OKARA: A MEAL FOR THE ASKING

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MAKE-IT-YOURSELF SOYMILK AND OKARA

This recipe makes 1 gallon of soymilk and 112 gallon of okara.

Soak 2-1/2 cups of raw soybeans for 12 hours, changing the water every 3 or 4 hours in warm weather. Soybeans ferment quickly, so if a foam develops on the surface of the water, don't panic ... the legumes are still usable. Just skim the foam off the top, rinse the beans, and proceed. (The batch will yield a slightly - thinner milk, that's all.)

After 12 hours, strain the beans. Add 1 cup of the soaked legumes to 2-1/2 cups of fresh warm water in a blender, and whirl it at high speed for 30 seconds. Continue to puree the rest of the beans—using the same proportions—until all of the legumes have been liquified. Then cook this mash in a heavy covered pot on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to boil.

Keep alert: The fast-foaming milk will bubble over the top of the pan before you know it. Indeed, it should foam up several times when it first starts boiling. Then turn the heat down to low and let the liquid simmer slowly for 45 minutes. Stir the slow cooking mash every 5 minutes or so to prevent it from boiling over. Next, remove the soy slury from the stove and set the pot in a sink containing cold water. Keep the water around the pan chilled until the milk is just warm. (The more quickly soymilk cools, the longer it will keep.) As soon as the mix reaches a "touchable" temperature. strain it through a clean cloth. An old cotton pillowcase ... several layers of food-safe cheesecloth ... or any other fabric that's dense enough to prevent the mash from seeping through, but thin enough to allow the milk to flow, will work fine for this purpose.

Close the top of your cloth and begin twist ing it to force the juice through the bag. When you have little more than a mushy ball left, squeeze gently so as not to force any pulp through the fabric.

Bottle the strained milk in sterile glass jars, adding a teaspoon of honey per quart of milk. The sweetener should melt right into the stillwarm liquid. I've found that milk remains fresh for approximately a week when it Is kept in several small containers that are used one at a time. (It should last over a week when it's stored at temperatures that are close to freezing.)

Now, dump your okara into a small plastic bucket or wide-mouthed glass jar. The mash also keeps for about a week in the refrigerator. It's sweetest and best in dessert dishes the first 3 to 5 days ... after that, it tends to get a slight tang and tastes better in yeasted breads, Mexican corn bread, or sausage mixes. If you have any remaining after a week, mix it with some leftovers and give your animals a feast ... or compost it. (Heed one word of warning. Okara is an excellent soil amendment, but, like any bean product, it ferments strongly. Therefore, don't leave it sitting around in large lumps I . . unless you have lost your sense of smell! Break up any clumps and sprinkle the meal thinly into your garden or compost.)

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