Tofu

Q. I bought a six-pack of Mauna Loa macadamia nuts in Hawaii and upon opening one of the cans by peeling back the sealed top, it let loose with a bang so loud I jumped a foot high. I didn't eat them, of course. Could they be toxic? They smelled funny, too. The other cans were all right. Connie Green Bloomfield Hills, Mich. A. Whenever you encounter anything out of the ordinary when opening a box, can or bottle of any product that is to be consumed, either return the product to the store or send a letter to the manufacturer stating when and where the item was purchased along with any code number stamped on the packaging.

Tofu is flexing its muscles. The spongy pillow of Oriental cuisine that once seemed condemned to a future of stir-fry and miso has turned into the chameleon of the food industry. Look around. It's being whipped into low- cholesterol alternatives to ice cream, pounded into meatless bacon strips, tossed into salads at trendy delis, and savored for its lack of fat and calories by the health-conscious everywhere. It's also one of the most versatile additions you can make to your pantry.

Pesto, a summertime passion for many of us, has many virtues, including fast, easy preparation and great flavor. But a low calorie count is not normally among them. Made the traditional way with lots of Parmesan cheese, olive oil and pine nuts, the uncooked, basil-scented sauce for pasta can be a real jolt in the diet. Enter Pesto Nuovo. Our intriguing, equally fast and easy version of the classic Italian sauce has a secret ingredient - tofu. A square of the bland white bean curd, blended in the food processor with garlic, fresh basil, salt and a mere teaspoon of olive oil, makes enough smooth, creamy pesto for one serving of spaghetti.

Dear Polly: Do you have a recipe for making your own frozen tofu? - Helen Dear Helen: Try this tofu-based frozen dessert for a non-dairy treat. In a blender or food processor, combine 2 cups plain tofu, 1 1/2 cups pureed fruit, such as strawberries or bananas, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and 1/8 teaspoon salt until smooth. Chill thoroughly, then freeze the mixture in an ice-cream freezer as you would ice cream. For a smooth, well-blended flavor, allow the finished frozen dessert to ripen, either packed in extra ice and salt in the ice-cream freezer or in a regular freezer for at least an hour before serving.

Ready to feed your pets organic dog food and cat food - otherwise known as "dogola" and "catola" - spruced up with "miracle grain from the Aztecs"? Or, if you don't have any pampered pets, how about jazzing up your diet with such health foods as Zapata's Organic Tortillas or tofu hot dogs or organic bagels? At the big, weekend Natural Foods Expo at the Philadelphia Civic Center, there will even be a display of barley-grass and wheat-grass juices to help the hip unwind after a busy day. But most of the 700 exhibitors at the trade show, which is for marketers, dealers and distributors, display less-unusual wares, ranging from organic ice cream and dehydrated tomato snacks to huge collections of natural vitamins, herbal remedies, food supplements and organic vegetables.

Grilling in some form or other is done in virtually every country. In recent years, our own country has experienced a veritable grill mania. Outdoor cooking is no longer just simple charcoal grills wheeled out on a hot summer evening. Elaborate gas grills are commonplace, and many homes boast a permanent barbecue pit as the focus for backyard entertaining. The casual ease of grilling makes it perfect for holiday weekends and get-togethers with family and friends. Cooking over hot coals or smoky mesquite imparts a unique flavor that cannot be duplicated indoors, and the opportunity to escape a hot kitchen at this time of the year is quite tempting.

Oscar de la Renta took a pie in the face from an animal-rights activist last week as he did a promotional appearance for his perfume line at a store outside Portland, Ore. "Shame on you for using fur," shouted Alison Green as she smashed the designer's face with a tofu cream pie. A police spokesman, who said Green may be cited for disorderly conduct, said de la Renta "cleaned up and came right back and continued signing autographs. " STEWART PORT The Los Angeles board of supervisors Wednesday voted to rename Los Angeles International Aiport after the late actor Jimmy Stewart.

It's been going on for a few years now, the healthification of junk foods that are targeted at the aging Woodstock generation. First, it seemed they bleached the salt out of everything, including V-8 juice. Then the cholesterol started to go. Its absence now gets more ink on the labels than the presence of vitamins, protein, iron or energy. We noticed the corn-chip display, especially. Stamped prominently on the Tostitos bag was: "No cholesterol, never was," or something along the lines of Seven-Up's pledge on the caffeine front ("Never had it, never will")

Wok and Tofu, the plain-looking, wood-paneled restaurant on the southeast corner of 11th and Spruce Streets, certainly lives up to its name. Lots of fresh white tofu and a good number of stir-fries. This Chinese restaurant has been serving the neighborhood well for a little over a year. The food is decent and the prices reasonable, with the average entree pricing out about $5.95. If you are a lover of tofu and happen to be in the neighborhood, Wok and Tofu is worth investigating.

