Pasta Salad with Tempeh and Peanut Sauce

 
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 (8 oz) block of tempeh, crumbled
1 large carrot, julienned
1/2 cup broccoli (fresh out….I used edamame)
1/2 cup of sliced white mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
8 oz whole wheat pasta

6 tablespoons of unsalted peanut butter
2 tablespoons of liquid aminos (soy sauce is fine)

2 tablespoon agave nectar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tsp grated fresh ginger

Prep:
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in skillet over high heat. Fry tempeh until crispy, about 10 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch vegetables for about 30 seconds.  Rinse and drain under cold water and set aside.
Cook pasta according to box. Drain and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients (water, peanut butter, remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, agave nectar, vinegar, and ginger).  Make More.  Trust me.  I LOVE this sauce, and the pasta will suck it up.  You will need more for leftovers.  If I wasn’t concerned about the chubbo factor in the peanut butter, I would eat it by the spoonful.
Toss it all together.

By the way, if you  haven’t tried tempeh, its an amazing protein choice.  I ended up using another recipe from this book for tempeh skewers.  Add in a few grape tomatoes, zucchini slices, grill it, and top it off with some delicious vinegar Carolina barbeque sauce.