Fresh Soya beans, and a recipe for a Soy sandwich spread - one of the best protein crops you could wish for.

To celebrate one of the best protein crops you could wish for. Fiddly and a little fickle but the taste is fab. Fresh Soya beans.

Harvest is a great time and soy are a good fun crop to grow, our beds have done really well for a very low cost and effort. Some produced more than others but overall a healthy crop. Originally intended as Edamame (a name the immature soybean and its dish are called in Japan) they were left to fill and mature as I could never quite catch them at the right moment..... I think you need to be very selective and not harvest on a broad scale to be successful. Avoiding pulling a lot of plants that may go on to crop well through the season.

I thought I'd lost the chance with them until pulling a trial batch, stripping the plants and then podding, with only a few beans per pod. Into a pressure cooker for half hour and wow, so much tastier than your average, dried, soya beans as bought in the shops. With a creamy texture and full flavour they really are stunningly good and, for a bean freak like me, a must to try at least once.

In Beau Champ days I would go on to make tofu from these but, alas, those days may be over as I've no pig to feed the Okara. This is the solids left from straining the cooked soy milk and it can be used as an admix for bread, if you don't have a pig that is. Hmmmm, perhaps i may come back to this as I do have about 20 kilo of these fresh beans to get through and do not want to dry them if at all possible as the fresh taste is what I am after.

Next year, Chick Peas. the trial was interesting but as they were sown so late they have been dug back in as they stood no chance of cropping well. A good crop to have as there is a global shortage created by the taste and trends of consumers across the pond who have just discovered the delights of Hommous in a big way.

SIMPLE SOYBEAN SANDWICH SPREAD

as described by Beverly Wood in her 'Bean Cuisine' cook book of 1977, a fine year for learning about eating beans.

1 cup cooked soy beans
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise (adjust to preferred taste and texture)
1/4 cup of green olives, ideally with pimentos
1 tablespoon fine chopped spring onions (adjust to preferred taste and texture)

method is simple, mash the cooked beans with the ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste.

Variations

Bacon is really good. This is a cooked version and includes fine chopped onion, garlic and parsley. Saute and then add to mashed beans with oregano and the mayonnaise as above. Try a dash of soy or tamari sauce.