Chia Marinara Sauce

The last two days have been interesting with temps above 100 degrees here, we’ve been doing as much as we can indoors and trying not to melt! If this post seems a little off, I might be slightly delirious from the heat, sorry. But we get a break from it tomorrow and I’m looking forward to an early run tomorrow morning. Last night I had a great time watching hubby rock out with his band and hang with friends at a bar. They played such an amazing show and I’m so proud of him for being such a talented musician. And watching him rock out is just sexy. But getting great photos of the band was tough in the lighting.

I had a crash course in manual shooting and adjusting the exposure, but managed to pull off some good ones.

Today was more laid back since it was such a late night, I opted for an indoor home gym workout and got some chores done around the house while the pets laid around all day indoors avoiding the heat.

It was nice to catch up on indoor stuff and get a little relax time after a busy week. So busy that I have not posted this recipe I created for chia seed marinara sauce. The idea behind this was to create a thick and chunky marinara sauce that could coat raw of cooked dishes nicely and also be used as a dip by adding gelatinous chia seeds for a heartier texture.

The texture is very thick and chunky, perfect for a chunky dip or layering on a bed of spiral sliced zucchini “noodles”.

I blended it with cabbage, carrots, sauteed tofu, eggplant, and zucchini for an interesting, tasty, and filling dinner.

The marinara sauce has a wonderfully strong tomato and basil flavor with a hearty texture.

We did finally manage to leave the house today to re-stock at Costco for the week and I stumbled onto a new product to try – Hodo Soy Organic Non-GMO Tofu. I was excited to find they’re a local company in the bay area that provides to Chipotle and naturally had to grab one of each product.

And couldn’t wait to try one with dinner tonight – The Spicy Yuba Strips from the multi-flavored package. From Hodo Soy’s site on yuba:

Yuba is a delicacy. Also known as “bean curd sheet,” yuba is the thin veil that forms on the surface as the cream rises in heated soymilk. At Hodo, we hand harvest the yuba, one sheet at a time. Hodo Hand-Made Yuba has a creamy, nutty and subtly complex flavor, with a firm bite. Hodo Yuba is protein-rich and has zero cholesterol. Hodo Yuba comes in thin sheets that can be cut into noodles and makes for a great all-organic, gluten-free pasta dish. Hodo Yuba is perfect for wraps and spring rolls, and is a wonderful addition into stews, soups and sautés.

The yuba strips look a lot like the wide noodles found in Chinese dishes with a pasta-like texture. Since these were already flavored, I sauteed them with chopped basil, cabbage, and red peppers seasoning with a dash of salt, black pepper, and cayenne for added kick.

For a super fast and simple dinner, perfect after a day of draining heat.

The texture was slightly rubbery, but still very noodle like and a fun alternative to traditional tofu chunks. The flavor was spicy, but not too spicy and probably family friendly. Thumbs up for Hodo Soy and I’m excited to try more of their products.