Silken Tofu Chapati's

Ok, I had heard of making Chapati's from Silken Tofu and the "raving" of their softness convinced me to try it. When my parents were visiting, we decided to give a try. Out came the KitchenAid Mixer which we rarely used (so we have to find excuses to make use of it and here was a good one) and out came the tofu and chapati flour (Atta). The recipe from a little reasearch I said suggested for 1 box of the tofu, you would need about 2+ cups of Atta. We (My mom and I) decided to go half and half and see where it took us. The recipe I believe said to remove the "water" from the silken tofu, we didn't do that, but the first batch, just squeezed out the water. In went the tofu into the bowl, mashed up with the dough hook. Then we added 1/2 cup of atta until 1 cup and then 1/4 cup at a time after that. It ended up taking us 2 cups of atta for 1/2 a box of tofu and a pinch of salt.

The chapatis came out soft and tasted good. And there is an added bonus that they are high protein (for the low carb/high protein/diabetes conscious).

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of chapati's. I prefer them with flavorings in them, so I will be trying this in the future with vegetables in them.

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Thai chili basil tofu with vegetables

I bought basil from Trader Joes on a whim thinking I would use it for Italian food but I have given up milk products for a week so that idea didn't work. So I looked at the ingredients in the pantry and looked up some ideas, and created a Thai chili basil recipe. Later on, I also found a bottle of Thai chili paste with basil hidden in the back that seemed apropos for this recipe.

HINT: Don't put fresh basil in the fridge - it becomes black and molds. Leave it outside and use it up quickly.

Here is the recipe - it came out really yummy if I do say so myself

Ingredients:

• 5 spice Nasoya tofu - 1/2 inch cubes
• 3-4 Garlic cloves, chopped/crushed
• 1 Portabella mushroom - 1/3 inch pieces
• 1 BIG stuffing mushroom (its those white mushrooms sold loosely - BIG ones - about 2-3 inches wide) - 1/3 inch pieces
• 1 Yellow Bell pepper, 1/2 inch slices
• 2 cups Broccoli florets (look for a HINT later on)
• (hint: if you have broccoli stems, peel, slice into 1/4 inch thick slices to add to stir fry)
• 1 large Carrots, sliced at a diagnol - about 1/4 in thick
• 1/2 cup fresh basil roughly torn
• 2 Tbsp Thai chili paste with basil (to taste)
• 2-4 Tbsp Light Soy sauce (to taste)
• Cashew nuts (to taste)
• Oil for stir frying (Vegetable oil of some sort)

Recipe:

1. Heat wok up and put oil in to a medium-high temperature. Make sure wok is well coated.
2. Add 1/2 garlic and tofu
3. Allow bottom side to brown, stir gently eery 30 seconds or so to move pieces around so they don't stick to the bottom.
4. After a minute, add 2 Tbsp of soy sauce
5. Keep stiring until almost all the sides are browned.
6. Remove from the wok and put aside

1. Add some more oil to wok
2. Add garlic, carrots, broccoli stems, mushrooms
3. HINT: Meanwhile, put the broccoli florets in a bowl with a little water (2 Tbsp or so) and put in microwave for 2 minutes to soften. They will be tender and bright green and won't need to cook in the wok as long.
4. Stir vegetable mix for about 2 minutes until it starts to get tender
5. Add bell pepper and fresh basil
6. Stir vegetable mix for 2 minutes, until vegetables are almost tender (a little crisp still)
7. Add Tofu and Broccoli florets
8. Add Thai chili paste with basil and soy sauce and stir for another few minutes until everything is well coated
9. Add cashew nuts
10. Stir fry until almost at the texture you like it (HINT: Remember that everything will cook after the stove is turned off)

Serve with fresh hot white or brown rice.