A Vegan BLT Sandwich
Today’s lunch was this vegan BLT on a Sprouted Onion & Poppy Seed Bagel with a 2009 Leonard Kreusch Riesling, It’s been one of those a relaxing, laid-back sort of days and for the most part, I’ve been in chill mode. I didn’t feel like spending a lot of time making lunch today and I didn’t feel like going out for a take-away, yet I wanted something tasty and satisfying. Then I remember the Fakin’ Bacon that I picked up while grocery shopping yesterday. I actually bought it to use in a lentil dish that I plan on making later this week, but since I have more than enough for that dish, I decided to try it out in a quick BLT. And when I say quick, I mean quick, and easy, too! It was just a matter of crisping up the bacon in a little olive oil, slicing the veggies and putting the sandwich together. That was it. And it was quite delicious.
I’ve always enjoyed a good BLT, but since giving up pork, I simply accepted the fact that the BLT experience was definitely one of those things I would never enjoy again. So, I was a bit apprehensive about this sandwich at first, thinking that being able to summon this familiar taste from my past was probably nothing more than a pipe dream. Well, I was quite pleasantly surprised. Now, being the straight up person that I am, I would never attempt to convince anyone that this vegan version of the classic BLT tastes exactly like the pork bacon version. On the contrary, it really doesn’t. However, it does have its own unique smokey flavorfulness that is certainly reminiscent of the real thing. And for you tempeh lovers and die hard vegans out there, as far as I can tell, it is probably about as close as you’re going to get to the real thing, Then again, I have heard that bacon made from eggplant, a raw food, is pretty good, too. I will be trying that soon, as well, once my non-stick drying sheet for my Excalibur dehydrator arrive. But that’s a story for another time.
I’ve seen this Fakin’ Bacon around for a few years, actually. Until yesterday, I had been passing it over as I picked up my regular tofu and tempeh products, not realizing that it, too, is tempeh. A few days ago, one of my MFP buddies, Vegan_Chick, mentioned that she was putting it in her lentil soup, so I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. So far, it’s one of my best discoveries this year. The only real issue I have is that the sodium content is a bit high for my taste. Next time, I think I’ll try my hand at making my own version from plain tempeh, perhaps adding roasted onions and tomatoes instead of fresh. I’ll also be sure to set up a proper photo shoot. Thank goodness for my trusty little iPhone. Once again, it bailed me out today, as I had not planned to post about this sandwich. I was simply throwing together a quick, easy lunch.
There’s really no actual recipe for this one. Simply pan fry the strips in a bit of oil until they are crispy and use them with your condiments and bread of choice just as you would regular bacon. That’s it. Enjoy!
Yum!!! I would totally love a vegan BLT – that looks great! I have not had Fakin’ Bacon, but I have had Light Life vegan bacon which I think would work well on a BLT.
Thanks again, Miss Rachel! I haven’t tried the Light Life Smart Bacon yet (I assume that’s the one you’re referring to), but it actually looks more like the real thing than Fakin’ Bacon does. Not sure how it tastes, but it might just be an even better choices for this sandwich. I’m gussing that the Fakin’ Bacon is probably more for soups and stews. I’m new to some of these meat analogue products so I didn’t know any better. I’ll have to give the other product a try.