Here's a tidbit of foodie folklore: We can thank Ben Franklin for bringing tofu to the American table. On a trip to France he became so enthralled with "a cheese made of soybeans from China" that he sent soy seeds from Paris to Pennsylvania, thereby launching this ancient Asian legume's slow but steady conquest of the New World.

To those who dismiss tofu as a bland blob of protein with little or no culinary merit, I ask you to reconsider, because soy truly is the Zelig of the legume universe, able to assume an extraordinary array of textures and flavors.

Henry Ford, an even bigger booster of bean curd than Benjamin Franklin, had his chefs create an all-soy menu for the Ford Century of Progress exhibit at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. Even the coffee, cookies and candy were soy-based. Then again, Ford also used soy extensively in his cars, making everything from door handles to gas pedals from a soy-based plastic (sadly, his efforts to pioneer a soy-based car were abandoned at the onset of World War II.)

The more edible incarnations of soy, which, I assure you, have no auto body aftertaste, include edamame, miso, tempeh, tofu, soybeans, soy milk, and soy flour. If you're wondering how to incorporate these ingredients into your diet, there are plenty of cookbooks devoted solely to soy; two of my favorites are "The New Soy Cookbook" by Lorna Sass and "Soy Desserts" by Patricia Greenberg.

If you're wondering why you should incorporate soy into your diet, I'm afraid to tell you how phenomenally good it is for you because you'll say," how can a food that's loaded with phytochemicals and isoflavones, so high in protein, calcium, and amino acids, as well as being lactose and cholesterol-free, possibly taste good, too?"

Start with edamame, which everybody loves; it's even the preferred bait of woodchucks (I speak from first hand experience, and I'll admit that when I buy edamame for the Hav-a-Hart trap, I don't bother to get organic.) From there, you could progress to a pint of peanut butter-chocolate Soy Delicious, and then, when you've conquered your fear of soy, work your way back to, say, a smoked tofu and black soybean chili. Snack on Genisoy's Soy Crisps. And while you're at it, raise a soy-based smoothie to those founding fathers of the Soy Luck Club, Ford and Franklin.