The Ultimate Stoner Breakfast....

 

It's not called The Ultimate Stoner Breakfast for nothing. This meal is pure 'meat' and potatoes, it's 'carbs, carbs, and more carbs.' it is exactly the kind of food you want to eat and should indulge in when you're grooving in your happy place, and everything is beautiful. One of the best things about it is how low effort it is, yet the flavor is not sacrificed. It's also super hearty, it'll tame even the wildest munchies, of course, don't limit yourself to just eating it at breakfast time!

Now, there are two ways you can eat this. The 'traditional' way with each food having it's own separate space on the plate. Or you can eat it like a taco. Yeah, you heard me, a pancake breakfast taco. How awesome is that? I know it sounds strange but trust me when I say it's amazing. My husband was really skeptical at first too, but after he watched me down 3 of these bad boys he was convinced enough to try it. If you enjoy it in Taco form then you can essentially add anything you like as a topping which is awesome, it makes it versatile. So trust me on this one, and give it a try.

(PS: You can use any pancake recipe you like, but I've included my go-to just incase you don't have one. I have also made these with gluten-free flour before and they have turned out well.)

Cheese Tots

Olive Oil
1lb Frozen Tater Tots
1 Small Yellow Onion Diced
Garlic powder
Sea Salt
4 Sliced Green Onions
1/2-1 Cup Daiya Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese.

- Preheat Oven to 400'F

- Dump the tater tots into a baking dish with the diced onions. Drizzle a little olive oil over them then sprinkle them with salt, and garlic powder. Stir to combine everything.

- Pop it in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until tots are cooked to your taste.

- Remove from the oven, Sprinkle cheese, and green onions over top. Return to the oven and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has just melted and the onions are soft.

- Enjoy on their own as part of your breakfast, smothered in ketchup, sour cream, or mayo. Or enjoy in a taco!


Classic Go-To Pancakes

2 Cups White Flour
2 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 1/2 Cups water
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup

- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.

- Combine the water, maple syrup and olive oil.

- Pour the wet into the dry and stir until just combined.

- Heat a pan, spread a 1/4 C of batter out into the pan, spread it thin, but not too thin, similar to the thickness of a flatbread.

- Cook for a few minutes until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake. flip and cook another couple of minutes until golden brown. Repeat.

The Ultimate Stoner Breakfast.

Add-Ons and Extras

Avocado
Sour Cream
Mayo
Ketchup
Maple Syrup
Your Favorite Tofu Scramble
Jalapeno Slices or Hot Sauce if you like it spicy

To Serve the "Traditional Way" Heap a mound of Cheese Tots onto your plate, Slap down 3-4 Pancakes next to it, then add on a portion of your favorite Breakfast Sausage, a portion of your favorite bacon, with half an avocado on the side. Serve with ketchup and mayo for the tots, and Maple Syrup for the pancakes and sausage.

To Serve it the "Taco Way" Spread a thin layer of Syrup over one pancake. Place 1/2 a slice of bacon (or a full slice if you prefer) on top of the pancake, then a breakfast link.  Pick the pancake up, and hold it in your palm like you would a taco shell. Take a spoon and scoop a small portion of the cheese tots inside your pancake shell. If you're using tofu scramble as well, scoop a small portion of that into the pancake taco along with the tots. Drizzle a bit of ketchup over top, and then serve with dollops of sour cream and/or mayo and whatever other add-on's you wish. It's great with or without avocado, and I personally like the mix of sour cream and mayo. So delicious!

Vegan Mofo #13: Avocados Stuffed with Peruvian Chicken Mayonnaise 2 Ways...

When we were in Peru last September we ate a lot of really good vegan food. Vegan food is not as easy to come by in Peru as it was for us in other places in Central/South America but when you can find it, it’s very good. We enjoyed a lot of simple stews, lima beans, butter beans, corn, and definitely avocados. We took full advantage of the popular ‘plate of the day’ set up that most Peruvian restaurants have around lunchtime. Usually for a few bucks you get a nicely portioned meal with all the staples.

We didn’t have a Vegetarian version of Chicken Mayonnaise while we were in Peru, but I found a recipe for it in a Peruvian cook book that I found intriguing. There is certainly no shortage of Avocados in Peru, and they’re a lot bigger then the ones you buy around here. Anyway, since avocados are one of my favorite foods, and everyone loves a good ‘chicken’ salad, I thought I’d try my hand at making a more compassionate, chicken friendly version of this dish.

I think this would make a great starter to a dinner party, but it’s just as easily enjoyed as a main course along with a side salad. You’ll be surprised at how filling these little avocado boats are!

