POLENTA

One of the great dishes of Italian cuisine grew out
of necessity. Roman legions had neither refrigeration
nor the technological know-how to can foods. Instead,
they conquered Europe by traveling with easy-to-cook
grains which were boiled into a gruel called polenta.

Two thousand years ago, Romans used grains such as
spelt (a form of wheat), millet, and chick peas as
ingredients for their polenta. In the mid-17th century,
coarsely ground corn became polenta's main ingredient.

Today, the finest restaurants in Rome are measured
by their skill in preparing their own unique style
of polenta, which is used to garnish main dishes or
served as an entree.

Necessity is truly the mother of invention. Inspired
by a weekend of reading recipe books, and having
prepared a few gallons of soymilk which I convverted into
smoothies and gelatos, I found myself left with
a few quarts of ground soybeans. The Japanese call this
product okara.

I decided to experiment and create some polenta dishes.
The first attempt/dish was so successful, I did not try
any other.

Here, then, is perfection.

SOY-POLENTA (to serve 4 as an entree)

INGREDIENTS

1 quart okara
1 35-ounce can whole tomatoes
3 vegetarian boullion cubes
1 garlic glove
2 tablespoons parsley
olive oil (for final frying)

METHOD

Bring one cup of liquid from the canned
tomatoes to a rapid boil in a 3-quart saucepan.

Finely mince the garlic and parsley and
add to the boiling liquid. Add the bouillon
cubes. Add the quart of okara. Maintain the
boil and stir for about 15 minutes, until
the liquid is absorbed and a small spoon
stands up by itself in the thickened okara.

Drain the remaining liquid from the can
of tomatoes and reserve for another use.
Finely chop the tomatoes, add to the okara,
and cook until the okara is again thickened.

NOTE: The polenta can now be eaten, but
what follows magically converts a magnificent
food into manna from heaven.

Grease an 8 x 10 inch pan with margarine
and pour in the polenta. Refrigerate for
one hour.

Slice the chilled and firm polenta into 1/2
inch wedges and saute in olive oil until golden
brown. Serve immediately.

There are zillions of possible recipes
for polenta. Use other veggies. Use pignoli
nuts. Use different sauces. Use different
wines. Make a Chinese or Indian-style
polenta. Use salsa and spice up your life.

The cost of the polenta for this dish is nil.
This byproduct of soymilk production is an
extra bonus of owning your own SoyToy!

BETTER THAN POLENTA?

Mix the polenta with an equal amount of breadcrumbs,
roll a small amount of the mixture into golfball-size
balls and fry in olive oils for delicious meat balls!
Jennifer, Sarah, and Lizzy love 'em. My Boston
Terrier goes wild over them!

Do you know of a friend or family member with one or more of these milk-related problems? Do them a huge favor and forward the URL or this entire file to them.