Dr. Cow and Barry’s Tempeh come to BFC!

This month the BFC buying club is adding two awesome new Brooklyn-based small kitchens, Dr. Cow and Barry’s Tempeh.

Dr. Cow makes the artisanal hard aged cashew cheese that has taken New York by storm, ending up on celebrity plates in such well-respected restaurants as Blossom and Cocoa V.

Dr. Cow’s cheeses are all natural, raw, organic, soy and gluten free and vegan. No funny ingredients on the label like a lot of “fake cheeses”, Dr. Cow is made using traditional cheese-making techniques but with nuts instead of milk. The ingredients list: Cashew nuts, acidophilus & himalayan pink salt. Thats it!

The cheeses are packed full of protein, probiotics, vitamins and minerals. They are naturally cholesterol free and low in fat, sodium and calories.

For this week’s buying club we will be trying the cream cheese (Philadelphia style) as well as the plain aged cashew, the aged cashew and brazil nut (a great source of cancer-fighting selenium), aged cashew and hemp seed and aged cashew and blue-green algae made with Crystal Manna grown wild in the spring-fed pristine waters of Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon.

Perfect for a cheese plate, crackers or a bagel these cheeses are also delicious just on their own. They also make great gifts!

Barry’s Tempeh will making us small batches of handmade tempeh using all natural beans and grains from local Cayuga Organics. For our next buying club Barry will be making a traditional organic soy tempeh as well as his favorite, a sprouted oat, sprouted barley, soy combination. He also makes a split pea tempeh that is totally soy-free!

For those who are unfamiliar, tempeh is an incredibly healthy traditional Indonesian fermented bean and grain product brimming with good-for-your-belly probiotcs. It has a dense meaty texture and soaks up flavors marvelously. Tempeh is best cooked in a broth or lightly steamed before being pan fried. It is fantastic as a sandwich filling, in a stir fry or curry, or marinated and grilled.

Here is one of my fave, everyday tempeh recipes to try out:

Heather’s Simple TLT Sandwich

Ingredients:

• Tempeh
• Bread
• Oil
• Soy sauce, Tamari or Braggs
• Curry powder (or other spice of your choosing)
• Avocado
• Lettuce
• Tomato

1. Cut the tempeh into 4 equal sized pieces (approx 1.5 inches x 4 inches each, depending on the tempeh size). Lightly steam by bringing a pot of water to boil on the stove, adding tempeh and boiling for 3 minutes. Let the tempeh cool a bit and slice into bite size fingers, about 1/4 inch thick x 1.5 inches long.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet to medium with a splash of oil. When it is hot add the tempeh slices.
3. While the tempeh fries toast your bread.
4. When tempeh is brown on one side flip and brown on the other side as well.
5. Spread ripe avocado on each slice of bread to make a creamy filling. I often add a dash of salt, pepper and hot sauce as well.
6. Add a teaspoon of curry powder to the tempeh and more oil if it is sticking. Coat each tempeh bite with a bit of curry. When the curry is getting toasty splash it all with a bit of soy sauce and immediately cover with a lid. Let it cook for about a minute.
7. Add tempeh to your sandwich, followed by lettuce and tomato. Makes about 4 sandwiches. Yum!