comfort food.

The stars are out. The night is crisp and clear.
But, it. is. cold!

These winter-y conditions call for warmth from the inside out.

Step one. Build a fire.
Step two. Sip a malty winter ale (a.k.a Boundary Bay's Cabin Fever; Jubileale, Iron Horse Brewery's Cozy Sweater....) while nibbling on cheese.
Step three. Make a delicious and hearty meal.
Step four. Digest by the fire and cuddle with someone warmer than yourself (Justin or our cat, Scott, both do the trick for me).

As for the hearty meal...well, we have a standby hearty meal around here--the tempeh "reuben". Almost six years ago, back when Justin and I started hanging out, we were both vegetarians. On a chilly winter evening, Justin made this hearty, gooey, hot sandwich for me. I melted for the sandwich and the chef. Now, we have access to great local meat and enjoy it quite regularly, but I wouldn't switch out the tempeh in this reuben for anything. Although, most recently, we enjoyed our reubens with a side of Nash's brussel sprouts sauted with delicious Clark Farm BACON!

Warm it up.

Tempeh Reuben

1 block of tempeh
soy sauce
4 slices of crusty bread
sharp cheddar or nutty Swiss cheese
sauerkraut
Annie's Goddess Salad Dressing
spicy mustard

1. Slice tempeh into 1/4 in. slices and marinate in soy sauce for 10 minutes. Then, melt a TBS. of butter in a cast iron skillet at medium heat.
2. Brown tempeh slices on both sides. While browning the second side, place sliced cheese on tempeh to melt.
3. Spread a hearty amount of spicy mustard on all 4 slices of bread. Transfer tempeh slices to bread--distributing evening. Top tempeh and bread with a heap of kraut and 1-2 TBS. of Goddess Dressing.
4. Put open-faced sandwiches on a cookie sheet and broil until dressing bubbles. Enjoy the warmth!