"candy Bar" Meatloaf w/ homemade chocolate tofu & chocolate mustard!?

By far, this was the most complicated recipe I ever did. Not the longest, but the one with the most steps. So where did I get my inspiration for this crazy recipe? 

Last year, I was at Sur La Table(a fancy cooking supply store that has cooking classes) taking a cooking class and after the class was over with, I was figuring out what to buy with my 10% coupon to the store I got for taking the class. Of course, the store reels you in in that the coupon is only good the day of the cooking class. I found in the discount pile a tofu making kit, which I bought. Initially, I thought making my own tofu would be easy- the box said it only takes an hour to make. Yea, that's misleading- it took me 12 hours to make a measly 2 ounces of homemade tofu! But if the box said how long it really takes, then nobody would buy the product. 

What the box also doesn't tell you is that making the pure soymilk with a soymilk maker(which actually exists) saves you 10 steps. Of course, I didn't have a soymilk maker so I had to do those 10 steps. If you just used a soymilk maker to make the soymilk, you could then go straight to the step of curdling it. 

Long story short, I'm never making tofu again without a soymilk maker. Also, I'm going to soak the soybeans overnight instead of in the morning, only to have to make the entire tofu at night when I could've watched the Super Bowl in its entirety. I should've bought a 6 quart saucepot so I could make the soymilk in 1 batch- the biggest saucepot I have maybe holds 4 quarts at most. 

As for the chocolate mustard, I also used a kit for that, but I got it at the Long Island Welcoming Center(the pit stop with the Taste of NY store that carries products solely made in NY state). Making mustard from scratch is so much easier than making tofu from scratch! 

So what makes both the tofu and mustard chocolatey? Cocoa powder! 

I think the reason I had so little tofu was because I got really tired after making the first batch of soymilk to use the rest of the soybeans. Also, I didn't have a candy thermometer that would've said when the chocolate soymilk was exactly 185 degrees Fahrenheit(a meat thermometer, which I did have, wouldn't have helped) so I could put the curdling agent(white vinegar) in. I should've used an actual tofu curdling agent like nigari or fresh lemon juice. 

When you make soymilk, you always end up with leftover ground soybeans known as okara- I tried making soy breakfast patties with them in the hopes of stuffing the meatloaf with the patties but the patties diidn't hold its shape together and was the blandest thing I ever tasted, so I discarded the okara. 

I used a pound of store-bought tofu for the meatloaf and I put the homemade chocolate tofu on top of the meatloaf. It wasn't a total loss and I learned some pretty valuable lessons. 

But why a candy bar meatloaf? I got the inspiration for this long recipe from an old video from The Protein Chef's YouTube channel. Of course, I made made many alterations to The Protein Chef's recipe to make it my own. 

HELPFUL LINKS: 

Tofu Making Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Table-Roaring-Brook-Dairy-Tofu-Making/dp/B00LEQL5XA/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1486757564&sr=1-1&

Mustard Making Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Mustard-Crimson-Clove/dp/B0143MI3JU/ref=sr_1_3_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1486757607&sr=1-3

Chocolate Infused Balsamic Vinegar: https://www.amazon.com/Gourmet-Chocolate-Balsamic-Naturally-Flavored/dp/B00ZYXSSGG/ref=sr_1_3_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1486757649&sr=1-3&

​Chocolate Mustard

​You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A medium bowl
Saran wrap
A blender or food processor
The jar provided in the mustard making kit, or a sterile Mason jar

For the mustard: 

The yellow mustard seeds, brown mustard seeds, salt, and horseradish powder provided in the mustard making kit OR

2 tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
2 tbsp. brown mustard seeds
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. horseradish powder

1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup chocolate-infused balsamic vinegar(see HELPFUL LINKS)
3 tbsp. cocoa powder

1. Put all the mustard making ingredients into the medium bowl. Mix all the ingredients up until it's no longer powdery. If the mixture is still powdery, add more white vinegar. 
2. Cover the bowl loosely with Saran wrap. Let the mixture in the bowl soak for 8-10 hours. Liquid will still be present. 
3. Put the mixture into a blender or food processor and blend for 30 seconds to desired consistency. 
4. Pour the mustard into the jar provided in the mustard making kit, or a sterilized Mason jar. 
5. Bon appetit! 

Chocolate Tofu

For the cooking equipment: 

2 large bowls
A blender
A large saucepot that can hold at least 6 quarts
A colander
2-3 cheesecloths(1 cheesecloth is included in the tofu making kit)
A candy thermometer
A slotted spoon
Tofu mold(included in the tofu making kit)
A 2-3 lb. jar

For the tofu: 

3 cups yellow soybeans
2-3 tbsp. cocoa powder
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, white vinegar, or 2 tsp. nigiri 
3 1/2 quarts of water in total

Preparing the soybeans

1. Soak the yellow soybeans in 6 cups of cold water, in a large bowl. Let the soybeans soak for 8-12 hours(or overnight). The soybeans should double in size by the time they're done soaking. 

