New Mexico Mycological Society

At the April meeting, NMMS members will be among the first to view spectacular photos of truffles in their native habitat. An innovative new technique in underground photography has made this possible. Trained earthworms equipped with small but powerful headlamps carry minute fiberoptic cables into their subterranean domain. Don't miss these amazing pictures, 7:30 PM on April 1^st at the Natural History Museum.

An anonymous NMMS member claims to have found morels growing from a sandbox in a schoolyard near her home. When questioned further, the member replied, "They were quite robust, but a bit grittier than I like." She did dry some specimens, and found that they turned out to be an ideal aid for her project of refinishing some old wooden furniture.

Jonathan Caldwell wrote a while back with the following hypothesis.
"I am convinced that, for the last two years, space aliens have switched from abducting and mutilating cattle and people to Boletus barrowsii (it's certain to be more intelligent than either of the other two), since all I've found were one or two partly eviscerated and desiccated corpses, and no sign of any survivors. It may be that the species as we know it has been eliminated (or perhaps that's "emigrated") from our area."

As I'm sure most readers are aware, the United Nations has designated 1997 International Year of the Soy Bean. Also, April is National Tofu Discovery Month and March 30^th-April 5^th is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Since some members have informed me of their own allergies to cheese, eggs or other foods, I decided the time was ripe to present this month's recipe and accompanying article.

Allergies or intolerance to some or all dairy products are familiar to many. Avoidance of eggs and meat by choice or necessity is common. Some also cannot consume acidic vegetables such as onions or common grains such as corn or wheat. Perhaps most unfortunate among our readers are those who love to hunt mushrooms, but dare not eat them for fear of digestive discomfort or even serious allergic reaction.
The last couple of decades have seen remarkable innovations in tasty and nutritional food substitutes. The introduction of Diet for a Small Planet in 1971 and other popular publications opened the public's eyes to the appeal of a leaner, more efficient diet. Grains and legumes moved to the forefront of many's primary cuisines.
The food source making perhaps the most impressive transition is the soy bean. It has moved from curiosity to commonplace. Appearing in a myriad of forms, it has become the food source of the 90's. Soy emulsion, soy extract, textured soy protein, and hydrolyzed soy concentrate are only a few soy-related terms permeating today's vocabulary. A Soyburger cooked with a slice of SoySation^® cheese substitute served on a soy flour bun topped with flavored soy concentrate onion substitute and hydrolyzed soy gelatin Pickle Replacers might be a common meal either at home or on the table of many an elite Santa Fe café.
The soy bean has a long and colorful history. Cultivated and widely used in the Orient for thousands of years, soy remains a significant and versatile food source. Tofu, a substance produced from mashed soy beans, has gained considerable popularity in recent years. Ethnologists studying a few obscure Eastern cultures recorded accounts of people forming tofu in the shape of minor deities and eating, dismembering, or squashing them during certain religious ceremonies. Tofu was also fashioned into human or animal form and enjoyed as children's playthings.
Those who consume tofu regularly should know that tofu frequently exudes a mildly psychotropic substance called Tofutenine. This usually has little effect unless the tofu is consumed in painfully large quantities. Some of the same cultures mentioned above produced a pair of intoxicating drinks: a soy "wine" made from fermented soy "milk" and a much stronger distillate, which happens to contain concentrated levels of Tofuluene. These people would form tofu into the shapes of snakes, salamanders, or toads, cure them in the distillate, and then suck on or lick the animal forms, thus ingesting their "venom." The participants of this activity reportedly experienced pronounced effects, including boredom, disinterest, and even apathy.