Orange Glazed Tempeh with Sesame Chard

After seeing so many random pins for orange glazed chicken show up in my newsfeed on Pinterest (why am I seeing so much meat on there recently?), I couldn’t get the thought of sweet and savory coating outta my head. There aren’t many vegan foods to “glaze” (if there are and I don’t know of them, please share!) and tempeh was the only one I could realistically imagine coating with a sticky sauce. Shelling out $4 for a teeny organic jar of orange spread was definitely worth the minor splurge for this dish, but you can expect to see a lot of homemade fruit jam and preserve recipes from me this summer. Other than that added purchase, this meal costs next to nothing. Between the rice (which probably costs, like, 50 cents) and the tempeh (a whopping $2!) make this a poor girl’s dream. And I am pretty broke right about now, which makes this even more fitting.

2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

2 cups chopped chard

1 8 oz package tempeh, cubed

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup organic orange juice

1/4 cup organic orange fruit spread

2 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp for cooking

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Half a bunch green onions, topped for garnish

• In a frying pan over medium heat, cook cubed tempeh in 1 tbsp olive oil for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown
• Meanwhile, whisk together orange juice, orange spread, maple syrup, 2 tbsp olive oil, sea salt and coriander
• When tempeh is cooked, pour orange sauce over tempeh and bring to high heat
• When sauce is bubbling a lot, lower to simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until sauce is absorbed by tempeh completely, and then remove from heat
• Then, cook the chard and ginger in a frying pan over medium heat in 1 tbsp oil and soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes
• Add sesame seeds and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed
• Top the rice with chard, tempeh and green onions and serve