BLT without the B

[Mendocino]

I like to take some dill pickles, slab them lengthwise, on toasted rye. YUM!

[Warpy]

1. Tempeh sliced thin and fried crisp

One drop of liquid smoke to a quarter cup of mayo, then build your sammich.

Who knew moldy soybeans could do so much?

[Android3.14]

2. Morningstar bacon substitute

Works fine, and you can still add pickles.

[Mendocino]

3. Other than the toasted rye,

I don't have to heat up anything or soil a pan. Very easy and clean.

[johnp3907]

4. My favorite sandwich is the ELT.

Breaded eggplant in place of the bacon. Grilled eggplant makes a great healthier vegan option.

Do you put anything on your pickle n' rye? Is it a PLT? Any condiments?

[Mendocino]

5. Spread the bread

with a little olive oil mixed with garlic powder and fresh cracked black pepper.

[johnp3907]

6. Sounds good.

I may try it with the curried dills I bought a while back.

[kentauros]

7. Here's one method for making vegan bacon

though no recipe is given for spice-amounts:

Rice Paper Bacon

Now, I thought I also saw a recipe recently for bacon made with aquafaba, but it's not showing up on the FB page where I spied it originally. I'm still looking

[Mendocino]

8. I've made vegan bacon with tofu

a few times, but I would rather avoid the oily mess and the added fat calories.

[kentauros]

9. Some fats are incredibly good for you.

Perhaps use avocado oil instead of the olive oil. Plus, by the sounds of it in the video, it's not truly necessary anyway. It seems to only be added for mouthfeel.

[Mendocino]

10. I like seeds and nuts,

so I try to use other fats sparingly.

[kentauros]

11. Those have good fats, too

and are probably all you need

[kentauros]

12. Okay, I found the vegan *bacon* recipe and FB post.

It looks like a good one, too!

Homemade vegan bacon

Nigel Frazer-Ashbrook
May 11 at 7:03pm
..
Homemade vegan bacon, used kidney beans and wheat gluten flour and a few tablespoons of the infamous aquafaba. Fried up well, chewy just like bacon.
The recipe , 1tin of red kidney beans, 1and half cups of vital wheat gluten flour, 2teaspns nutritional yeast flakes, 3 teaspns miso paste, 1teaspn of liquid smoke, half teaspn of beetroot powder, 1 vegetable oxo cube(crumbled, no water). Blend all together (except the flour) to make a paste like mixture then mix in the flour to make a dough- add a little Un whipped bean juice if mixture is a little dry- knead for a few minutes till smooth. Form into a rectangle about 6inch by 3inch by 2inch. The "fat"is a dough made from gluten flour and water , this is pressed out to the size of the bacon rectangle and "glued" on using some of the bean liquid. I had to press the fat into the bacon to make it stick then roughly reshaped back to a rectangle. Put it in the fridge to chill and then slice the bacon, I found that a few mm slice which is then rolled out a little works well if you like crispy bacon. Fry for a few minutes and enjoy. Of course you can add extra seasonings of your own choice. When I cooked it I added a few splashes of mushroom soy sauce, this gave it a little extra hit.☺

The thread at the FB post has some clarifications, including what an "oxo cube" is (vegetable bouillon.)

[Citrus]

13. TLT

Extra-firm tofu
Liquid Smoke
Soy Sauce or Tamari

Freeze and thaw tofu
Squeeze mightily to remove as much water as possible
Slice the tofu block crosswise into 1/4" cutlets
Dribble Liquid Smoke and Soy Sauce (or Tamari)
Fry in corn oil, medium heat, browning on both sides

Corn oil is one of my secrets to giving things a comfort-food-y mouth feel. It's not the healthiest oil, so use it infrequently. You can always use your favorite cooking oil.

You may need to play with the seasonings to get the flavor you like, but this is really close to bacon. Experiment with the cooking time to get the texture you like (crisp outside, chewy inside? firm all the way through? soft?).