okara scones

In a bowl, combine
2 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup coarsely ground almonds
until well mixed.


Note: I ground up slivered almonds in a coffee grinder.

In a second bowl, whisk together
2/3 cup okara
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 cup soy milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon canola oil
until oil is emulsified. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together until just blended.

To the dough, add
1/2 cup dried cherries or chocolate chips
and fold into dough until well incorporated.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, drop dough onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet. If desired, sprinkle tops of scones with
turbinado sugar
before putting into oven.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. This recipe will make about 14 scones.



Verdict: When I made this recipe, I divided the dough into two halves. Into one half I put the dried cherries, and into the other half I put chocolate chips. Obviously I liked the chocolate-chip scones -- how could I not? The cherry scones were a little bland to me -- I was hoping the almonds would give it more of an almond taste, but alas. It didn't occur to me until afterward that I should have added a teaspoon or so of almond extract to the mix. Duh! I think the scones would have benefited from the addition of almond extract, and I highly recommend that you give that a try. All in all, though, I think this recipe provides a good starting point for a fancier scone recipe. You can dress it up with all kinds of flavor combinations.

pumpkin-okara pie

What better filling for an okara pie crust than a pumpkin-okara pie? This recipe is based on the one from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. I incorporated okara into the mix and made a couple of other minor changes.

Note: A sweeter version of this recipe can be obtained here.



Throw the following ingredients into a food processor:
1 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. agar powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup okara
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon molasses
1 cup soy milk

Blend until thoroughly mixed and pour into an
unbaked 9-inch pie shell



Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and then reduce heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Allow pie to cool on a rack before eating.



Verdict: The other resident of this house proclaims this pie to be "perfect"; however, I thought it wasn't sweet enough. Next time I think I will add sugar or maple syrup in addition to the agave nectar. I also think that okara can be used to offset some of the soy milk, and that it wouldn't affect taste or texture. So my goal for next time is: more sugar, more okara.

okara pie crust

I always hated making pie crusts, because who wants to futz around with wax paper and rolling pins, only to have the whole thing tear when you try to pick it up and place it in the pie pan? Behold, the lazy man's pie crust.



Throw the following ingredients into a food processor:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup okara
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons water

I used a fitting for mixing bread dough, but I'm sure a normal blade would work as well. Pulse and blend the ingredients until they are well incorporated. You'll probably have to scrape the sides down with a spatula a few times. Eventually it should form a ball of dough.



Take that ball of dough and dump it into a lightly oiled 9-inch pie plate.



Mold the dough within the pie plate, shaping it into a pie crust, as pictured above.

miso-okara soup

Miso soup is an obvious choice for the addition of okara. And as long as you get the water-to-miso ratio right, it's pretty hard to mess up. Feel free to play around with the following recipe. You might like to add additional vegetables, or increase the proportions of the vegetables that are called for. The recipe also makes a lot of soup, so you might want to cut it in half, too.



Bring
12 cups water
to a boil in a large pot, and add
2 Tablespoons tamari (soy sauce)
6 oz. (about 8 cups) coarsely chopped spinach
8 oz. (about 3 cups) thinly sliced white mushrooms
4 scallions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped

Variation: Thinly sliced radishes also go great in miso soup. Plus, their greens are edible and can be chopped up and thrown into the mix along with the spinach.

Boil for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to low, remove some of the broth (a cup or so) and transfer it to a bowl. To this bowl, add
2/3 cup miso
and blend the miso into the water until there are no lumps left.



Return the miso mixture to the pot and blend with the rest of the broth. Add
4 oz. silken tofu, cut into cubes
1 cup okara
and stir into the soup.

Note: What size cubes should the tofu be cut into? Whatever size you want them to be when you eat them.

When the mixture is heated through, the miso soup is ready to serve. Make sure you give it a good stir before ladling it into bowls -- the miso and okara tend to settle to the bottom.

Note: A widespread claim about miso is that it has nutritive properties that disappear once the miso is boiled. I am skeptical of this claim, but on the other hand, it doesn't take much effort to make sure the soup doesn't boil once the miso is added in, so what the heck. Use this information as you see fit.

Verdict: I think this tastes great, although I wish I had added another carrot or two, as well as additional tofu. (I was working with what I had on hand, though.) I also think the soup could have withstood even more okara.