Let's Cooking: TNL!

I saw some Tempeh at the market the other day. Is it good? I was interested in buying it because it was really healthy and had some good protein. What are some ways to cook it?

Tempeh is great. It's similar to Tofu in that it can be used as a meat substitute in a lot of recipes. It's also similar to Tofu in that it's somewhat bland by itself (although you can get it pre seasoned/marinated, and it's pretty good alone)

It's a lot firmer than tofu and keeps its shape much better. I sometimes just slice it into strips, and fry it in a pan with some seasoning to make a nice snack. Or toss it in a stir fry or into a curry dish. It's very versatile.

I steam it and eat it with soy sauce.

I had tempeh chimichuri last night. It was good. I probably spelled that wrong.

I don't know how this was possible, but I made a stir fry with Spam and it is delicious.

I know it's not a huge deal for most folks but my mother makes bomb chocolate chip cookies and gave me some tips on making some. I put some together tonight and they taste just like hers (not exactly alike because I varied a bit on two ingredients, but still great).

Her recipe is as follows:

3/4 cup butter-flavor Crisco
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 tbs milk (I used soy milk here)
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels
1 egg (I used 1 tbsp gelatin and 3 tbsp warm water)

Heat oven to 375. Combine the Crisco, sugar, milk, and vanilla in mixing bowl and beat by hand or at medium speed of mixer until well blended. Beat egg into creamed mixture. Combine flour and baking soda (you can add a tsp of salt here if you wish, I didn't) and mix until just blended, then stir in the chips. Put tablespoon-sized drops on an ungreased baking sheet (you'll need to flatten/shape them). Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then put them on tin foil or a cooling rack.

Why'd you sub out the milk for soymilk? Did they turn out well despite it?

Edit: I see that it was only 2 tablespoons... couldn't have made much of a difference.

Yeah. Her recipe isn't dependent on the milk. They taste great!

I'm making a potato casserole and green bean casserole for my friend's Christmas dinner. For the green beans I am actually using fresh green beans and making a mushroom cream sauce from scratch no canned shit (blech). I will include the can of fried onions for familiarity though.

Don't forget top make a Cream of Chicken soup too. Add both to the green beans and it makes the casserole twenty times better.