Fancy Fun with Tofu and Chickpeas

All kinds of recipe ideas have been popping into my head lately. I’m trying to sort them out and get them onto paper because I don’t seem to get inspired very often. I did manage to get a couple of them to work out for our most recent Sunday dinner.

Wasabi Pea Crusted Tofu - In addition to using only crushed wasabi peas for the crust, I tried a new baking method as well. I cut a pound of tofu into 6 slices. I spread a mix of Dijon mustard and miso mayonnaise over all the slices, then coated them in the peas. I placed them on a cooling rack which fit perfectly onto a baking sheet. I didn’t want to have to flip the tofu and disturb the crust.



I just need to figure out how to hold the tofu and move it onto the baking sheet without making any bald spots on the sides or edges. Still working on that. I really like using the thick mustard instead of a marinade type wet dip. The crust sticks REALLY nicely. I can’t tell you how tempted I was to use my wasabi mustard, but I wanted Chase to be able to enjoy his tofu! And putting the tofu on the rack and not having to flip it worked out great. The crust was crispy all over and the tofu baked perfectly.

Chase LOVED this! He insisted I have a tiny bite, and yeh, if you like wasabi peas and tofu you can’t go wrong with this recipe.

I can’t do tofu, but I wanted fancy food too. Hmmm, how to fancy up beans… (lightbulb) Cook them in wine! Anything cooked in wine is fancy. Even a can of chickpeas. I put the chickpeas in about a half cup of red wine, then let it simmer until the wine was reduced almost completely. I added in some arugula to balance out the sweet wine flavor. We both loved this dish as well.

That’s it for the inspired foods. I also made a teriyaki stirfry, which for some reason we hadn’t enjoyed in a long time. This was great, and so pretty, with broccoli, red pepper, purple onion, green cabbage, and carrots.

I also made baked rice with adzuki beans, only I couldn’t find adzuki beans so these are pink beans. I love baked rice. It always turns out fluffy and perfectly cooked.

Ever since I read that kohlrabi tastes like broccoli stalks, I’ve been searching madly for it. It’s in season now, but the kohlrabi season is, sadly, a short one. Last week the stars were aligned and not only did I find kohlrabi, but the only kohlrabi in the market was purple! CCV, my purple food compadre, are you ready?

Isn’t it beautiful! I really wanted to roast these, but I already had rice and tofu for the oven. So I boiled them. Kohlrabi is in the turnip family, so boiling it gave it the texture of potatoes. And it did have quite a nice hint of broccoli flavor. (Oh, I just got another recipe idea!) They are not at all purple on the inside; they are very white.

And they are delicious. At 40 calories a cup they are the perfect substitute for potatoes (if you’re watching your calories). The sign at the market said they are an excellent source of Vitamin C and a good source of potassium. And remember from my last post I raved about the greens. You know the greens are full of nutritional goodness. I will be back at my market to buy a lot more kohlrabi, even if it’s not purple.

So here is our dinner, the tofu, chickpeas, stirfry, rice, kohlrabi, and a little condiment from a recipe I found in an Asian cookbook – toasted sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, and a pinch of salt. It went nicely with the veggies.

Chase’s fancy tofu plate.

He tried to eat half a pound of tofu, but only ate two of those pieces. Here’s my fancy bean plate.

And lastly, dessert. I made my own recipe of mango ice cream. It was so smooth and creamy and full of fresh mangoes, and soyfree (I used coconut milk) so I could enjoy it too. (Vegan Noodle, I made it in my ice cream maker. Yes, you should get one!) I served it topped with more fresh mango and shredded coconut.

Sadly, it had a slightly “off” taste. I knew the mangoes I used were good, because I tasted them before I tossed them into the blender. What I didn’t taste was the mango nectar I used – the two full cups I used. Rats. Oh, well, lesson learned. And another recipe to work the kinks out of.

Have you heard about the Tainted Tomatoes in Texas? I sure hope this will be resolved quickly.