If you are conscientious about reading labels on the products you bring into your kitchen, you will notice how many of them contain dairy ingredients. Dairy products are high in fat and cholesterol and, for the lactose intolerant, can be the source of serious discomfort. How do you replace the rich taste and creamy texture of full fat ingredients like cream, or the "bite" characteristic of Feta cheese in recipes like spanakopita? This week's recipe calls for whole wheat bread crumbs.

Makes 6 servings 1. Cut the block of tofu into six even slices and set aside. Using a food processor, mix the remaining ingredients into a paste. Rub the paste all over all sides of each piece of tofu and marinate for a minimum of three hours. 2. To make the dipping sauce, mix together ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add the ketchup mixture and simmer for 30 minutes, adding small amounts of water as necessary if the sauce gets too thick.

When Marie Kraft of Ambler was trying to improve her diet, tofu, the low-fat, high-protein soybean curd, was one of the foods she hoped to add. But she was vexed by the process of trying to squeeze the water out of it, a necessary step in improving the texture and taste. She searched the Internet for a gadget to make this easier, and found nothing, so she set out to invent her own. Her father, a retired engineer, helped with the first bolts-and-glue prototype, which she said was "just hideous" - the first in a series of designs.

Any time the Chestnut Hill Local publishes a slightly left-of-center opinion piece, editor Peter Mazzaccaro can expect complaints and, occasionally, a particularly pointed putdown: "You must be a Weavers Way shopper. " Translation: You must be one of those Birkenstock-wearing, granola-eating socialists from Mount Airy's Weavers Way Co-op. As opposed to the more socially correct, politically conservative, staid inhabitants of Chestnut Hill. Well, for all those callers, fair warning: The Weavers Way food co-op and market is coming to The Hill.

Summer is the perfect time for sitting under the cool shade of a pink umbrella, sipping lemonade, and listening to the pleasing lull of - no, not the waves on the beach, but the sizzle and clang of stir-fry. At the many ethnic food trucks frequented by students, professors, and workers in University City for 20 years, summer means shorter lines and quick service for the cheap and tasty fare that normally requires a wait of 20 minutes or more. While some Penn campus food trucks farther from the hospital work fewer hours or even close during the summer, there are still plenty scattered around serving menus ranging from vegetarian to Vietnamese.

LOVE Park has figured in city founder William Penn's vision, city planner Edmund Bacon's college thesis, architect Vincent Kling's blueprints, and skateboarder Tony Hawk's video game. Visitors come from all over the world to see Robert Indiana's sculptural ode to the world's greatest four-letter word. The original-thinkers pose for snapshots in the open middle of it, their hands raised as if they're holding it up with their remarkably un-Atlas-like arms. Yes, that little park in the grand shadow of City Hall is a site of incalculable import.

THEY ARE bomb-throwing Birkenstock brats. Wolves in hemp clothing. Enemies of scientific progress. Inveterate haters of humanity. They are environmental extremists and animal-rights zealots. They are running loose. And they are endangering us all. The national press, which has put a happy green face on the environmental movement for three decades, has largely ignored a recent rising tide of violence being waged by eco-nuts across the country and around the world. In August, someone planted explosives at biotech giant Chiron in Emeryville, Calif.

Zipporah Taylor is sitting in her third-grade classroom eating a school lunch that she says is yummy. If that seems remarkable, consider this: Lunch is spinach tofu pie. "I like the broccoli cheese soup and garden burgers, too," says Zipporah, 8. "I like everything," chimes in desk mate Gabriel Liss. If most students think school lunches are as appetizing as, well, spinach and tofu, few of them are sitting down to the kind of food served at the Kimberton Waldorf School in Kimberton, Chester County.

It's easy to find a bad veggie burger. They're often mushy, bland and downright disgusting. But before you give up on them altogether, check out the ones at Basic 4 Vegetarian Snack Bar. Each morning, the tiny stand inside the Reading Terminal Market makes its burgers from scratch, mixing large metal pots of crumbled tofu and bits of vegetables, then grilling them on a skillet. Then workers slather on a creamy dressing made from tofu-style mayonnaise, and pile onions, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese onto a whole-wheat roll or a wheat pita.

Familiar, filling and satisfying, macaroni and cheese ranks high on the comfort-food scale. Though the pasta tubes known as macaroni were first imported from Italy more than 200 years ago, baking them with cheese sauce became popular in America only in the 19th century. This childhood classic is one of the best-known pasta dishes, appearing regularly on home-style menus. Though meatless, traditional macaroni and cheese is loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol. Cream sauces are full of butter, milk or cream, and other high-fat dairy products.

Thanksgiving is a time to be with close friends and family, and if you are interested in health-supporting options this holiday, there is a delicious alternative. You can enjoy a healthy holiday feast and all the fixings with less than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving. How? Create a meatless Thanksgiving celebration that is easy to prepare, as delicious as the traditional meal, and extremely cost-effective. Thanksgiving Roast is an enticing centerpiece that turns five pounds of firm tofu into an outstanding meal with 12 hearty servings.