Whenever it's necessary for you to seek a substitute dish for meat (which I hope is not too often), for the sake of your long-lasting youth don't turn to the "noodle and spaghetti" section of your cookbook.

As I pointed out to you earlier, starch can never be a safe substitute for protein.

Here are some substitute meat dishes which contain high-grade protein, and which can well be adopted into your menu-planning as a means of easing up on your budget. The fol­lowing recipes, together with the egg and cheese recipes and the seed cereal recipes, are the only protein substitutes for meat that you can schedule in a menu with the full assurance that you're not completely shortchanging yourself and your family on health for that day.

First we'll take a look at all the delicious ways in which sunflower seeds (a complete protein, you'll remember) can be called into service as a pinch hitter for meat.

SUNFLOWER ROAST

1 cup hulled sunflower seeds 3 tsp. chopped parsley

1 cup whole-grain bread 2 tbsp. cooking oil or butter

crumbs 1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. sunflower seed meal pinch each of thyme, sweet

1 egg  marjoram, sweet basil, sum-

2  tsp. meat extract paste mer savory, meat or chicken 5 tbsp. chopped leeks or chives stock, or broth made from(onion may be used, if tol- soup cubes erated)

Sauté the chopped leeks or chives in the oil or butter. Mix the coarsely ground sunflower seeds with the bread crumbs, herbs and sunflower seed meal. Add the sautéed leeks, well-beaten egg, lemon juice and meat extract which has been melted in enough stock to moisten so the mixture can be molded into a firm loaf. Place in a greased loaf pan, dot with pieces o£ butter or sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) 40 to 50 minutes, or until the center o£ the roast is done. Serve with a tomato or brown sauce. This meat substitute has seen hundreds o£ Britons through their "austerity days" o£ little or no meat. It makes a tasty, nutlike loaf that is equally good hot or cold. Try serving it with a tossed green salad and a fruit dessert.

SUNSHINE BURGER

1  cup o£ sunflower seed meal 1 tbsp. cooking oil or melted 3 finely grated carrots   butter

1/2 cup chopped celery  salt to taste

2  tbsp. finely chopped onion or 1/4 cup milk (garlic-flavored) leeks (optional) pinch o£ sweet basil

1 tsp. chopped parsley

Combine all the ingredients with enough of the milk so they may be molded into patties about ½-inch thick. Place in a shallow oiled baking pan, and bake until brown on both sides. These patties are good either hot or cold, and make a good pro­tein food for a lunch box. While hot they may be served with a butter sauce. For variety add 2 tablespoons chopped ripe or stuffed olives, and 1 tablespoon grated Italian cheese.

SUNFLOWER PEPPERS

4 large green peppers for stuff- 1/3 cup tomato juice

ing (tomatoes, sweet onions, 2 tsp. chopped parsley

or fresh red pimentoes may 2 tsp. finely chopped onions,

also be used)  leeks, or chives

1/3 cup whole-grain bread salt to taste

crumbs  pinch of sweet basil

1/2 cup coarsely chopped sun- ¾ cup meatless stock made

flower seed kernels from Vegex or bouillon cubes

1/3 cup grated cheese, Italian or (beef extract may also be American  used)

1 tbsp. cooking oil or melted butter

Prepare the peppers for stuffing by cutting off stem end and removing seeds and pulp. Mix together the bread crumbs, chopped sunflower seed kernels, 4 tablespoons of the grated cheese, oil, parsley, onion and seasonings, adding a little of the stock, if needed, to make a firm mixture. Fill the peppers with the mixture, allowing it to pile up on top. Place in a greased cas­serole. Mix the remaining stock and the tomato juice, and pour around the peppers. Cover and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the peppers are tender. Baste them occasionally with the liquid. Remove the cover during the last 10 minutes and sprinkle the top of each pepper with the remaining cheese. Allow the cheese to melt. Serve with the liquid, plain or slightly thickened, as a sauce. The peppers for this oven dish may be stuffed the night before, or early in the morning, and placed in the refrigerator until time to add the liquid and bake. This makes an easily prepared, nourishing entree for a busy day.

