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Vegan Picadillo

What the heck is picadillo, you ask? No it's not the prehistoric-looking creature you've probably seen at a zoo silly...that's an armadillo! Besides, how would that be vegan?

Picadillo is a traditional Cuban dish made with ground beef, lots of aromatic herbs and spices, and olives and raisins, giving it that irresistable sweet-salty combo. I'm recreated it here using tempeh instead of meat.

I love using crumbled tempeh in place of ground meat, it is so versatile, healthy and yummy. Last time I made a dish this way, Adam said, "Yum, I love chicken!" before I told him what it was. Ha ha!

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, minced (I did this in food processor)
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
350-400g package organic tempeh, crumbled (I pulse it in food processor)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves (optional)
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Spanish green olives, pitted and sliced (can use pimento stuffed from jar, but marinated ones are better!)
1/2 cup raisins
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

Set large skillet or pan over medium heat and saute veggies in oil until softened. Add crumbled tempeh and spices and cook for another few minutes. Pour in vinegar, and add olives and raisins, cook for another few minutes. Turn heat down to low, add crushed tomatoes and simmer until ready to serve. Remove bay leaves if using. Serve over brown rice or quinoa. Makes 4-6 servings. Freezes well.

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