Ah, lunch. Each week, when I make out my grocery list, I always seem to hit a wall when trying to come up with lunch items. I can quickly pull together dinner ideas, no problem. But lunch? Not so much.
You see, my husband doesn’t always have access to a microwave, so I have to stick to cold lunch items. Sure, I could always go the easy route and do peanut butter and jelly, but you can’t do that every week. And besides, I’m not really a fan of the PB & J (that officially makes me weird, I know). I also want to make sure lunch is nutritious, so I don’t want to depend on fake sandwich meats. I do have a recipe for a killer eggless egg salad, which I’ll post on here at some point, but we were both tired of that.
So I was looking for vegan sandwich ideas on the Interwebs when I came across this recipe on the Whole Foods website. I’m a big fan of tempeh, and this recipe for Apple and Tempeh Sandwiches looked delicious, and received good reviews on their site.
The original recipe isn’t vegan because it calls for honey, so I substituted agave nectar and it worked out just fine. And instead of honey mustard, I mixed in a little agave with Dijon mustard to sweeten it a bit. You do have to allow yourself some time for it to bake. I made mine the night before and it still tasted delicious the next day. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Apple and Tempeh Sandwiches
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package tempeh, halved lengthwise, then crosswise to make 4 squares
1 small Fuji, Braeburn or Gala apple, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tamari
1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Black pepper to taste
4 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
Dijon mustard with a little agave nectar mixed into it
4 large leaves green leaf lettuce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange tempeh in an 8-inch-square baking dish in a single layer. Scatter apple slices over the top; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together juice, oil, vinegar, tamari, agave nectar, cumin and pepper, then pour the mixture over the tempeh and apples. Bake until most of the liquid is absorbed, tempeh is golden brown around the edges and apples are soft and caramelized, 40 to 45 minutes. Set aside to let tempeh cool slightly.
Spread one side of each slice of bread with a bit of mustard then top with a piece of lettuce and a piece of tempeh, with the baked apples arranged over the top. Serve.
If you have any delicious lunch ideas, I’d love to hear them. I could definitely use some new recipes!
i have a “not tuna salad” sandwich filling recipe that you probably saw on my blog. i also have a yummy cold orzo bean salad recipe that you just reminded i needed to put up! i’m still not a big fan of tempeh (yet). i guess i just have to find the right recipe for it.
~wendy
http://conradvisionquest.wordpress.com/
Yes, please post that cold orzo bean salad!! That sounds wonderful. And I’ll definitely try the “not tuna salad.”
It took me a while to get used to tempeh, too. I like this recipe because it really soaks up the marinade, which gives it tons of flavor.
Amanda
I have a ton of lunch ideas at my site. Two of the links (“sandwiches…”, and “more sandwiches”) have a multitude of recipes, and I don’t think any require reheating.
http://expandingcircle.wordpress.com/lunch/
Excellent! I already see a few I’d like to try:)