempeh and you love peanut butter, you will certainly love this stew. (Bonus: it's chock full o' fiber and protein--the true love-bugs of a vegetarian diet, yes?). We served ours with homemade garlic bread.

Tomorrow, I'll take a stylish sweater to cover myself, and hopefully avoid the whole senior-citizen-in-my-20s situation. It's getting embarrassing.

Tempeh Peanut Stew

(recipe adapted from one in Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen)

I absolutely love a warm, hearty, peanut stew. Something about the salty, nutty flavor combined with fresh veggies and spices just makes my tastebuds smile.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. tempeh, sliced
• dash of olive oil
• 2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts
• 4 cups veggie stock, divided
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter (salted)
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 - 3 cups sliced cabbage (we took the easy way and used pre-sliced cole slaw mix cabbage)
• dash of lemon juice
• freshly sliced green onions, chopped peanuts, and parsley (garnish)

Directions:

1) Heat 1 to 2 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet. Add tempeh slices and cook on one side until golden brown on the bottom. Flip each slice and cook until lightly browned on the other side (about 3 - 4 minutes each side). Remove from pan and chop tempeh into cubes. Set aside.

2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, combine the peanuts, 3 cups stock, and a dash of salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a bowl and add 1 cup water; stir. Pour half of sauce into a baking dish that will hold tempeh cubes in a tight single layer. Place tempeh in the baking dish and pour remaining sauce on top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

3) While the tempeh is cooking, warm a little oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and a dash of salt, reduce heat and cook until onions are lightly browned (about 5- 7 minutes). Add carrots and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add peanut butter, tomato paste, and 1 cup of veggie stock. Add tomatoes and cook until heated through.

4) When tempeh is done cooking, add to the sauce, raise the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until stew has thickened to the desired consistency. Stir in cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and garnish each bowl with parsley, green onions, and chopped peanuts.