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! ----------------------------------------------------- Robert Cohen author of: MILK - The Deadly Poison Executive Director (notmilkman@notmilk.com) Dairy Education Board http://www.notmilk.com This file: http://www.notmilk.com/polenta.txt 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. Do you know of someone who should read these newsletters? If so, have them send an empty Email to notmilk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and they will receive it (automatically)!