Making the soymilk

Note: Follow the directions for a soymilk maker or follow these 10 steps

1. Pour 2 cups of water into a large saucepot
2. Place either: 

a. If you have a blender that holds at least 14 cups of liquid, put all of the soaked yellow soybeans, 4 tbsp. cocoa powder, and 6 cups of hot water into the blender. 
b. If you have a medium blender that holds between 8-13 cups of liquid, work in batches of 3 cups yellow soybeans, 2 tbsp. cocoa powder, and 3 cups hot water in the blender.
c. If you have a blender that holds less than 8 cups of liquid, work in batches of 1 cup yellow soybeans, 2/3 tbsp. cocoa powder, and 1 cup hot water in the blender. 

3. For step 2, blend on high until the beans have been thoroughly blended and you get a brown mixture. Pour the brown mixture into the saucepot.
4. For options 2b and 2c, repeat step 3 until all the beans have been thoroughly blended and you get a brown mixture. 
5. On the stovetop, bring the chocolate soybean mixture to a boil. Do not put a lid on the saucepot- you need to watch to see when the mixture foams up very suddenly! Make sure it never foams over!!
6. Once the mixture is boiling and has foamed up, turn the heat all the way down and stir the foam back into the mixture in the saucepot. 
7. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, while stirring frequently. 
8. Place a large bowl in the sink. Put a colander over the large bowl. Fold a cheesecloth twice and place in colander. Slowly pour half the mixture into the cheesecloth(be careful- the mixture will be hot!). 
9. Join the edges of the cheesecloth and twist to wring out the soymilk. Place the chocolate soymilk that has collected in the large bowl into a clean saucepot. 
10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 for the rest of the mixture. Discard the leftover ground beans(known as "okara") or follow this link on how to make okara patties. 

Developing the curds

1. Bring the chocolate soymilk just to a boil. Make sure the soymilk doesn't foam over! Remove saucepot from burner. 
2. Pour the boiling soymilk into a clean bowl and let it cool for 2 minutes, or until the temperature of the chocolate soymilk drops to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. You can measure the temperature with a candy thermometer. 
3. Add either fresh lemon juice, white vinegar, or nigiri to the chocolate soymilk and stir gently 5 times to distribute it throughout the milk. It should begin to curdle immediately. Let stand for 15-20 minutes. 

Draining and pressing the curds

1. Place tofu mold in the sink and fold a clean cheesecloth twice, over the mold 
2. With a slotted spoon, scoop the solid curds from the pot and transfer them to the mold. Dispose of the whey(liquid) remaining. 
3. Fold the top of the cheesecloth over the curds and place the lid on top of the mold. Press down to release more liquid. 
4. Place the mold on a plate and put a 2-3 lb. jar on top of the lid of the tofu mold. Put the tofu mold that's on the plate in the fridge for 1 hour to let the tofu press and drain. 
5. Remove the cheesecloth from the mold and gently peel the cheesecloth from the tofu. Use immediately or place in a bowl with a small amount of cold water in the fridge until ready to use. 

Candy Bar Meatloaf

For the cooking equipment: 

A large bowl
Nonstick cooking spray
A lasagna pan

For the meatloaf: 

2/3 tbsp. onion powder
2 beaten and whisked eggs
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
4 crumbled up cookie crunch bars
1 tbsp. white hot cocoa powder
3 tbsp. dark cocoa powder(note: omit if you got at least 1 pound of chocolate tofu)
2 tbsp. caramel sauce
1/2 cup chocolate mustard(see recipe above)
1 cup cookie crisp cereal
1 pound of store-bought, chopped, drained, firm tofu(if you ended up with less than 1 pound of chocolate tofu)
Whatever amount of chocolate tofu you have

1. Put the first 8 ingredients into the large bowl. 
2. Either: 

a. If you ended up with at least 1 pound of chocolate tofu, omit the dark cocoa powder. 
b. If you ended up with less than 1 pound of chocolate tofu, put the dark cocoa powder into the large bowl. 

3. Add the next 3 ingredients into the large bowl. 

4. If you have less than 1 pound of chocolate tofu, add the store-bought tofu to the large bowl. Place whatever amount of chocolate tofu you have in a small bowl for now. But if you got more than 1 pound of chocolate tofu, add your chocolate tofu into the large bowl. 
5. Mix all the ingredients up until it's firm and brown in color(if using store-bought tofu in the mixture). 
6. Spray a lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray. 
7. Form 2 loaves from the meatloaf mixture. 
8. If you have less than 1 pound of chocolate tofu, place whatever amount of chocolate tofu you do have on top of each loaf. Otherwise, skip this step. 
9. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 40-45 minutes. 
10. Bon appetit! 


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