Baked Chickpea Tofu with Creamy Tomato Sauce

January 23, 2015 / ktbuchs87

While I don’t eat meat, I don’t really eat that many soy products either. I am a huge fan of tempeh and miso because they are fermented soy and have healthy probiotics, but other than that I don’t eat soy. I like to make as much of my food as possible, because then I can control the ingredients and it is a lot cheaper. So when I started seeing things about chickpea tofu, I was intrigued.

I love chickpeas in all their forms and had seen a lot of things made with chickpea flour but I could never find it any stores near me. The other day as I was wandering the aisles of my grocery store (yes, I like to just stroll through the grocery store. I know that’s weird, but I’m weird so it’s all good) I spotted chickpea flour for about $2. I snapped it up and immediately started thinking of things that I could make. This chickpea tofu was one of the easiest and most versatile dishes, so I started there.

Not only is it easy to make it can function in pretty much the exact same way as regular soy tofu. I’m still experimenting with a few different ways to use chickpea tofu, but I wanted to start sharing it with you. I love the flavor of the tofu and you can season it in any way that you want and it will absorb those flavors. It might look like this recipe will take forever to make, but once the tofu is done it’s really just a matter of putting everything together.

Enough talking let’s get onto the food!

Baked Chickpea Tofu with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Chickpea tofu- There are a few methods out there, but this is the one that worked the best for me.

1 cup chickpea flour
3 cups water, divided
1-2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, turmeric, and 1 cup of water. Whisk until smooth.

2. In a medium saucepan bring the remaining two cups of water to a boil. While your water is heating up, lightly oil an 8 x 8 baking dish and set aside

3. Whisk the chickpea mixture into the boiling water making sure there are no lumps. Lower heat and keep whisking the chickpea mixture for about 8 to 10 minutes until it’s thick and glossy.

4. Pour the chickpea mixture into the oiled pan and let cool on the counter. Once cool, keep in the fridge until you are ready to use.

Baked Tofu and Creamy Tomato Sauce

Chickpea Tofu
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp italian seasonings
pepper to taste
1 batch of my tomato sauce, or a jar of your favorite sauce
1 cup full fat coconut milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 and take your chickpea tofu out of the fridge and remove from baking dish. If you used enough oil it should slide out easily. Blot the bottom of the tofu with a paper towel to absorb some of the excess water. Cut tofu into bite size cubes and place in a bowl

2. Line a baking dish with a Silpat or parchment paper. Drizzle a little olive oil over tofu and sprinkle with the seasonings. Shake the bowl to cover the tofu with the oil and seasonings and then spread in an even layer on baking dish.

3. Bake for 25 minutes. While tofu is baking, heat tomato sauce in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. When it is just simmering, stir in 1 cup of coconut milk. Heat through and then cover and turn off heat.

4. Remove tofu from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Plate the tofu and pour the tomato sauce over and enjoy!

It does seem like there are a lot of steps to this meal, but if you prepare the tofu ahead of time then this meal is a simple fix. I made this on a Monday night and it was a perfect meal on a chilly night. Warm, filling, and tasty!

I’m going to be bringing you some more chickpea tofu/flour recipes over the next few weeks, but with the super bowl next weekend I have a special treat for you! My balsamic cauliflower bites are amazing and sure to be a hit at your party!

Have a great Friday and an awesome weekend everyone!

Tomato Sauce

January 22, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

This is my go to sauce. I make it large batches so that I have some on hand when I need a tasty and healthy tomato sauce!

Tomato Sauce

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp basil
1-2 tsp fennel seeds
1 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (I use no salt added)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
vegetable broth or water
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat saute onions until soft and translucent. Add in half your minced garlic and saute another minute.

2. Add in oregano, basil, and fennel and stir to combine. Then add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and stir to combine. Using a potato masher, mash the sauce a little to crush the diced tomato chunks. Depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce add in a little or a lot of broth or water. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste

3. Bring the sauce to a boil and lower to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

You can either use this right away or cool completely and store in clean jars in your fridge. Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered PB Balls

January 16, 2015 / ktbuchs87

When I was younger, my sister, mom, and I would spend most of our summer days at the park district pool. My sister and I would play in the pool all day while my mom would read by the side of the pool. Our park district pool was actually really awesome. It had slides, diving boards, drop slides, waterfalls, sprinklers, and a sand pit. Needless to say it was hours of fun and we would play to exhaustion. Like most pools there was a mandatory break every hour where everyone had to get out of the pool for 15 minutes. During this time we would eat the snacks that my mom brought along. She had frozen grapes, pretzels, and peanut butter balls. Those peanut butter balls were awesome. They were sweet, bite size, and provided more energy to play in the sun all day long.

