Soybeans

I have not thought much about Soy beans for a while until lately I ran across some notes I took in a class I attended where we learned to make Soy Milk and also Soy Meat. I had forgotten how excited I was to come home and try some of these things I had learned. My first attempt was to make soy meat. My kids were young at that time and I made “chicken patties” out of the soy and served them with potatoes and gravy and they didn’t know they were not eating chicken. My husband knew because I told him (I was too excited to keep it to myself) but I expect he would have known anyway. However, being the good sport he is, he ate it and said it wasn’t too bad. That was pretty high praise from an adamant lifetime meat lover.

I also tried making soy milk and I can’t remember what the verdict on that was except that I made chocolate milk for the young ‘uns and they drank it down. But you know, how it is with chocolate – it makes almost anything edible.

Farmers refer to the soybean as the nearly perfect crop. Soybean plants aren’t fussy about how much water they get most of the year. And by simply spreading its leaves to the sunlight and going through a couple of chemical steps, the soybean plant takes nitrogen from the air and uses it to make protein. Crops such as corn, wheat and barley can’t do that trick; they have to get nitrogen from expensive fertilizers.

Soybeans were a food staple in chine about 4000 years ago but didn’t become popular in the US until George Washington Carver discovered their great potential. Nature has pack the soybean with double the percent of protein found in beef, 3 times the percent found in eggs and 11 times the percent in fresh whole milk. Oil from soybeans is very low in cholesterol. Nutritionists say that the soybean is a near-perfect food.

Soy Beans are quite versatile. Their storage life is shorter than regular beans because of their high oil content but they really do make a great meat substitute for anyone who wants to use them as a meat substitute or a meat extender. The milk would also be valuable to anyone who is lactose intolerant or for use in cooking if milk were not available or scarce. We will discuss making soy milk in another post. If you have TVP in your food storage, then you are already using dried soybeans.

I believe learning to use and store some soy beans will be a benefit financially as well as nutritionally; especially to anyone with special dietary needs. They are a very versatile food because they have many different uses. This is one of those things you need to try now, rather than waiting until there is an emergency to try it. I’ve never been a tofu lover, but if you are, you can also make your own tofu. There are several other ways to use soy beans as well. If you use soybeans or have them in your storage, let us know what you do with them.Here are some recipes for you to try.

Soy Patties
2 c. soybean pulp
2 c. cooked brown rice (white rice works too)
2 T. vegetable fat
1 onion, chopped fine
½ T. soy sauce
½ t. salt
Garlic or sage for flavoring
½ c. bread crumbs
To make soybean pulp: Soak beans in water for at least 3 hours. Boil in water for 15 minutes. Drain. Mix beans thoroughly by pounding or in a blender with enough water to puree into a stiff paste.
To make patties: Mix all ingredients except bread crumbs together. Shape into patties. Roll in crumbs. Bake I a greased pan at 350º until brown or warm in a frying pan. Serve with gravy or barbecue sauce if desired.

Baked Soy Meat Patties
2 c. soybeans
6 c. vegetable broth, chicken broth or water
2 T. oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large onions, diced
1 carrot, grated
2 stalks celery, diced
1 green pepper, minced fine (optional)
1 t. sea salt
½ t. oregano
½ t. garlic powder
½ t. basil
½ t. parsley
6 T. soy sauce
2 c. cooked brown rice
Soak soybeans in water to cover overnight. Boil soybeans in a pot with vegetable stock or water for about 2 1/2 hours or until thoroughly cooked. Preheat oven to 400º. Lightly grease a skillet and sauté garlic cloves, onions, carrots, celery and green pepper until soft (about 5 minutes). Using a spoon or similar utensil, mash the soybeans in a mixing bowl with the brown rice. Add all other ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Form the mixture into patties using your hands. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Bake patties in preheated oven for 30 minutes, then serve. *Turn patties halfway through baking time.

Soy Meat (Ground beef substitute)
1 lb. mashed soybeans (Soaked 3 hours and mashed)
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 eggs or egg substitute
1 T. salt
1 t. garlic
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
Mix all ingredients together. Spoon into hot oil in frying pan. Cook on medium heat for a few hours turning occasionally until brown and crusty. Use in place of ground meat. Add spaghetti sauce and serve over noodles or use in any casserole dish calling for cooked ground beef.