Bacon makes it better

Week before last I became a vegetarian. Ok, not really, but I had four vegetarian meals, which is more probably than, like, ever, in one week.

1st veg meal: I had some pseudo-vegetarian friends over for dinner (I prefer to call them “just plain fussy”) and struggled to find a main entree chic enough for a dinner party. A friend suggested some cheese-nut patties smothered in tomato sauce, but I knew it wouldn’t  be appealing looking on a plate. I ended up making a mushroom, artichoke and spinach lasagna recipe I found on epicurious.com and it was delicious and hearty (good enough to make again).

2nd veg meal: I made those cheese-nut patties my friend had suggested. And, despite its rather unappetizing name — yum! And close enough in terms of texture and taste that G. was thoroughly convinced there was ground meat in it.

3rd veg meal: Had brunch in my ‘hood at vegetarian eatery and juice bar Pulp Kitchen with a girlfriend. I spent a long time choosing a dish (honestly, I really, really wanted some bacon) but settled on the PK Sandwich (avocado, roasted tomato and spicy crispy tofu) — I figured it’d be a safe choice and not something pretending to be something it’s not (aka tofu posing as eggs).

4th veg meal: Lunch date with a true vegetarian friend (not like the fusspots I had over for dinner) at Camros Eatery — kale salad, lentil patty and red rice ball. Tasty, filling and I felt nice and healthy afterwards!

All of these veggies, though, left me majorly craving bacon. And so I had a spaghetti carbonara the other day, and now I want to order this Bacon Freak Cookbook. Don’t you just love its tagline, Bacon is Meat Candy? It includes recipes from well-known chefs, including Rick Bayless, plus it has a chapter on desserts (chocolate bacon martini, anyone? How about a bacon-grilled s’more?)

Sounds pretty genius to me.

6 Comments March 9, 2010