CONGEE

Anyone who has traveled in the Far East will recognize this as the "hash" of the Oriental kitchen. When prepared with millet meal it yields a dish of high-protein value, exclusive of the meat or fowl it contains. Instead of leftover meats, bits of cooked fish or anchovy filets may be substituted, together with sliced hard-cooked eggs. In fact, congee is a delicious, economical, highly nourishing dish.

Prepare millet meal porridge. After the millet has come to a first boil, add the leftover meat, fowl, or cooked fish, and about 1 scant teaspoon of Vegex or beef extract. Allow to cook in a double boiler over boiling water for about 30 minutes longer. Congee may be served immediately, or allowed to remain in the refrigerator for several days and then reheated. In fact, the flavor is more pronounced the second day. In order to warm it over, it may be necessary to thin with a little broth or stock. After removing from the fire, add a little chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice. Serve with chopped green onions, chopped chives or sprinkled with chopped fresh dill. Any chopped cooked vegetable may be added.

If you are a vegetarian, prepare your congee by stirring in 1/2 cup grated American cheese while the millet porridge is still hot, instead of the meat or fowl, and serve as described. Avoid overheating the cheese, otherwise it will become stringy. Congee may also be cooked with onion and served with cooked fish, anchovy filets or scrambled eggs.

MILLET LOAF

4 heaping tbsp. hulled millet 1 tbsp. chopped onion, leeks

seed  or chives

1 cup water pinch of sweet basil and

1 small can peas  thyme

1  tsp. Vegex or beef extract sprig of fresh dill chopped,

2  tbsp. cooking oil or butter or 1/8tsp. crushed dill seeds 2 cups shredded carrots salt to taste

2 eggs, beaten 2 tbsp. grated cheese

1 tbsp. raw sugar or honey 1 tbsp. tomato paste

Soak the millet seed in 1 cup of cold water for several hours, drain, and steam with the juice from the peas and the Vegex or beef extract until the seeds are done. Add the mashed peas, carrots, beaten egg, tomato paste, onion, fat and seasonings. Blend well, form into a loaf, place in a greased loaf pan, and allow to bake in a slow oven (3oo0 to 3250 F.) for 45 to 60 minutes. About 10 minutes before removing from the oven, sprinkle the top of the loaf with the grated cheese and allow to melt. Serve with a green salad bowl and a fruit dessert.

ALMOND-MILLET LOAF

1/2 cup cold, thickened millet  2 tbsp. wheat germ

porridge 1 tsp. herb flavored salt

1/2 cup almonds, finely ground  1 cup canned tomatoes 1/2cup grated coconut

Blend into a smooth mixture, shape into a loaf and place in a greased pan. Bake in a slow oven (3oo0 to 3250 F.) until nicely browned. This is something different in the way of a meatless loaf; it can be used to add taste variety to meatless menus. If desired, chopped olives, raisins or red pimentos may also be added. Serve with a cooked green vegetable, a tossed or finger salad, and a dessert containing eggs and milk.

SEED NUT LOAF

1/3 cup hulled sunflower seeds, 3 eggs, lightly beaten

finely chopped  l½ tbsp. cooking oil or melted

1/3 cup sesame seed meal  butter

1/3 cup walnuts or almonds, 11/2 cups milk

finely chopped 11/2 cups soft whole-grain bread

11/2 cups cooked lima beans, crumbs

mashed salt to taste

11/2 cups cooked carrots, dash of paprika

chopped  2 tsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. minced onion or chives

Add the milk and lightly beaten eggs to the crumbs and com­bine all ingredients. Pack into a well-greased loaf pan. Bake in a moderate oven (35o0 F.) for 45 minutes, or until firm. Serve with tomato, cream or mushroom sauce. This is a valuable high-protein loaf that can safely take the place of meat or fowl in a meal. Serve with a tossed green salad, a cube of cheese and a fruit cup.

