Vegan Caesar, Soy Curls and Asparagus

I have been waiting months for the new CSA season to start and finally this week was the first week. We signed up with the same CSA last year and despite the bad growing season, we really enjoyed our shares.

Our first share this week contained various types of lettuce, asparagus, turnips, radishes and lovely scallions. We've been suffering with terrible grocery store produce all winter so I was delighted to finally get some good produce. But what to make first?

I decided to make a dinner-sized caesar salad with a delicious raw dressing (try it!), homemade croutons, fried and seasoned soy curls and a side of perfectly roasted asparagus.

For the dressing, I play around with the recipe. I usually use all raw cashews or raw cashews and raw almonds, never pine nuts because I don't buy them (they are pricey). I also never have kelp powder so I skip it or just use a bit of nori. The sweetener works also with maple syrup so try that if you don't have agave. And last but not least, I double the garlic. Yum!!

Anyway, the entire meal was the perfect dinner for a very warm spring evening. I'm really looking forward to more meals like this as the days get warmer.

Stay tuned for more CSA food!

Southeast Asian Inspired Tempeh Wraps

Asian fusion is hot again. Unlike the first wave of Asian fusion many years ago, the focus lately (at least locally) seems to be Vietnamese and Korean fusion. Case in point. A few weeks ago, the Mister brought me home some "Vietnamese Tacos" from Horizons (they previously also served a Vietnamese bruschetta — I've made my own version of these too). They were less like tacos, more like wraps, a bit pricey, but were delicious. Really, anything with Sriracha and Vegenaise is delicious (try it with fries too!). After devouring two pieces, Bebe knocked the rest on the floor in attempt to steal some (he's kind of pushy when it comes to food) so I made a mental note to make my own version.

I didn't want to try and duplicate it at all but instead draw some inspiration from it. I started with some tempeh that I sliced and simmered for about 15 minutes. I drained it and marinated it my usual seasonings that I use for Pad Thai (1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup lime juice, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tbsp chili garlic paste) and then fried it up and reduced the sauce to a glaze. I served it warm on homemade flatbread/tortillas with shredded carrots, broccoli sprouts and of course Sriracha and Vegenaise with a drizzle of sesame seed oil.

So there you have it. My own version of Southeast Asian tempeh wraps which are super easy to make and totally delicious.