Why must I be so incredibly thoughtful?

It’s really throwing a giant wrench smackdab in the middle of my bank account.

It’s been my new year’s resolution every year since I can remember that I’m going to be more thoughtful. No longer will I yell “My presence is your present!” at my family when it’s my turn to pass out Christmas gifts.

So this Christmas, I’ve done something I’ve never done before – purchased real gifts! Not just grab a bottle of wine on the way to the party or craft a last minute coupon book like a 7-year-old, I actually, like, went to stores and perused shelves for things I thought my humans might enjoy. There’s a lot of stuff out there when you aren’t totally self-centered and a major cheap-o! Soon, though, it became an addiction. If I left a store empty handed, I would curse the proprietor for not having equal parts useful and humorous gift options at a sensible price. I felt so defeated the other day after not checking everything off my list, I pouted and cried the rest of the evening.

I’ve really mastered the “reason for the season” thing.

 

 

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini, spiralized
• 2 beets, peeled + spiralized or shredded
• 1 cup of matchstick carrots or 2 carrots, peeled + shreeded
• 1 cup of snap peas
• 1 package of tempeh, cubed
• 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed + drained
• 1/2 cup of sesame miso
• 2 tbsp. of fresh ginger, minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp. of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. of rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. of toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• S+P, to taste
• Cilantro, for serving

How to:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a bowl, combine half of the miso + half the ginger + juice of 1/2 the lime + half the soy sauce + half the rice vinegar + half the toasted sesame oil + 1/4 cup of the olive oil, whisk well
• Add tempeh to the dressing + coat, marinate 10 minutes
• Meanwhile, mix up the other half of the dressing ingredients, set aside
• On a lined baking sheet, spread chickpeas into an even layer
• Drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + some S+P, bake 20-25 minutes, tossing once in the middle of cooking
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
• Add marinated tempeh, cook for 6-8 minutes, browning on all sides
• Remove from pan + add snap peas, cook 3-4 minutes, remove
• To serve, combine all veggie noodles in a bowl with tempeh + chickpeas + snap peas + cilantro + toss with dressing
• Crunch + slurp on your noodles while simultaneously rocking around your Christmas tree

 

Dressing adapted from here!