ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200007
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
Meatless meals remain a mystery for many people, but for far fewer than in 1985 when the first Great American Meatout was held. Since then, the meatout, which is being observed today, has grown to include more than 1,000 communities in all 50 states.
Certainly, environmental and ethical issues influence the annual event, which encourages Americans to forgo meat for one day. But perhaps the widest interest is in response to the growing desire to eat more wisely, with emphasis on low-fat and low-cholesterol foods and increased consumption of grains, vegetables and fruits.
Eliminating meat is an ongoing process for most people as they increase their knowledge of vegetarian eating, gain and lose tastes for different foods and increase their recipe repertoires. A common concern, especially for beginning or occasional vegetarians, is finding good protein sources to replace the missing meat. An oft-recommended solution is soy-based foods, especially tofu.
Tofu and other soy foods are touted as helping to lower cholesterol and decrease menopausal symptoms and the risks of cancer and osteoporosis. Additional studies credit them in the treatment of high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney and gallstone problems. For some people, those are reasons enough to try the bean curd blocks despite their pasty appearance, moist texture and lack of flavor. But tofu's innocuousness actually works in its favor with a few preparation tricks. For example:
Treat tofu as an ingredient
nPuree it, then use it in soups and salad dressings loaded with flavorful ingredients. For example, an intensely flavored soup, such as broccoli bisque, served warm or chilled, makes a perfect light dinner, accompanied by sliced ripe tomatoes and some crusty bread.
Transform its texture
nSaute cubes of bean curd, using 1 Tbsp. of oil per pound of tofu. The cubes quickly crisp on the outside, developing a tasty, golden crust. Top steamed vegetables with the sauteed tofu or use them as croutons on salads and in soups.
nPress tofu to make it chewy. Halve a 1-pound block of tofu horizontally. Place the 2 slabs on a foil-covered cutting board and top with another sheet of foil. Place a second board or a large skillet over the tofu and add weight - cans of tomatoes work nicely. Arrange paper towels around the edges of the board to absorb the water that comes out of the curd. Let the weighted tofu sit 30 minutes; it will be dense and chewy. Cube and stir-fry or cook as you wish.
nFreeze and defrost slabs of bean curd. This process gives tofu a dry, crumbly texture and helps it absorb marinades and sauces more readily.
nFry cubes of tofu in sesame oil. Pass your favorite barbecue sauce on the side.
Saturate it with flavor
nMarinate tofu in a flavorful liquid such as teriyaki sauce or a combination of soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. Better yet, braise bean curd to imbue it with intense flavor while also improving its texture. Also try apple juice with curry or a blend of soy sauce, sherry, water and star anise (found in Chinese food stores). These braising liquids impart pleasing color as well as vivid flavors. Use braised tofu in stews, salads and for grilling.
You also might try some of the preflavored and pretextured tofus - including smoked and baked - that are available in health food stores.
Louise Hagler's new "Soyfoods Cookery - Your Road to Better Health" is a good starting point for becoming familiar with soy-based foods. It combines a basic overview of tofu, tempeh, soy milk, miso, textured vegetable protein and other soyfoods with an assortment of nondairy, nonegg recipes for using them. To order this or other vegetarian cookbooks from Book Publishing Co., call (800) 695-2241.
For more information about and recipes for using tofu, you also can call Vitasoy, one of the leading producers of soy products, at (800) EATTOFU; (800) 328-8638.
"Roots: A Vegetarian Bounty" by Kathleen Mayes and Sandra Gottfried (Woodbrige Press) solves another common dilemma of nonmeat meals - what to serve besides the standard broccoli, cauliflower and squash. Mayes and Gottfried get to the root of the matter and make enjoyable reading of 31 root vegetables from arrowroot to water chestnuts. Additional charts list the vegetables' peak seasons and major nutrients, and 120 recipes, with nutritional analysis, suggest how to cook them. Woodbridge carries a number of additional vegetarian book titles. To order, call (800) 237-6053.
One of the main advantages of nonmeat eating is that it can be low fat or even fat free. Ocean Spray Cranberries' new sweetened dried cranberries, Craisins, are the latter, plus they're plump, moist and almost addictive. They make a fine substitute for regular or golden raisins in most recipes, and for out-of-hand snacking. However, watch out for their 31 grams of sugar per 1/3-cup serving.
Adonai Foods' 10 varieties of International Flavors Mayonnaise also are fat free, cholesterol free, reduced in calories, familiarly textured and - gasp - fairly flavorful. They simplify the seasoning process for many recipes by offering the required ingredients already packaged in such combinations as Cajun, Caribbean, Southwestern, Italian, Greek, Bombay, French, Oriental and ranch. The spreads' zest might be a bit much when served alone in large quantities such as dips, but they could work well lightly smeared on a sandwich, folded into a pasta salad or seasoning a vegetarian casserole.
Neither fat-free nor low-cal, but certainly easy to fix and delicious, are DiGiorno's new Rising Crust pizzas. Unlike their frozen counterparts, these pizzas are not precooked. Rather, they rise for the first time and bake in an oven started on cold to yield a tender crust similar to one you'd get at a pizzeria. The toppings on the spinach-mushroom variety that I sampled were generous with a thick, spicy sauce. The pizzas also are available in four-cheese and vegetable varieties.
Meatout proponents hope that this one day of experimenting with a healthy alternative eating style will encourage Americans to incorporate it into many more days throughout the year. In the meantime, if you have neither the inclination nor a clue of what to cook for meatout, see Dolores Kostelni's roundup of eating out for the Meatout starting on the front page of this section.
- The Associated Press contributed information to this story
Recipes for:
FRESH TOMATO POPOVER TART
HASH BROWN PIE
LINGUINE WITH MUSHROOM CAESAR SAUCE
3 MINUTE ORANGE CINNAMON BAKED APPLE
CAN'T-BE-BEAT PIE
SWEET-SOUR TEMPEH KEBABS
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Tomato wedges add color to this popover tart made withby CNBwhite cannelini beans, black olives and Swiss cheese. color.