Vegetable Tempeh Stack

I’m loving life these days. I love what I study in school, I’m enjoying every long summer day and I am surrounded by inspiring people. It’s true, I should meditate more, I should really finish that stack of books I have on my desk and other minor things that make life not perfect and even more charming. Talking about stacks – I discovered that I love eating things placed on top of each other. This is what we had for lunch today on our sunny balcony:

Vegetable and Tempeh Stack (makes one stack but it’s quite consistent, one full meal for one person but two people can share it for a snack):

1 slice of whole wheat bread (mine is home-made with herbs and cumin)
4-5 thin heirloom eggplant rounds
6-7 zucchini rounds
2-3 tomato rounds
1 Tbsp pesto
3/4 cup tempeh
dried basil
dried oregano
salt to taste
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 sun dried tomato halves
5 leaves fresh basil

On medium heat, heat the coconut oil in a cast iron skillet add the eggplant rounds, add a little salt, sprinkle some basil and oregano on top and fry for one minute on each side. Remove and add on top of the slice of bread. DO the same with the zucchini and add the pesto on top of the zucchini (directly on the stack). Do the same thing with the tomatoes and the tempeh, adding some fresh basil in between them. Add the sun dried tomatoes on top of the whole stack and some fresh basil for garnish.

For the summer salad:

cubes of red and yellow tomatoes
one cucumber, cubed
3/4 cup watermelon, cubed
diced chives

On a bed of fresh basil leaves, arrange the cubed fruits (they are all fruits!), sprinkle with chives and drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.

Enjoy with a bottle of cider or rosé wine. I love this hard cider from Sunnybrook winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.