Barbecue Tempeh, Mushroom, and Bell Pepper Skewers (Recipe #154)

There are so many different ways to cook vegetables. I love roasting them, sauteeing them, and grilling them (amongst many other methods). I love the different flavor that you get when you grill vegetables. I was very excited to make the recipe for barbecue tempeh, mushroom, and bell pepper skewers from the Vegan for Everybody cookbook. I was a little disappointed in the recipe for the barbecue sauce, but overall, I did enjoy the meal.

I would also like to start by saying that I did not have access to a grill when it came time to make this recipe. Instead of following the cooking directions in the book, I used my oven. I preheated it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it came up to temperature, I turned my broiler on high and put trays of veggies into the oven. I made sure that each tray had a single layer so the broiler could begin to char every vegetable. I think this cooking method did well for a grill substitution, but I think these would have been even better on the grill.

For the recipe, I started by preparing a barbecue sauce made from ketchup, molasses, cider vinegar, and hot sauce. I prepared my vegetables and used a portion of the sauce that was mixed with water and oil to marinate the vegetables. I also placed the cubed tempeh in the marinade. I let that sit for about an hour before proceeding to put them in the oven.

I liked the flavor of the meal, but I liked the idea more. I would love to change the barbecue sauce recipe and prepare it like the cookbook suggests. I just felt that this barbecue sauce turned out tasting too much like ketchup. I felt that it needed to be balanced with more sweetness (maybe sugar, maple syrup, more molasses?).

Taste: Overall 8/10 (barbecue sauce 7/10)

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I would like to try cooking veggies over charcoal!