All by myself

Tempeh is a mystery to most people. Until Amita fell in love with it and the processes of making it, it was to me too. Last winter I spent a lot of time researching, experimenting, testing and writing.
Tempeh is a special food product, especially for vegans and vegetarians. It is an easily assimilated low fat protein that can help with weight loss and other health issues.
What I discovered was that it adapted to all sorts of recipes familiar to everyone. The texture of tempeh is meaty, chewy and satisfying and acts as a sponge to absorb any flavour and can be added as invisible protein boost for people wishing to gain weight or requiring high levels of nutrition during illness.
It's been another marathon battle with the computer with learning curves off the graph but I am happy to announce that my tempeh recipe book has wiggled its way into a pdf and is now available as an e book with full colour photographs.
For book information visit: http://www.nirala-naturally.com/.
For more on tempeh visit http://www.mrtempeh.com.au/.
Go on, have a look,
nirala

Self publishing or blowing your own trumpet!

What is it that makes time accelerate at this time of year? I nearly fainted when I saw a sign saying 'two weeks till Christmas.'I think that should have been until or 'til, but these signs are meant to annoy us.

The arrival of the tempeh book has sent me into an extra mad flurry of activity. Self publishing is a wonderful way to explore your creativity. For a reasonable sum, anyone can publish whatever they want providing they are prepared to learn some publishing basics. Free from the restrictions of publishers, editors and designers, Your creativity can be given free reign without the restrictions of publishers, editors, designers and deadlines.There is no one telling you what to do. What you don't get is a dedicated team of professionals who will keep you in line, check your spelling, keep the book within budget and most importantly promote it for you. There is a price for all that creative freedom.

Here I am, packing little bundles to present to retailers, posting emails to all my friends, negotiating web servers, links and other technical stuff I usually avoid.

Christmas panic lurks over my left shoulder and boxes of books over my right. The printers tell us that if you can break even on your first print run (get your money back), that is the sign of a successful self published book. I have let myself be a little proud of my first solo effort - here it is...

'Tempeh' gives you an overview of the history, nutritional value and the use of tempeh as well as recipes for every meal. Here is an Indonesian style recipe from the book that is quick and easy to prepare.

Sticky Tempeh

Halve this recipe if you intend to serve it as a side dish.

600g tempeh, cut into thin strips
2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp oil
2 brown shallots or 1 brown onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chillies, sliced
2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped finely
Pinch of shrimp paste (optional)
80gms palm sugar, chopped
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp tamarind pulp
Salt

Fry the tempeh using the first 2 Tbsp of oil, until brown and set aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the fry pan and sauté the garlic, chillies, ginger and shallots with the shrimp paste if used for 2 minutes.
Add the sugar, water and tamarind and continue to stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Return the tempeh to the pan and continue to cook, stirring gently until the sauce has reduced and caramelised.
Season with salt to taste.
Garnish with fresh chillies and serve with rice or as a side dish with ‘wet’ curries.

Eat well,


nirala

New beginnings

Our house has been in chaos for the last few weeks and there is no sign of it changing any time soon.

For the last few years, my partner has escaped the south west winter and headed to Indonesia. He has a great love for all things Indo, especially food and returns with new recipes, vanilla pods, candlenuts and wonderful curry pastes for me to play with.

I thought a new Indonesian cookbook would be a great present, inspiring him to cook on the days I am not here. It was to become a little more involved than that. A fabulous chapter on how to make tempeh sent him to the computer. Within days he had ordered the innoculant, checking first with customs that it was alright to import little packets of white powder from overseas.

Within weeks, an old freezer has been converted to heat rather than cool, organic, non GM soybeans have been sourced and a stall booked at the next growers market. A whirlwind of activity that included nervous 4 am checks on the beans, debates over the best type of bags, weights and labels to use. Experimenting with new recipes, we eat tempeh at nearly every meal while discussing transport and costings. He wakes early and lies in bed inventing a tempeh factory.

I should tell you that my man is a cabinet maker by trade. Food has always been my department. This has not stopped him wholeheartedly diving in head first to some thing new with renewed energy and enthusiasm.


It is this childlike curiosity in us that allows us to discover new horizons, that takes us beyond the boundaries of who we are and what we think we can achieve. It is this courage to go ahead and risk failure that results in something new. It is a sense of wonder and discovery we would all do well to remember.