My absolute favorite sandwich has got to be the BLT! Actually, my favorite is the BLTAO or the BLATO sandwich (pronounced blahh toe). That's bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and onion. Does anything come closer to perfection? I submit that it does not.
Unfortunately, my bacon experiments have not gone as planned. I found a recipe for eggplant bacon. I like eggplant, I like bacon, so I gave it a whirl. It turned out to be strips of charcoal with a slight hint of maple flavor. I then found a recipe for tofu bacon but if you remember chocolate week you'll know that I've had my tofu allotment for the decade. One recipe called for shredded coconut. Now coconut I have an abundance of but do you know how much work it takes to shred a coconut? Plus, I'm not really feelin the connection. So I checked out my fridge and found some egg roll wrappers and thus, the birth of brilliance.
Vegan Bacon
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
4 tb soy sauce or liquid aminos
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c maple syrup
1 pkg vegan egg roll wrappers
Cut your wrappers into strips making them 4-5 sheets thick. Mix all your ingredients together and marinate the strips for about 10-20 minutes. Now fry up in a fry pan till golden brown on each side. They should be crispy yet chewy.
Vegan BLATOs
lettuce
sliced tomato
veganaise
mustard
vegan bacon
avocado
red onion sliced
rolls
Do I really need to spell this one out? You know how it goes.
At our house, meatloaf was usually an after thought. If we had leftovers that needed to be used up and meat in the house we'd put them together and kill two birds with one stone so to speak. But on one occasion we killed more than that.
My grandmother, whom I adore, is a bit of an insomniac. As a child this came in handy because whenever there was a problem in the middle of the night, boogy men and the like, she was always right there. But on one evening we were all wishing grandma would have gotten some sleep. One night, while watching insomniac tv she came across a "miracle herb" that would turn any meatloaf into a feast for a king. Being completely dazzled because of her lack of sleep she ordered it on the spot.
She spoke of her purchase for days and promised that when it came we were having meatloaf. Well, you can imagine our excitement to be having meatloaf that wasn't some concoction thought up by Mr. Wizard! We rushed home from school every day with eagerness to see if the miracle had arrived, and one day....it had!
My grandmother, brother, and I anxiously entered the kitchen, scrubbed up and put on our gowns as we prepared for this delicate operation of preparing meatloaf. We mixed the seasonings par the instructions, gently folded in the ground beef and, as if putting a babe to sleep, slipped it into the oven with loving care.
As it baked we seemed like new mothers, checking in on it every few seconds, dashing to it to make sure no one opened the oven and when it was finally done, pulling it out and looking lovingly at what we had so pleasantly created.
The family gathered round the table, the blessing was said, and grandma did the honors of serving each their long awaited slice of loaf. We also waited as she took the first bite. Then we all commenced. After one bite we all looked at each other in disgust. My brother was the first to speak, "tastes like road kill." Not exactly the response my grandmother was hoping for but, being in agreement, she went to the kitchen to find a last minute substitute. I actually don't think we have had meatloaf since.
Now that I'm the head chef in our kitchen I realize how great it is to have meatloaf around. And, how delicious leftovers are. We had these meatloaf sandwiches last night and Matthew insisted that they were some of the best sandwiches he'd ever had. So pull out your left over - leftover meatloaf, slice it up, grill it up and eat it up.
Meatloaf Sandwiches
leftover meatloaf
rolls
leaf lettuce
1 tomato sliced
sprouts
red onion sliced
mustard
veginase/mayo
chili sauce or ketchup
Slice your meatloaf about 1/2 an inch thick. Heat it up in a pan with some oil till its brown on both sides. Place on a roll with a leaf of lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, sprouts, mustard, veginase, and chili sauce. And there you have a FANTASTIC meatloaf sandwich, completely roadkill free!
As a teenager I moved to Utah from California. It may as well have been a different planet! We moved from a 4 bedroom townhouse to a house with 4 acers. I was in culture shock to say the least. This was only compounded one day when we invited a friend over for dinner.
"What ya havin," he asked.
"Tacos"
"What are Tacos?"
I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at him to see if he was joking....he wasn't, and rightly so! You don't joke when it comes to Tacos!
But, I ask you, how on earth, in a civilized society, can someone not know about Tacos? I'm sorry for bringing this traumatic story up but I promise it has a purpose. This story is sad and upsetting to the mojority of us. Thus proving that Tacos are a staple, a basic, a necessity! And that inner basic need for tacos is no different for vegans. Thus, The Taco
Tacos
1lb lentils
1 pkg taco seasoing
refried beans
1/2 bunch of lettuce
2 large tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 green chilies
1 lime
garlic powder or fresh
taco shells
Pull out that trusty, loveable little rice cooker and cook up some lentils. Add water, lentils and taco seasoning. Now, in a food processor add tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chilies, the juice of 1 lime, and a pinch of salt. Pulse to make fresh salsa. Wash and chop lettuce. Heat your refried beans and taco shells. We serve everything family style and make our own but you can pre-make them for a more elegant approach.
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