What to do about soy? As I’m sure many of you know soy (unless fermented) really isn’t a good idea to eat a lot of. We used to eat tofu once weekly to make it easier to have a meatless meal and save a few bucks (or quite a few bucks if buying the good stuff!). We have severely cut down on the tofu and now eat it only about once a month. I’d like to try a few recipes with tempeh since it is fermented and actually quite good for you, but haven’t worked myself up to it. I need to find a few recipes that sound good before I purchase it! Any ideas or recipes would be quite helpful!

Also Brian, AKA dear hubby, is soy intolerant so we try to only use ferments for him as well. I’ve been doing the best I can with his diet, but we aren’t 100% compliant yet! We try and every little bit helps more than none at all! In fact, it helps a lot! Keep an eye out for my next post about his health issues and how much his diet changed has helped!

This recipe is a delicious option and is so easy and quick to prepare. I originally found this recipe on Epicurious and have altered it a little to fit our diet and preferences. I’ve found Epicurious to be very helpful because of the way you can search for recipes. If you run an advanced search you can enter the ingredients you have or would like to use and it will bring up all the recipes that meet your requirements! It is a fabulous way to find new ideas for old ingredients!

Ingredients:
Oil for cooking – I prefer coconut oil or some type of animal fat, i.e. lard or tallow, etc
1 package of extra-firm tofu, drained well, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced (I often use yellow or orange peppers as well to add color)
3 TBSP minced peeled fresh ginger
5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
½ tsp dried crushed red pepper
6 oz baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts

Instructions:
Heat enough oil in wok over med-high heat to brown tofu. Remove from wok and set aside. Heat additional oil over high heat. Add bell peppers, ginger and garlic; sauté until peppers just begin to soften. About 2 minutes. Add green onion and cook for 2 more minutes. Add soy sauce, lime juice and crushed red pepper tossing to blend. Add spinach in 3 additions, tossing until beginning to wilt, about 1 minute per each addition. Mix in tofu and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle peanuts over top.

This is enough to serve 4. Sometimes we eat it as a dish all unto itself, but if we want it to serve more people then I serve over rice. I have also served over brown basmati rice or quinoa and it tastes equally good. Often I add a bit more crushed red pepper since we like a bit of spice. On occasion I’ve added too much and the rice helps to tame it down!

Enjoy with white wine and friends!