A HEALTHFUL AND MEATLESS DIET

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SOY FOODS REIGN SUPREME

Surely a meatless cook's best friend is the soybean: Humble, trustworthy, and incredibly versatile, the little rotund legume is a joy to have around and to work with. Soy foods have been venerated in the cuisines of the Orient for thousands of years, but they've been "discovered" in Western kitchens only in the past 15 years or so, despite the fact that the United States produces two-thirds of the world's soybeans. Containing 35% protein by dry weight (more than any other unprocessed plant or animal food), the soybean is a nutritious little nugget: It contains no cholesterol, almost no saturated fat, lots of calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins, and an extremely low ratio of calories to protein. In fact, the amount of usable protein contained in just one cup of cooked soybeans is equal to that in a five-ounce steak ... at a cost of only 234 calories!

The whole soybean itself can be used in a multitude of ways, because its bland taste is a natural "sponge" for almost any spice, herb, or dairy product. However, even when presoaked, soybeans take a long time to cook (about three hours by normal methods or 30-40 minutes in a pressure cooker), so it's best to make a double—or even triple—batch each time and freeze the leftovers. After cooking, they can be baked whole in casseroles (they're especially flavorful with cheese), added to soups, or stuffed into peppers... or you might want to mash them and add seasonings to make soy patties, loaves, cold sandwich spreads, or meatless "meatballs."

Soy flour is another, somewhat "sneakier," way to enjoy the solid nutritional bonus of soybeans. Simply add two tablespoons of soy flour to every cup of regular flour used in a recipe... and you'll have a nice low-fat, high-protein supplement that won't affect the dish's taste. (Soy flour is not normally used as the sole flour in bread making, since it contains no gluten, the "elastic" that is responsible for making the dough rise.)

Ah, tofu . This lovely, nutritious soy food has long graced oriental kitchens, and now it's migrating westward as well, fast outstripping all other soy foods in popularity. Sold most commonly in 12- or 16-ounce blocks, tofu (or soybean curd) is a creamy, low-calorie food that's packed with protein (which is increased even further when it's combined with rice or other grains).

Next time you're steaming vegetables, pop a few cakes of tofu right on top and—when they're warmed through—remove them from the pot and season them with soy sauce or tamari. You can also broil individual tofu cakes: Spread a generous layer of dark miso (fermented soybean paste that's available in health food stores) over the surface of each one, then place under your oven's broiler for five minutes... and you'll have a naturally salty treat.

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