TAMALE LOAF

1 cup millet meal, or yellow   ¾ cup grated Cheddar cheese

unbolted cornmeal  21/3 cups canned tomatoes

l small can mushrooms, or l   3 cups hot water

pint fresh mushrooms 1/2cup cold water

4 tbsp. cooking oil 1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. minced onion (optional) pinch of sweet basil and sweet

1 clove garlic marjoram

4 tbsp. grated Italian cheese (Parmesan or Romano)

Sauté the onions (if used) in the heated oil, add the mushrooms and sauté lightly, then stir in the tomatoes, half of the salt and the garlic. Allow to simmer very slowly for about 11/2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. (The garlic clove may be removed after the first 30 minutes, if only a mild flavor is desired.) Then prepare the mush by mixing the meal with the cold water, and adding gradually to the salted boiling water, stirring until the mush thickens and bubbles to a boil. Lower the flame and cook over a slow fire for about 12 minutes longer. Place a layer of the mush in the bottom of a greased shallow casserole or baking dish, cover with a layer of the tomato-mushroom sauce, add a third layer of the grated Cheddar cheese, and repeat, ending up with a topping of the mush sprinkled with the grated Italian cheese, making sure to save some of the sauce to serve over the tamale loaf. Bake uncovered in a slow oven (300° to 3250 F.) for about 30 minutes. Serve with a tossed green salad, and for dessert add an orange custard.

EGGPLANT STEAKS

1 large eggplant (firm, glossy 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

and dark purple) pinch of salt

4 eggs, well-beaten  cooking oil or melted butter

1 garlic clove

Peel the eggplant, slice into 1/4inch "steaks" and sprinkle very lightly with salt. Pile one slice on top of the other, cover with a heavy plate and allow to stand for 1 hour in order to extract the acrid juices which cause some persons to dislike this valuable member o£ the vegetable kingdom. Rinse thoroughly with clean water, then dry each slice thoroughly. Make a batter o£ the eggs, cheese and salt. Dip the eggplant steaks into this batter and drop into a heavy skillet containing the heated shortening in which the clove o£ garlic has been lightly browned. (If you keep a jar of garlic oil on hand, this will not be neccessary.) Allow each side of the steaks to cook over a medium flame for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot with a green salad bowl, a portion of cottage cheese and a fruit pudding or sherbet.

CHEESE NUT LOAF

1 cup chopped walnuts 2 tbsp. chopped chives, or j

4 tbsp. sunflower seed meal, tsp. minced onion

sesame seed meal or a mix- 1/3 cup milk

ture of both  4 tsp. cooking oil or melted

1½ cups grated American  butter

cheese  2 tbsp. lemon juice

1  cup dry whole-wheat bread dash of mace or nutmeg crumbs  salt to taste

2  eggs, well-beaten

If onions are used, brown lightly in the fat, add the milk, then blend into the bread crumbs. Stir in the well-beaten eggs, add the grated cheese, nuts, seed meal, lemon juice, chives and seasonings. Mix well. If too stiff add enough more milk to form a molded loaf. Pack into a greased loaf pan, top with a few of the bread crumbs held in reserve, dot with butter and bake in a slow oven (3oo0 to 3250 F.) for 30 to 40 minutes. This makes a nutritious, satisfying entree, and should be served with a cooked green vegetable, a green salad and a fruit dessert.

Now, after reading through this far-from-complete listing of "meat substitutes that are protein," don't you agree that it's purely lack of imagination, at the best, which causes a housewife or a home economist to turn to the high-starch, low-nutrition macaroni and rice dishes for meatless menus? With a little ingenuity and experimentation, you can concoct other delicious high-protein meat substitutes from adapta­tions of those I have given you as a starter.

SUNSHINE SOUP (MEATLESS)

4 tbsp. sunflower seed meal  2 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups consomme  pinch of sweet basil

i1/4 cups tomato purée 1 bay leaf

1 cup of shredded carrot 1 cassia bud or 1 small whole

1 clove garlic clove

4 tbsp. water  pinch of raw or brown sugar

salt to taste

Melt the butter in a deep saucepan, add the carrots and garlic, and sauté lightly for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the water, tomato purée, salt, herbs and sugar. Cover the pan, and allow to steam until the carrot is tender. Blend the consomme into the sunflower seed meal, then add to the tomato mixture, allow­ing to heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve, topping each bowl with a heaping tablespoon of thick sour cream, half moons of avocado, or a sprinkling of chopped green onions. This makes a creamy, highly nutritious protein soup—one that's destined for wide­spread popularity

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