In college I attended a school in a small college town called Clemson. I was vegetarian or vegan for almost the entirety of my college career, and in small college towns, there were very few offerings in the way of vegan or vegetarian food.

So, I had to learn to cook for myself! I obtained a cookbook, called “The Student’s Go Vegan Cookbook” by Carole Raymond, and it saved my life and also taught me how to cook… on a budget. It’s only appropriate that the first recipe on this blog is a modified recipe from the cookbook (and it’s not vegan, unless you don’t add the healthy sour cream).

This was one of my favorite recipes, because it took so little time to prepare and required very little effort on my end. Now that I have more experience under my belt, I have learned to modify and make it fit my taste a bit better, but it’s still close to the original.

Ingredients

Tempeh

• 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp. salsa
• 4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 4 tsp. chili powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• Frank’s Red Hot, or other hot sauce of your choice, to taste
• 8 oz. tempeh, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Healthy “Sour Cream”

• 1 cup plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice

Condiments/Other

• Fresh cilantro
• Lettuce of your choice
• Tomatoes
• Avocado or Guacamole
• Tortillas

Directions

Mix the tempeh ingredients together in a shallow bowl using 3 tbsp. of the olive oil, and coat tempeh evenly. Let tempeh marinade for about an hour, stirring every so often.

Heat skillet on medium-high. Once heated, coat the skillet with the remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil.* Once olive oil is hot, add the marinated tempeh and let it cook for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Set aside.

Combine the Greek yogurt with the lemon or lime juice. Stir to combine. Set aside. You now have your healthy sour cream!

Warm tortillas and then add the cooked tempeh, sour cream, and whatever other condiments you desire.

* By first allowing the skillet to heat, and then adding the olive oil and allowing the olive oil to heat, we are preventing sticking to the pan.