*This is a re-post from mid-day Wednesday 3/7/12. My apologies if you already saw it and thanks to all who commented the first time around.
I’m in the process of making some cosmetic changes to my blog layout, but nothing tech-related comes easily for me or without an abundance of glitches.
In the meantime, thanks for bearing with things and for your patience.
Excuse me while I pour a drink…or eat rum-spiked fig butter.
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If you happen to have a very plentiful, and very random, assortment of condiments taking up valuable refrigerator space, then you relate to the desire to want to find creative uses for them.
This stir fry helped me make use of on-hand veggies and use some fig butter from my from my ever-growing condiments collection.
It used up two whopping tablespoons of fig butter than I bought awhile back thinking I was going to make homemade Fig Newtons.
Evidently I was feeling the need to reinvent the wheel that day and make my own Fig Newtons.
So far homemade Fig Newtons haven’t happened, but this did. The best part is that it took four minutes. Faster than a microwave meal.
The veggies stayed crisp, the cumin added a touch of smokiness, the fig butter had a barely-there touch of sweetness that worked with the barely-there nuttiness of the tempeh. I also tossed in a sweet gherkin pickle that I diced (another random condiment) but the tangy-ness worked perfectly.
It had been far too long since I’ve had any tempeh and I was overdue. Unlike tofu which requires pressing, tempeh doesn’t and it’s ready to go from the moment you unwrap it.
Plus tempeh has texture. Tofu is great, but sometimes I just need a little more chewiness and on those days, tempeh is the calling card.
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Fig Butter & Cumin Tempeh Stir Fry (vegan)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup tempeh, cubed (I used half of a package of TJ’s tempeh)
3/4 cup+ vegetables, diced (I used broccoli, green beans, carrots, asparagus, one diced sweet gherkin mini pickle)
1 teaspoon cumin (or other seasoning or seasoning blend you enjoy; paprika, garlic, onions, curry, nutmeg, saffron, Mrs. Dash blends, TJ’s 21 Salute, etc.)
salt and pepper to taste, optional
2 to 3 tablespoons fig butter
2 tablespoons water
Add olive oil to a non-stick skillet and add the tempeh, vegetables, seasonings and sautee on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the fig butter and water, stirring to create a sauce, and continue cooking for about 2 more minutes, or until desired. Serve immediately. I served it over a handful of romaine lettuce that’s in the bottom of the bowl.
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Feel free to substitute another type of jelly (hot pepper jelly, sour cherry, or plum would be nice), chutney, or even nut butter (almond or peanut butter) for the fig butter in this recipe since you may not be quite as into condiments as I am and may not have a jar of fig butter in your refrigerator.
Some recent stir fry and fast savory meal ideas include:
Szechuan Shrimp Stir Fry with Fried Rice
Speaking of shrimp, as part of my relationship with FoodBuzz as a Featured Publisher, I was given a couple product vouchers for Van de Kamp’s and I selected these Butterfly Shrimp.
I have a wicked shrimp allergy but Scott and Skylar love shrimp so I put the Van de Kamp’s Butterfly Shrimp on a baking sheet and baked at 425F for 15 minutes, flipping once, and they were a big hit.
I told Scott I have one more product voucher and he said, “Get these again!” so I will.
They are otherwise $6.99 for a box of about 15 shrimp at my local Ralph’s grocery store, and Scott said, well worth it.
Another fast, fish, one-skillet, 15 minute meal was Pan Seared Caribbean Citrus Mahi Mahi with Brown Rice Noodles (gluten free)
A vegan quickie stir fry: Apple Glazed Vegetable & Edamame Stir Fry (vegan, gluten free)
If you prefer tofu to tempeh:
Or try Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu because everything is better with peanut sauce.
Do you impulse buy jars of condiments or have a wide assortment of condiments on hand?
Yes, and yes for me. And then I wonder what I’m going to do with them, but eventually, I figure it out.
Do you like tempeh? Tofu?
I like them both and they both have their place. I go in cycles with them and I can see tempeh getting back into my lineup. It’s a break-the-seal and there’s-the-meal kind of item, which I dig.
Tofu lovers, all my tofu recipes are here including a tofu preparation and cooking tips post.
Thanks for the Digital Kitchen Scale & Nutritionist Consultation Giveaway entries
ginger mango tofu?! fig butter!? oh my oh my. i’m so looking forward to trying these! and also feeling quite jealous that we don’t have trader joes in the netherlands.
you can soak/grind dates or figs for a similar effect
and for the mango chuntney, this uses cranberries but it’s the same concept
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/11/cranberry-orange-ginger-mango-chutney.html
I have a house in Aruba (Dutch island) and you may get a kick out of this post…Dutch product!
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/03/cookie-butter-is-back.html
I am the queen of randome condiments taking over my life!! I’ve never had tempeh before, but you make it look unbelieveable!
It’s been my total go-to lately….no need to press it, drain it, or even…cook it :) Eat as is. Protein with texture in a hurry!
oh my gosh homemade fig newtons would be amazing with that fig butter. They were my favourite cookie growing up!
Oh, I impulse buy all sorts of condiments and food products in general … it is a problem :-)
I like both tofu and tempeh.
Mmmm this sounds so good! I so love and appreciate your focus on quick meals! Long ingredient lists and lots of prep time are just not for me…so thanks for making it so easy. :)
Glad you like it and yes, the short ‘n sweet ingredients lists are where it’s at for me!
This stir fry looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it. I also love your idea of serving it on top of lettuce! I can’t believe I’ve never thought of that. Serving stirfrys with grains always makes me over-eat so I am definitely going to be doing this from now on. :)
I totally impulse buy condiments- including fig butter! The problem is, I can’t get through them fast enough. And also- they are really hard to organize in the fridge! There’s only some much space on the shelves that are on the door!
And sometimes I only want a tablespoon or two…and end up with the whole jar.
What a tasty dinner idea! I have a bag of dried figs in my cabinet–maybe I’ll try creating my own fig-based sauce. I have not yet tried tempeh…I haven’t had soy anything in years because of some thyroid issues (apparently soy can create or add to thyroid issues…not medical advice…don’t quote me on that!).
Awesome job in this recipe, it sounds fabulous!
Sorry about the site stress, not fun! Can’t wait to see the new look!
It was beyond anything any of my tech folks saw coming. Typical computer crap..not sure how you can deal with it, day in, day out!
The tempeh..I was channeling you the whole time :)
I used to love tempeh so much, growing up. But have lost interest as time flew by. So sad, because that stir fry looks super yummy!!!
Too bad that you outgrew it but like many things, I end up coming back to “forgotten about foods”, sometimes years/decade(s) later!
I have yet to actually try tempeh, but I’ve been trying to stay away from tofu. It doesn’t seem to have positive effects to my energy (darn hypothyroid) and I never did find many good uses for it. I’d rather try some fermented sources of soy (like tempeh) before I give up on it completely!
Give it a whirl!
We always have a boatload of condiments in the fridge and in the cupboards: jams, jellies, ketchup, mustard, veganaise, apple butter, etc. My kids eat all that on toast and muffins, biscuits and all their sandwiches, etc.
I used to love tofu but I guess I just got tired of it. One day, perhaps, I will add it back to my diet. I do, however, love me some steamed soymilk in my morning coffee. That is the best!
That fig butter looks awesome! I am going to TJs tomorrow…will scope it out! :-)
It’s good but don’t buy it unless you think you just have to have it…I’d buy the mango butter before the fig butter :)