dailysoy's daily soy, and other notable legumes

That's right, legumes. Beans. The musical fruit.
Where would this blog be without them?

In fact, I'm beginning to believe I could subsist entirely on a diet of rice, beans, yogurt, and garden-fresh veggies. Okay, on second thought, maybe that would get a little boring. But I find myself eating a lot less meat these days. And enjoying a greater variety of beans and bean products.

(If you ask me, Rie's partly to blame. She's not the world's most carnivorous being, and she has had a considerable amount of influence on my eating habits. I used to dread mushrooms, for instance, but nowadays I delight when we have a good selection in the fridge.)

Anyway, it brings me great pride to announce that today I consumed four different bean products. "Well, isn't that wonderful?" I can hear you all exclaim. And it is.

First, there were the leftovers of the little packet of toasted soybeans that I picked up last week in the Setsubun seasonal section at the grocery store. What's Setsubun? You can read about it here. I think I ate enough to account for the ages of Rie, Kona and I put together. And our apartment entry is sardine head-free, thank you very much.

Next was my lunch - the leftover curry lentil soup from yesterday's dinner. Yum. The lentils - a big bag o'beans - were an impulse purchase last weekend when we were buying other imported essentials in the Ameyoko shopping area in Ueno. Ahh, lentils... earthy lens-shaped goodness.

And finally, dinner. Rie, apparently unaware of my wanton ingestion of what's good for the heart, came home from work exhausted and craving Mabodofu. This deliciously spicy dish includes not one, but TWO different soybean products. Tofu gives Mabodofu its "dofu." And, at least in the Sichuan recipe (which is basically what we use), a kind of fermented black soybeans called touchi lend a characteristic... pungency? The overall effect is good though, trust me. Here's a recipe (with picture) that's similar to what a girl from Sichuan taught me several years ago.

So that's it. All told, two types of beans in four different shapes and colors.

Now there's a slight yet ominous rumbling in my tummy. And I need to go to bed.

But I'm sure I'll do it again. It was an absolute gas.