Tue Sep 11, 2001

TAPIOCA PUDDING

Yesterday, my NOTMILK letter contained
reference to a wonderful tapioca
dessert that I enjoyed in a Vietnamese
restaurant. Just when I was pleasantly
stuffed, the owner insisted that there
was room for her homemade house specialty,
hot tapioca. She assured me that her
recipe was vegan.

I received hundreds of responses from
readers claiming that "tapioca
is always made with milk."

I decided to experiment.

There is a large Oriental market
near my home. For those of you
living in Bergen County, New Jersey,
12-ounce packages of tiny tapioca
pearls can be purchased for just 59
cents from King Fung market in
River Edge. I bought the 'Family
Elephant Brand.' The package reveals
that each of the seven servings of
tapioca pearls contains just 18
calories and zero grams of fat or
cholesterol.

I added two quarts of water to my soymilk
machine, one-half cup of non-GMO soybeans
(the beans cost less than twenty cents),
pressed a button and had two
quarts of soymilk 29 minutes later.

I brought the soymilk to a boil, added
the 12 ounces of tiny white pearls
(made from the cassava plant), and
simmered the mixture for 15 minutes
until the beads of tapioca turned
transluscent.

I then added six tablespoons of
maple syrup and a teaspoonful of
vanilla to the boiling liquid, then
labeled the mixture into small
serving containers.

I immediately called three teen
volunteer tasters downstairs (Jennifer,
16, Sarah, 15, and Lizzy, 12), and gave
them each a six-ounce portion in a
glass coffee cup. These three critics
of mine can be brutal, but not a pearl
of this rich custard pudding remained.
Served hot, it was delicious.

Got milk? Not at all!

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.