Spicy Cranberry BBQ Tempeh

I realized the other day that I had a couple of bags of fresh-frozen cranberries that my mom sent home with me. I pulled one out to defrost and was planning on making some dried cranberries. As I let them defrost something else popped into my head... and I had a new mission.




I recently was  craving some BBQ sauce since I haven't had any in months. I didn't remember seeing any at the health food store I normally go to. Our Publix here has a pretty decent selection of organic foods, but I couldn't find any organic BBQ sauce, or even any natural type that I could consider splurging on. The first ingredient on about every bottle I looked at, was high fructose corn syrup. No thanks!! I decided that I would probably have to make my own, so that I did!

I styled this after one of my favorites, Ancho Cherry BBQ sauce, but with cranberries instead. Anyhow, I am pretty happy with the results! It is a sweet and spicy sauce, just how I like it! As far as spicy goes, this is about a "medium". I tend to like things a little bit spicier, but I wanted to make this edible for the other people around here!

This recipe was made with things I already had in stock. Next time, if I actually plan to make this, I would buy a blend of different peppers to add to the mix and use some fresh tomatoes. But I am quite happy with how this came out regardless! The great thing about this sauce is that there are no starchy thickeners, minimal oil, no refined sugars, no artificial anything, just simple veggies, herbs and some real natural flavorings.


Spicy Cranberry BBQ Sauce:
1 tbsp sesame oil (or any heat tolerant oil)
1 medium onion sliced
4-5 garlic cloves sliced
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 bag fresh cranberries (cherries would be good also)
1 large dried chili pepper ground (or you can use any fresh hot peppers you'd like)
1/4 cup gluten free tamari or braggs liquid aminos
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup real grade b maple syrup
1 small can of tomato paste
2 cups water (more or less as needed)
1 tbsp smoked paprika (regular is fine too)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ground clove

Pan-Fried Tempeh:
1 block of organic tempeh
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp gluten free tamari
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste

Directions:
For the sauce, saute the onion and garlic in the sesame oil till they start to soften, add the peppers and cranberries and continue to saute about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water to keep from scorching as needed. Add the remainder of the sauce ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer the sauce for about 20-30 minutes stirring frequently. You may want to add more water as it simmers since it will start to get thicker. Turn off the heat and let it cool for about ten minutes. Put the sauce into a high speed blender and puree till it is smooth. Use and store the extra in the fridge. Fills about three pint size mason jars.

For the Tempeh:
Slice the tempeh into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Brown it in the sesame oil and tamari. Sprinkle with a little garlic and onion powder. After browning add the bbq sauce and serve on bread or in a lettuce wrap with your favorite sandwich toppings for a bbq sandwich! I had mine in some large romaine leaves with avocado, tomato, red onion and a bit of cilantro.

Tempeh is a fermented soy product. I recommend only ever eating organic tempeh. As a rule I do not eat a lot of soy products, I feel there are much better sources to get my protein. But once in a while to change things up, I will enjoy some. You could also substitute tofu for another meat free option. Again, I highly recommend keeping it organic since soy is one of the most GMO'd products on the market.