This week, we rocked at being vegetarians. Why is that, you ask? Well, first of all, we made our own soy milk from scratch! It’s actually not that hard; you just soak a cup of beans overnight, cook them with a teaspoon or two of coconut shavings, until they soften up a bit, and drain, saving the water they were cooked in. Then you blend the one cup beans with one cup fresh water and one cup bean water (which contains hella nutrients), until well pureed. Finally, you run the mixture through a fine strainer, toss it in the fridge, and you’ve got soymilk. The residue kind of sinks to the bottom, so you should shake it up before serving. We used it for cereal and in a spinach stew with great results.
The second reason we rock is related to the soymilk. In the straining process, the soy residue, known as okara (yup, that’s a Japanese word), is left behind. Bursting with protein, fiber, and other good stuff, okara is really too good to just throw out and, as you might have guessed, we used it. Following this recipe, we made okara patties mixed with shredded carrots, parsely root, onion and scallions, and spiced them with curry, cumin, koriander and salt and veggie stock. Cooking was a little more involved, as we had to sautee the veggies and okara separately, then mix the two together and add 2-3 tablespoons of flour to tighten up the mixture before making the patties and baking them for about 30 minutes. But they turned out delicious! Served ‘em with some rice and tomatoes, and dabbed a little sour cream on top. Skills.
