Looking for an alternative for a recipe.

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Muffins

Assistant Cook
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
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2
Hey,
My boyfriend is vegetarian... and while I know of many recipes to cook for him, I can't seem to think of an alternative ingredient for one of my favourite recipes!

It's a long standing family favourite consisting of an oven bake with new potatoes, leek, cheese, a milk and egg mix and... bacon.

I just can't think of anything that I can replace the bacon with. I have tried the "faken" slices that are on the market (as that was the obvious first choice) but it didn't work very well as it stayed soft and didn't offer the same intense flavour that you get from bacon. I'd be willing to try anything you can suggest!
 
I have heard, from a fellow cook, that the fake bacon (soy based) can be made into a reasonable replica if you brush it with just a little liquid smoke (about two drops per strip) and molasses, then oven bake it at 400 degrees while sandwiched between two cookie sheets, to keep it flat, until crispy.

There are some things that just don't have very good substitutions, and bacon may be one of them.
 
Selkie - Thanks for the info on the faken, the only is I think if I pre-cooked it then it would go soggy when it goes into bake with the other ingredients.

Snip 13 - I think this would work wonderfully! Though I have to get my boyfriend to atleast try mushrooms again... For a veggie he doesn't eat much veg. Though as I am a keen cook I'm getting him to try things he would never have eaten before (such as rice!).
 
Selkie - Thanks for the info on the faken, the only is I think if I pre-cooked it then it would go soggy when it goes into bake with the other ingredients.

Snip 13 - I think this would work wonderfully! Though I have to get my boyfriend to atleast try mushrooms again... For a veggie he doesn't eat much veg. Though as I am a keen cook I'm getting him to try things he would never have eaten before (such as rice!).

Glad I could help :) Mushrooms are good in potato bake! You could also make individual portions in ramekins, that way you can add what you want to yours and everyone else's using the same base recipe.
 
Try the Morning Star Farm brand bacon. Found in the supermarket frozen section usualluy near the veggie burgers ( sometimes found in the frozen breakfast section too). Can be microwaved, but better pan fried. Gets crispy and taste pretty good too.

MorningStar Farms® Veggie Bacon Strips

Ive been a vegetarian for 25 years and have tasted every veggie imitation product I could get my hands on. In just about every case, they will be inferior in either taste, consistency or both. It is rare to find a product that is close in both. But, I think with the bacon, the Morning Star Farm product will be a pretty good substitute.

Also, with most Imitation meat products, they need to be cooked/ handled differently than their meat counterparts. So even if the recipe tells you to prepare the bacon one way, it will probably take some experimenting with the fake stuff to get it to do what you want it to do.

Some of the biggest problems i see with people ( usually non-vegetarians who are not familiar with cooking with vegetarian products ( especially my mother trying to surprise me that she cooked something for me) trying to prepare something for a vegetarian using a regular recipe, is that they are not familiar with how to cook the vegetarian substitute, therefore following the recipe exactly, and ultimately, either the taste/ consistency or both. Consistency is equally as important as the taste in most recipes.
 
It's always bacon that's the issue. Mushrooms are a good idea, or how about a smoked cheese?
 
BETTY CROCKER, BACOS BACON BITS SALAD TOPPING
INGREDIENTS: Defatted Soy Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Water, Salt, Sugar, Artificial Flavor and Natural Flavor, Red 40 and Other Color Added, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Corn, Soy, Wheat).​
 

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fabiabi, am i getting this right? you have a boyfriend who is a vegetarian who doesn't eat much vegetables, has never eaten rice, and who needs to be reintroduced to mushrooms? (good luck with feeding him) :)
 
fabiabi, am i getting this right? you have a boyfriend who is a vegetarian who doesn't eat much vegetables, has never eaten rice, and who needs to be reintroduced to mushrooms? (good luck with feeding him) :)

Muffins, not fabiabi, and I agree with you. Picky eaters bug me.

"I don't like..." when repeated often enough, tells me not to cook for that person. Let em cook the three things they like themselves!

Sorry Muffins, but that's how I feel on the subject.
 
sorry, fabiabi. i know you wouldn't have a vegetarian boyfriend who doesn't care much for vegetables. :) sorry, muffins, you have your work cut out for you. and welcome to dc.:)
 
As a "part time vegetarian" myself (I eat mostly fish or eggs for animal protein, but occasionally I'll indulge in a small serving of beef or chicken), I would omit the bacon altogether. I also don't care for soy substitutes. They may not contain any meat, but they're usually highly processed foods.

If you want a little bit of the smoky flavor that bacon offers, just try adding a dash of smoked Spanish paprika. It's got great flavor and is an awesome addition to recipes.
 
crikey! I was getting really confused then. I don't think I could be with a picky eater
 
I also don't care for soy substitutes. They may not contain any meat, but they're usually highly processed foods.

If you want a little bit of the smoky flavor that bacon offers, just try adding a dash of smoked Spanish paprika. It's got great flavor and is an awesome addition to recipes.

If you make your own soy patties, tofu and sauces, there is hardly any processing.

Tofu:

1. Soak beans over-night
2. Put beans in soy milk maker
3. Machine grinds, heats, grinds again and is finished in 20 minutes with fresh soy milk.

The ground beans can be used, mixed with veggies and grain for patties or meat loafs and the milk can be made in one more step into tofu.

If tofu is fried to light brown and then smoked, it's wonderful in salads, stews, soups and even by itself.

Homemade tofu is an entire other class when compared to the paste they sell in the store.

The stuff you buy in the stores? Yep, they process it to death like most boxed, canned or packaged foods now.

If the words on the label aren't even in my dictionary, then what am I eating? Monophycoaciasotodiplydiseride or some such nonsense....
 
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I've never had a problem getting vegetarian bacon crispy.
Like with real bacon once it sits its gets more crispy.
I use Morning Star brand bacon.
 
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