balsamic basil glazed tempeh

last night's dinner was inspired by the need to make a dent in all those things in our cabinets. as i mentioned before, we're moving! to atlanta! in 7 weeks (not that i'm keeping track or anything)! and while i always try to be mindful of ingredients we already have and using them rather than buying bottles of new things it has now come to the point where it's more than that...it's no longer a little thought i keep in the back of my head, it's a challenge! and though i think it might be physically impossible to use up all of the oils and vinegars and beans and grains and god knows what else in the time we have left i'm going to do the best i can!

this moving business also means that we've been keeping very busy lately. gotta take advantage of our last weeks living out west which means lots of going out and weekend trips. and then there's the work that comes with moving plus regular work and certain nights require an easy, no fuss dinner. often on those nights i turn to my most favorite tempeh recipe, orange glazed tempeh from 101cookbooks. but this night i went a different route, with a different orange glazed tempeh in order to get that bottle of balsamic 1/4 cup closer to empty. and do something with the dried thai basil that has been neglected for so long. i found a recipe online a tweaked it a bit and decided to have an orange glazed tempeh showdown of sorts! so who won? the perfection that is 101cookbooks, duh. but that was to be expected, i mean, there's nothing to do to that recipe that would make it any better.

i would even say that the recipe i made is a different thing altogether. the balsamic and basil overpowered the orange so much that i wouldn't exactly call it orange glazed. it's balsamic basil tempeh, y'all!* and if it were to compete in that category i think it could be a contender. so, here i give you not-orange-glazed tempeh.

balsamic basil glazed tempeh
ingredients:
juice from 2 oranges (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
1/2 tablespoon dried thai basil

1 pack tempeh, sliced

place all ingredients (except tempeh) in a pan and heat. when it starts to boil add the tempeh slices and cook until the liquid has turned into a nice glaze, flipping the tempeh periodically.

*see, there are many ways in which to prepare my return to my southern roots.

-d