Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Global Fusion

Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to making recipes. I have a HUGE recipe wish list - notes I've taken while reading cookbooks or flipping through foodie mags. Unfortunately, there's only one of me and though I'm a big eater, I can only take in so much.

That's why I'm just now getting around to making the Jamaican Curried Tempeh Tacos from the May 2008 issue of Veg Times:


These were totally worth the wait. Tempeh and onions are simmered in pineapple juice and seasoned with lime zest and cilantro. After piling the tempeh onto corn tortillas, I topped the tacos with chopped red pepper, mesclun mix, and chopped peanuts.

The recipe actually called for mustard greens instead of mesclun, but I didn't have any mustard greens. I also added salt even though the recipe didn't call for any.

In keeping with the fusion theme, I also made Mexican Millet from the Veganomicon:


This stuff is awesome! It reminds of the boxed Spanish rice, like Rice-a-Roni or Lipton Sides, that I lived on in college. Yet, it's made with healthier whole grains. I really should eat more millet.

On a side note, the millet called for jalapenos. I chopped one up, and when I sampled a piece of raw pepper, it was extraordinarily hot! Like the hottest jalepeno ever! After cooking into the millet, the hotness was masked a bit. But my fingers are still ON FIRE!!!! I cut the pepper at least six hours ago and they're burning just as badly as they were right after I cut into the pepper. Does anyone know a home remedy for this?

27 comments:

Unknown said...

did you remove the seeds from the pepper? I don't have a remedy for how icky your hands are feeling now, but definitely wear gloves next time? did you have cuts on your fingers prior to doing the chopping? you poor thing. :(

Anonymous said...

Ouch! My condolences. The only thing I can think of is maybe spread some olive oil on your hands and then rinse it off after a bit? Maybe the fat will cure the burn, kind of like with spicy food and the mouth. Or perhaps lotion of some kind. Ice might at least sort of numb it though. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Or peanut butter! Ok I'm just making things up now lol

Little Miss Sunshine said...

I'm definitely with you on the to-make list thingo ... I don't think I can EVER cross all the recipes of my list :0(

Nehoos onto your meals - all I can say is YUM YUM YUM!! Oh man, the Mexican Millet looks so YUMMY ... mmmmm .... awesome that I have a packet of millet in my pantry :0) Might make this tomorrow :oD

Anonymous said...

Everything looks delish. I love the idea of tempeh tacos. All I have been eating lately has been Mexican food. I used to love rice-a-roni spanish rice!

thedalyn said...

We had this problem recently as well--my hands burned for two days! Jalapenos are in season, so they're a bit fiery. Oil is the only thing that helps. I've gotten much better about wearing gloves since the last incident.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ahh, that's why I'm afraid to work with peppers - gotta be careful!! Hang in there, Bianca!!

Looove fusion cuisine!!

Anonymous said...

The only thing I can think to suggest is chilling a can of full-fat coconut milk & emptying into a bowl that you can submerge your hands into. The nourishing, full-fat milk is great for the skin & should be very cooling. Other than that, if you happen to have some clay sitting around then you could probably mix up some bentonite clay & lavender oil & just rub it all over your hands & let it dry...the bentonite is really good about drawing up impurities & lavender calms inflammation.
Oh & think cool thoughts, like cucumbers & ice cream.

Anonymous said...

You can try soaking your fingers in sugar water. Also, you should wear gloves when you work with peppers. The capsaicin in the pepper can burn for days. I once made a jalapeƱo vinegar on the stove. I wore gloves to work with the peppers and while I stirred the pot. However, the vapors from the vinegar got into my pores somehow and even burned my lips. Let's just say that I learned my lesson. My condolences on the pain. Hope it gets better soon.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Oh my gosh, just whatever you do, keep your fingers away from your eyes, girl!!! (Haha, dumb advice, as I'm sure you wouldn't do this!)

jessy said...

oh man, i don't have a remedy for fingers of fire! eek! i wish i did! my dumb ass always manages to some how touch my freak'n EYE when i have finger 'o fire. that stinks!

i have never had millet before - that looks sooooo good! and the tempeh tacos look super stellar!

i know what you mean about have'n a bunch of recipe wish lists. i've got file folders full of all the stuff i print out - i think i'm back logged for about a year! ahahahaha. awesome!

cheers to mucho delicious foods, Bianca - as always, yours looks super fantastical! :D

J said...

Mmmm. I should eat more millet too, I even have some lurking in my cabinet, but I always forget about it.

About the peppers, this is an experience I've had far too many times to count. I recommend wearing gloves if you are going to dealing with a large amount of peppers. But I don't always listen to my own advice and don't want to waste a pair of gloves to cut up just a couple of peppers. If the burning gets too bad, you can try putting your hands in some veggie oil, it's a little gross, but it works. The fat breaks down the capsicum which is what burns you.

urban vegan said...

So many recipes, so little time. Hope the pepper sting has lessened by now!

Anonymous said...

I was going to give you the same advice as Chocolate Covered Vegan! About 10 years ago I did chop a jalapeno and then wipe my eyes. I was blind! (well, for a few minutes anyway).

Tempeh and curry go so well together. Those tacos look awesome!

I hope your fingers are feeling better!

Alicia said...

I guess you have your fingers dipped in oil already ;-) Good luck with it! Can you believe I've never had millet? Gotta change that!

Erin said...

I've been wanting to try the Mexican Millet for so long! Like you, I have tons of recipes I want to try and not enough time to get to them all.

Vegan_Noodle said...

Try rubbing alcohol to help with the burning. I know that kind of pain... Ouch!
And now you've reminded me that I bookmarked those tacos too! They look very tasty.

LK Sisters said...

Curried tempeh tacos and millet sound so good!! Beautiful photos too.

Anonymous said...

i heard from a professional pepper doctor that you should eat lots of ice cream and send some of those tacos to me. apparently that helps with burning fingers...

yep. i also had a mental note to make those tacos, and yours look like the perfect summer meal!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I love the Mexican Millet! And those tacos look good - one of my fellow grad students gave me a sheet of home made tempeh(!!), so now I'm looking for good tempeh recipes.

Me said...

The Mexican Millet is on my giant list of recipes to try too - I even bought the millet, months ago. Looks great! Hope your fingers get better soon!

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

Your tacos look awesome! I think I could eat tacos every other day. And I agree with the oil remedy. Hope it works!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I've always heard that drinking milk and eating ice cream (the combo of milk and sugar) help relieve the burn from capsacin, so maybe submerging your hand in sweetened soy milk would help? I'm no expert, though! I liked the suggestion about submerging your hand in cold coconut milk that someone else mentioned.

Anonymous said...

Now that you've said the Mexican Millet tastes like Rice-a-Roni, I have to try it!

Marisa L. S. said...

Your tacos look delicious. I have to try that Millet from VCon. Have you tried the baja tempeh tacos from VCOn yet? They rock!

Veggie said...

Oh, that sounds so good. I've been thinking about trying that Mexican Millet too. My recipes to try list is huge, I'll never get to them all in this lifetime.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully they've stopped burning at this point. But, as a lover of pepper spice, the best known cure I've found is yogurt...with lactose. I know it's non-vegan, but it does soothe the heat and remove it from your skin cells...water just moves the heat around and fat just makes it stick to your skin more.