Turkey Trot to the Thanksgiving Table for WOTV 4 Women

Ingredients available at
D&W Fresh Market

What a great way to kick off Thanksgiving Day; saying thanks to your body by giving it a 4-6 mile spin. Plus, running is meditation to me. Where ever I run on Thanksgiving Day, be it the Turkey Trot in Detroit, the Gobble Wobble in East Grand Rapids, or running alone in Key Largo or Onekama, you bet I’m giving thanks for all of my blessings while I’m huffin’ and puffin’ down the road. This tradition started 26 years ago when a friend asked me to run my first 10K and now that our kids are old enough, our whole family runs together. And, for that I am grateful.

Also, being plant-based for 21 years, I’ve enjoyed creating many plant-powered main courses for our Thanksgiving table. Today, I’m sharing with you one of my all time favorites, Baked Tempeh with Cranberry Apple Chutney.

Tempeh is a fermented soy product that has great texture and is packed with protein! The flavors in this chutney are sure not to disappoint. The cranberries ring in holiday cheer but can be substituted with raspberries in the summer months.

Chutney is a term for a class of spicy preparations used as an accompaniment for a main dish. Chutneys usually contain an idiosyncratic spice and vegetable mix that complement one another.

There, now you don’t need to be intimidated by the recipe name.

Warning: Because a plant-powered Thanksgiving will NOT leave you tired, you may be the only one awake to clean up the dishes!

Baked Tempeh with Cranberry Apple Chutney
(v/gf)
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 Pkgs. Tempeh (8 oz each)
1 Bag Cranberries
1 T Coconut oil
2 Onions, medium sized, chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, medium sized, chopped
2 T Ginger, peeled & minced
2 t Cardamom
1/3 C Agave
1/2 C Orange juice
2 T Cider vinegar
1 C Red cabbage, chopped
3 T Green onions, chopped fine
2 T Orange zest *reserve 1/2 for garnish
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper, freshly cracked

Preparation: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut each brick of tempeh in half, then cut each half into 3 pie shape wedges, for a total of 12 pieces. Place tempeh on glass baking dish and place in oven until heated thoroughly. While tempeh bakes, melt coconut oil in a saute pan. Add cranberries, onions, and apples, and do not over stir. When onions and apples have softened add ginger and cardamom until heated. Add agave and 1/2 of orange zest toss in the red cabbage for one minute to heat, do not over stir. Salt to taste. Spoon chutney onto a dish and place two tempeh wedges on each plate, over lapping the pieces. Garnish with green onion, the remaining zest, and freshly cracked black pepper.

All ingredients are available at D&W Fresh Market.

Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.