Vegan Tempeh Tex-Mex Noodles

I'll start off with admitting that the photo of this meal doesn't look all that awesome, but really it was pretty darn good.  I found this recipe via my Whole Foods iPhone application (see? told you I was an app addict!).  I still had another package of tempeh left over from when we first tried this new (to us) product, and although it didn't go over really well the first time, I had to give tempeh another chance. As mentioned, this recipe is from Whole Foods, I'm very sad to report that there is not one in our area (but I had to have the app).

There are a lot of ingredients in this meal, but it was really easy to prepare.  I left out the brown rice syrup because, as mentioned in my post about my homemade Clif Bars, I still can't find this product at any of our local grocery stores.  The tempeh use in this recipe was a little different than our previous experience as it got more cooking time with the other ingredients, so I think that helped it take on more complex flavors.  I liked the browning time that it got in the skillet and that definately assisted in adding flavor.  I had never made a pasta dish before where you cook the pasta in the entire dish - I've always cooked it seperate and mixed - so I was a bit nervous about this one.  There were a few of the noodles (we used ziti) that came out a bit crunchy on the sides, but overall, most of the pasta was cooked through.  I would vote this one as a success.

Dan said that he liked this dish, but neither of us were in love with it; and he also thought the tempeh was better suited in this dish as opposed to the previous use in the Tempeh Tomato soup.  The green chilies are the predominate flavor throughout the dish and I found that I liked it better once I added a little pepper.  I'm glad that we gave this another shot, but I still don't think tempeh will be a product that we use regularly.  Go ahead and try it out for yourself, if you haven't already, and let me know what you think about tempeh.  Or, if you have any recipes that include tempeh that you are a fan of, let me know... would be game to try again.