We had a hankerin’ for a philly cheese steak & fries; but, since I don’t eat steak, we thought it’d be fun to try this with tempeh instead. Also we usually just buy the frozen, bagged fries at the grocery store, but we figured it probably wouldn’t be all that hard to make these ourselves with fresh potatoes & bake them so that they’d be healthier. So, based on some other recipes we’d perused for this sort of thing & with Ryan’s kitchen wizardry thrown in, this is what we came up with…

Tempeh Philly Ingredients:
marinade (recipe below)
olive oil or Earth Balance organic buttery spread (enough to saute veggies)
1 bell pepper (we used green), cut into strips (think fajitas)
1 small to medium size onion (we used purple), cut into thin strips (think fajitas)
1 package tempeh, sliced thin
provolone (optional; we used mozzarella because it’s what we had on hand)
hoagie bread of your choice (we used a white, french baguette)

For the marinade:
1/2 cup + 1 tsp soy sauce (we use Tamari)
2 tbsp sake
1 tbsp + 1 tsp honey
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4+ tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

Directions:
Marinade the tempeh for 30+ minutes (until it’s soaked up most of the marinade). In a pan over medium heat, heat about 1 tbsp olive oil/Earth Balance. Add bell pepper & onion to pan & saute for about 5 minutes or until they start to caramelize. Add tempeh & cook it through. Place tempeh philly mix on bread & top with cheese (we actually put our cheese on the bottom, before the philly mix – that way it melts well & helps to hold the bread together), if you like, salt & pepper to taste & enjoy! Note: This recipe is mostly vegan & you could leave out the cheese or use vegan cheese instead of course.

Oven Baked Fry Ingredients:
Russet potatoes (quantity is up to you), cut into 1/4 strips
Olive oil (enough to thinly coat potatoes)
Sea salt (to taste)
Coarse ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions:
Cut potatoes into 1/4 strips & place in bowl. Add olive oil & toss. Place potatoes on baking sheet (we used aluminum foil on the baking sheet to keep them from sticking) & top with ground sea salt & coarse ground black pepper to taste & then toss once more; you could easily add additional seasonings or fresh herbs (rosemary or thyme would be nice) to these to spice them up a bit. Bake in oven at 450 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until cooked to your taste. Enjoy!

Note: if you happen to be Ryan’s taste twin with a fear and dislike for vinegar, don’t worry you can’t taste the balsamic vinegar at all.