I haven’t had those peanut butter balls in a really long time, but I thought about turning them into a dessert for the holidays. All I did was tweak a few of the ingredients and then obviously I had to dip them in chocolate to make them even better than before.

These were a hit and they are a great little treat to keep on hand for when you need something a little sweet. While the ingredients are healthier than say a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, this is still a treat. So try not to shove five in your face at once. Not like I’ve done that….

Chocolate Covered PB Balls

Peanut Butter Balls

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup oat flour (grind regular oats until you have a fine powder)
1/4 tsp salt (less if your peanut butter has salt)

Chocolate Covering

1 bar of 100% Cacao baking chocolate
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil

1. In a large bowl mix together peanut butter, maple syrup, salt and honey. Slowly add in the oat flour until you have a dough. You might not use the full 1/2 cup or you might need more.

2. Using a tablespoon, scoop out some peanut butter dough and roll into balls. Place onto a baking sheet lined with foil. Once you have used all the dough, place the baking sheet into the freezer.

3. Either using a double broiler or a microwaveable bowl, melt the baking chocolate. Before adding the maple syrup, make sure it is room temperature. If you add it in cold, the chocolate will seize up and you will have a clumpy mess (trust me, not fun). Add in room temperature syrup and oil and stir to combine.

4. Remove peanut butter balls from the freezer. Using a fork, dunk the balls into the chocolate covering and place back on the baking sheet. If you want to make them fancy, you can sprinkle with sea salt, crushed peanuts or other nut. Once you are done place the peanut butter balls back into the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Keep these in a container in either the freezer or refrigerator until you’re ready to eat. If you’re a huge fan of the pb/chocolate combo then these are going to be your new favorite thing. I think that I might have to keep them on hand at all times…..

What is your favorite flavor combo?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Keep It Simple Series: Building Your Healthy Pantry

January 14, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Hello and welcome to the first part in my keep it simple series! Also welcome to my very first video. I won’t lie and say that I’m not nervous about this whole endeavor, but I am excited to add a new dimension to my blog. I hope that is able to connect me better with my readers.

Today’s video is about building up your healthy pantry/freezer. I’ve talked about this before, but I wanted to give everyone a little reminder as well as inform any new readers that I might have. This video is going to be a little longer than the rest of my videos in this series, but I wanted to make sure that I hit all the important parts.

So without further adieu, here is the debut of the Keep It Simple series!

Butternut Peanut Stew

January 9, 2015 / ktbuchs87

If you have been living under a rock for the past week, I may have some shocking news for you. It’s cold. Not just, “Oh it’s slightly chilly out there, better zip up”. It’s full on cover every inch of your body in three layers of the warmest clothing you have so you don’t turn into a human popsicle the minute you step outside cold. I don’t mind cold weather, but when it gets this cold I just want to burrow into a nest of my warmest blankets and drink hot cocoa. I’m sure some of you have the same feelings. So in an attempt to get you warm and give you some comfort, I have a delicious stew for you.

This stew is hearty, comforting, warm, tasty, and will hit the spot after a long cold day. Plus you can make it in your slow cooker so you can start it before you go to work and come home to a healthy and hot meal. Now I ask you, what’s better than that?

Butternut Peanut Stew

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight or 1 can of chickpeas
3-4 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 large red bell pepper, diced (you can use green too)
1 onion, diced
1 can of full fat coconut milk (NOT light, trust me)
4 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly chopped
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne, more if you want it spicier
1 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a food processor or blender add garlic, tomatoes, ginger, peanut butter, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, curry powder, and cilantro. Blend until you have a thick paste.

2. Place drained and rinsed chickpeas, onions, peppers, and butternut squash in a slow cooker. Pour in peanut paste and add in coconut milk. Stir until everything is well combined. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. Toward the end of the cook time stir every so often. If it’s getting too dry, add in a little water. Add salt and pepper if needed.

This stew is great on it’s own, but if you want an even heartier meal, you can serve it over rice or pasta. Hopefully these temperatures will warm up just a touch but until then make yourself some of this yummy stew! Happy Friday!

What tricks do you have to keep warm in frigid temps?