meatless mondays

in today's episode we will be talking about the delicious plant based recipes in Lei Shishak's newest book: Easy Plant-Based Cooking for Two: Delicious Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Together. Lei is not fully vegan but in her transition to more plant based, mostly for health, she has created a work of culinary art that can help anyone who wants to eat more plants to enjoy the transition   in an easy, tasty and fun way! 

This episode is brought to you by Namawell, the Best cold press juicers on the planet with the revolutionary J2 being the most amazing Bulk juicing champion. To get your Nama juicer at a discount, use code CHANTAL10 for 10% off! www.namawell.com 

Lei recently released her new cookbook Easy Plant-Based Cooking for Two:Delicious Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Together on October 18, 2022.  In Easy Plant-Based Cooking for Two, chef LeI shares 80 extraordinarily delicious meat-free recipes for pairs. From morning beverages to baked goods, breakfast to lunch, mid-day snacks to sides, dinner to dessert, this book is a must-have for plant-forward enthusiasts, plant-based dieters, vegans, veg-curious, and anyone in between!

All 80 mouthwatering recipes are perfectly portioned for two but can also work for larger households where varied eating preferences often exist. Small-batch cooking isn’t complicated or restrictive. It cuts down on waste (and waist!) and leads to greater variety in meals. Get ready to start your small-batch, plant-based journey with recipes, including:

• Blackberry Thyme French Toast
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Mushroom PâtéenBaguette
• Sweet Potato Tacos
• Sesame Soba Bowl
• Stuffed Jerk Poblanos
• Chickpea Mulligatawny Soup
• Miso Green Beans
• Rye Raisin Scones
• Chocolate Layer Cake and more...

Easy Plant-Based Cooking for Two will help you make delicious sweet and savoury plant-based recipes in just the right quantities. 

So whether you’re newly married, flying solo, BFFs, roommates, empty-nesters, or one in a large crowd, get ready to say goodbye to endless leftovers and hello to a new, delicious plant-based dish every day.

About Lei 

Lei trained at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America)  in New York and holds a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. She began her career at notable food establishments in New York City and Sun Valley, Idaho and then went on to head pastry kitchens in Los Angeles and Orange County. 

Along the way,sheI founded Sugar Blossom Bake Shop in San Clemente, California, and has been featured in People, Riviera, Sunset, Los Angeles Daily News, OC Register, KTLA Morning News, and PBS.

Her greatest passion is writing cookbooks. Her first book, Beach House Baking: An Endless Summer of Delicious Desserts, was named a ‘Top 10 Summer Cookbook’ by USA Today. She also wrote Beach House Brunch: 100 Delicious Ways to Start Your Long Summer Days, Beach House Dinners: Simple, Summer-Inspired Recipes for Entertaining Year-Round, Farm-To-Table Desserts: 80 Seasonal Organic Recipes From Your Local Farmers’ Market, and  finally, the book we are discussing today, Easy Plant-Based Cooking for Two: Delicious Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Together.

Lei also works as a food editor at Dotdash Meredith’s Allrecipes.

Check out Lei's website https://leishishak.com 

& follow her on  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/leishishak/ 

Chipotle, the popular fast-casual restaurant, has unveiled a new plant-based chorizo offering in addition to new lifestyle bowls, and the go-to-market strategy is one that marketers for companies of all sizes can learn a lot from. 

First, the offering attaches itself to growing momentum around Meatless Mondays, which is clever from a PR and visibility standpoint. Second, the offering plays to the company's target demographic nicely. Third, it establishes a feedback loop to see the receptibility of the market to plant-based recipes. All important information for a marketer to use.

To learn more about Daggerfinn's employer branding and growth strategies practice, visit us at https://daggerfinn.com.

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. Feel free to pause, jump back, or navigate the steps via the podcast chapters (if you're in Apple Podcasts, swipe up on the episode player page—the podcast chapters will be at the bottom).  

If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today. Go ahead and grab the ingredients below (Murielle starts listing them at 2:03) before starting the episode.

Spicy Apricot-Glazed Tempeh

Serves 2

• 1 (8-ounce) package Lightlife Original Tempeh
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon apricot jam
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 fresh red chile, finely minced
• Tablespoon canola oil
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

1. Cut the tempeh into ½-inch cubes.
2. Set a steamer basket or a foldable steamer in a medium saucepan filled with 2 inches of water. Arrange the tempeh into an even layer in the steamer basket. Cover the saucepan with a lid and steam the tempeh on medium-high heat for 15 minutes.
3. Prepare the glaze: In a bowl or glass container, mix together the apricot jam, lime juice, tamari, ginger, and red chile using a silicone spatula.
4. If steaming the tempeh, remove it from the steamer basket and drop the tempeh into the apricot glaze mixture. Toss the tempeh until coated.
5. Cover the bowl with a plate. If using a glass container, put the lid on. Let the tempeh marinate for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours. If you choose to marinate your tempeh for more than 30 minutes, place it in the refrigerator.
6. After your desired marinating time has passed, heat canola oil in a medium or large sauté pan on medium heat. Once hot, drop the tempeh along with the apricot glaze into the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until there is no more sauce in the pan and your tempeh is golden-brown in color and charred in some places. Stir regularly through the cooking time using a silicone spatula.
7. Serve immediately with rice and your favorite vegetables, and garnish with sesame seeds.

Is activism on your mind, but you don't know where to start? Have you been thinking about giving back to your community, but feel thwarted because you are low on free time? Well, welcome to Teresa's favorite subject...ever! Today we discuss every which way you can get involved without a ton of effort or time! Teresa's hot tips will show you the way to becoming a five minute activist no matter your passion. Plus, our Fave Wave is a glowing example of how just a little bit a creativity can turn up the buzz on causes you care about. In this case, one small symbolic gesture put a big spot light on equal pay for women. #ladywave