Tag Archives: tofu

Tofu Honey Chili with Gluten Free Jalapeno Cornbread

Posted in Dinner, Side Dishes by

So back in the day when I was a budding foodie, I had a food blog on Blogger called Two Peas in a Pot. I was pretty excited about it and posted quite a few recipes. Then I stopped keeping up with it as life got busier, and I let it fall into the great Internet abyss.

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However, I uncovered it recently thanks to Facebook alerting me to the fact that I hadn’t posted in awhile (5 years – thanks Facebook). Having advanced somewhat in the food blogging world at this point in my life, I got a good laugh about the amateurish quality of the food photos I had been posting with my recipes. The whole blog left a lot to be desired, but we all have to start somewhere, right? And the recipes themselves aren’t bad. This honey chili and cornbread is an adaptation of a recipe I had posted on my old blog. However, for comparison’s sake, here’s the photo of this dish that I originally took:

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Appetizing, right? It’s nice that my hand is in the shot, and I’m also pretty sure I had already taken a bite out of that cornbread before snapping this photo. Mike definitely chuckled when I showed him – thank goodness I’ve improved my food photography at least marginally since my old blogging days.

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But like I said, the recipes aren’t bad. As soon as I came across the honey chili and jalapeno cornbread, I wanted to make it again and see what I could do with it. And honey chili 2.0 has come out fabulously. I love making dinners like this because of the leftovers and because they’re basically just super easy but pack a healthy and filling punch. Plus, this entire meal is 100% gluten free. Even the cornbread. (Honestly for something made primarily of corn you would think it would always be gluten free, but it’s not).

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What You Need for the Chili:

  • 1-14oz package firm tofu
  • 1 tbsp coconut or olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 3/4 cup chopped bell pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 12 oz can diced tomatoes (or chop 1 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes)
  • 12 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 12 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

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What You Need for the Cornbread (adapted from GlutenFreeOnAShoestring):

  • 2 cups coarsely ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt*
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 2 jalapenos, finely chopped (seeded if desired)

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 400F

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Before doing anything, shred the tofu into a strainer using a cheese grater. This will help remove excess water from the tofu and you can set it aside to drain while you cook.

Make the cornbread first, as you can make the rest of the dish while it bakes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornmeal through baking powder.

In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, including jalapenos.

Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix well. The batter will be fairly fluffy in texture.

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Scrape batter into a well-greased 8-or-9-inch baking pan. I used a round cake pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. The top of the cornbread will be a lovely golden brown and the bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While the cornbread is baking, heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute until soft.

Add the tomatoes and beans and mix well, stirring occasionally until well heated. Then add the spices, honey and vinegar and mix well.

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Finally, add in the shredded tofu and mix well. The cool thing about this dish is that the shredded tofu adds a hearty meat-like look and feel while keeping it 100% vegetarian.

Serve with a slice of cornbread and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese.

*Pro Tip: Don’t have plain Greek yogurt on hand for the cornbread? Substitute with an equal amount of sour cream or buttermilk.

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Thai Peanut Tofu Stirfry with Kale

Posted in Dinner by

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For the FIFTH (but let’s face it, certainly not final) day of Five Days of Farmer’s Market Meals, I give you a ridiculously easy but totally delish vegetable explosion in a pan.

For the fact that I have this crazy amount of kale in my backyard, I realize I haven’t made nearly enough kale-involved recipes this week. So I’m making up for it right now.

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I have a not-so-secret addiction to Thai food – particularly Tofu Pad Thai. But a long time ago I decided it was silly to keep buying it when the ingredients are really so super simple. However, I’ve never been able to give my tofu that golden crispiness, probably because I cook them in oil and not in a fry-o-lator 🙂

This dish is a farmer’s market-friendly spin on Pad Thai, with homemade everything. Sometimes I make these meals to ensure I will have a lunch in the fridge at work the next day that I truly look forward to eating. No shame in that!

The Farmer’s Market ingredients used in this recipe are:

  • Kale (from my garden)
  • Garlic scapes
  • Red and green peppers
  • Bean sprouts
  • Scallions

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What You Need for the Stir Fry

  • 1 bunch kale (about 15 leaves) hand shredded
  • 1 package firm tofu, cut into small squares
  • 2 garlic scapes, chopped into small rounds
  • 1 scallion, sliced
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 bunch bean sprouts, cut into 1-inch strands

What You Need for the Peanut Sauce

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger root, grated
  • red pepper flakes, to taste (about 1-2 tsp)

 

What You Do:

To make the peanut sauce, simply combine all ingredients. Easy!

Set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat a tbsp of olive or coconut oil and cook the tofu, covered, stirring often. It will be done when the tofu begins to brown and stick slightly to the pan.

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In a large wok or skillet, heat the olive or coconut oil and add the scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until soft.

Add garlic scapes, cook for about 2 minutes. Add peppers, stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the tofu and kale. Stir and cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the kale is soft.

Pour the peanut sauce over the tofu stir fry, mix well, and serve topped with bean sprouts, or add the bean sprouts into the mix just before serving.

Pro Tip: Substitute the tofu for chicken, beef or shrimp if desired. Also, you can spice up this dish quite a bit by adding some chopped jalapeno or serrano pepper.

Jasmine Rice and Cooked Vegetables = Super Fast Lunch Recipe

Posted in Super Fast Lunch by

I made this dish during my lunch break when I was supposed to be walking Madison. So it teaches us two things:

  1. It is a super fast and easy dish
  2. I chose food over my dog this week

(To be fair, she did get to sit outside the entire time and never fear – I did walk her after work).

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I made the decision to turn my lunch break in a small cooking adventure because when I opened the fridge to forage for scraps in my frantic state of mid-work-day hunger, I found myself face to face with this:

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I do not know what it is about this mango chutney from our local Hannaford supermarket that I love so much, but I do love it. It’s sweet and fruity with a little spice, and goes so perfectly with rice that sometimes I forget there is more to a meal than rice and a heaping dollop of chutney.

So, between 12:15 and 1pm I made this super simple dish using Jasmine Rice (my personal fav type of rice) as the base and then literally any veggie that happened to be available in my fridge.

What You Need:

  • 1 cup Jasmine Rice
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • A bunch of random vegetables, chopped (this is completely at your discretion – anything goes! I used sweet potato that I put through the food processor, onions, red and green bell peppers and one jalapeno for some zing)
  • Any kind of chutney (although as you know I highly recommend mango)

What You Do:

Chop the veggies, and heat, covered, in an oiled pan slowly over low-medium heat.

While the veggies are cooking, make the rice. If you are not using Jasmine rice, follow the directions for whatever rice you’re using. If you choose Jasmine rice, boil the water and rice together, then lower the temperature to simmer, covered, until the water has cooked off.

Plop the rice on a plate, and cover with a heaping portion of veggies. Add some chutney on the side for dipping (also your choice – any sauce or spices will also suffice) and enjoy!

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Pro Tip: Add a protein like tofu or chicken to make it a complete dish!