Avocados Stuffed with Peruvian Chicken Mayonnaise 2 Ways

Beyond Meat Version 

2 tsp Olive Oil
2 Ripe Avocados Peeled, Sliced in Half, Pits removed
1 Box Beyond Meat Chicken Strips Diced
1 Small Carrot Minced
1 Celery Stalk Diced
4 Green Onions Sliced
4 Kalamata Olives Minced
½-1 tsp Smoked Sea Salt
1/3 Cup Vegan Mayo
Black Pepper to taste
Strips of Red Bell Pepper to Garnish (Optional)

Chickpea Version 

2 tsp Olive Oil
2 Ripe Avocados Peeled, Sliced in half, pits removed
1 15oz Can Chickpeas rinsed and Drained
1 Small Carrot Minced
1 Celery Stalk Diced
4 Green Onions Sliced
4 Kalamata Olives Minced
½-1 tsp Smoked Sea Salt
1/3 Cup Vegan Mayo
Black Pepper to taste
Strips of Red Bell Pepper to Garnish (Optional)


Instructions - Beyond Meat Version 

- Heat the Olive Oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the diced beyond meat and cook for 6-8 minutes until nicely browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and place into a large mixing bowl.

- Add the carrot, celery, and half the onion. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the carrot is soft. Add a dash more oil if needed. When the veggies are soft remove from the pan and place into the bowl with the beyond meat.

- Add the remaining raw onion, olives, smoked salt, pepper, and vegan mayo to the bowl, stir thoroughly to combine.

- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

- Spoon the beyond meat mixture into the center of each avocado half. Place the halves on a serving plate, and garnish with red pepper strips. Add a dash of sriracha if you like things spicy!

Instructions - Chickpea Version.

- Place the drained, rinsed chickpeas into a serving bowl and mash with a potato masher. You do not need to mash every pea, just get a somewhat mashed consistency.

- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, and half the onion. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the carrot is soft. When the veggies are soft remove from the pan and place into the bowl with the mashed chickpeas.

- - Add the remaining raw onion, olives, smoked salt, pepper, and vegan mayo to the bowl, stir thoroughly to combine.

- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

- Spoon the chickpea mixture into the center of each avocado half. Place the halves on a serving plate, and garnish with red pepper strips. Add a dash of sriracha if you like things spicy!

Mixed Green Salad with Maple Roasted Rutabaga, Edible Flowers, and Creamy Maple Dijon Dressing...

Sometimes the best thing to ever happen in my kitchen is we run out of food. Im sure many of you start running out of the essentials, as well as fresh produce by the weeks end, - I know it often happens to me, - but rather then look at this as a negative I try and turn it into a positive. Sometimes you have your most creative moments when you’re at your most limited.

Take this salad for instance, it came about entirely out of necessity.  The day I made it all I had left in my fridge were a few sparse handfuls of mixed greens, a couple of tomatoes, a lonely avocado, some green onions and 3 rutabaga and I’d procured for some other purpose and then promptly forgot about. My pantry of course had other things like canned tomatoes, pasta, canned beans, olives but I didn’t want that. I was craving something fresh and light, that was fast, filling and satisfying. Normally when I feel that way a salad is my ‘go-to’ so I quickly began thinking about how I could turn these meager offerings into a salad that would inspire and satisfy my tastebuds.

Now, I can’t say I’ve ever actually eaten a rutabaga before this, and if you asked me why I originally bought them I couldn’t tell you because I can’t for the life of me remember what I had planned to use them for. But, since I had them, and a salad of tomato, avocado and onion isn’t very inspiring - or filling - I thought I’d give them a try. How bad could they be roasted and thrown in with the greens? Maybe they’d taste kind of like beets, sweet and earthy, that works in salad!

So once the salad began taking shape I needed a dressing. This too came into existence out of necessity. I used the things I had on hand, and I chose to use coconut milk yogurt again to provide creaminess because I needed to use the remainder of the container ASAP. Plus it worked out so well on my arugula, beet and walnut salad I thought it was worth trying out again.

While the rutabaga was roasting it filled the kitchen with a heavenly smell, that had me drooling as I diced my veggies and whisked the dressing. By the time they popped out of the oven I couldn’t resist snapping one up and giving it a taste. Wow! Seriously guys, roasted rutabaga? This is like my new favorite thing ever. The tiny bit of maple syrup made it sweet and the Bragg’s made it smokey, this was an absolutely perfect combination. I happily tossed them into the salad, garnished my bowl with some edible flowers I’d picked up in the market, and drizzled on the dressing.

I took my first bite and knew instantly that it was magic! Maybe this combination sounds weird to you, but I assure you it’s not. The flavors blend so much better then even I could have imagined while I was creating it. You get the sweet smokey rutabaga, the bitter arugula, the creamy avo, the acid-sweet tomatoes, mixed in with a rainbow of flavors from wild flowers, and a dressing that is sweet, smokey and tangy. What more could you want?

Mixed Green Salad with Maple Roasted Rutabaga, Edible Flowers, and Creamy Maple Dijon Dressing

Salad - Makes 2 servings

2 Handful Arugula
2 Handful Mixed Baby Greens
2 Tomatoes sliced
1 Avocado sliced
Sunflower Seeds to taste
Green Onions to taste
2oz Edible Flowers
1 Recipe Maple Roasted Rutabaga

- Maple Roasted Rutabaga 

3 Small Rutabaga Cut into small chunks
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Amino’s

Preheat Oven to 425'F and roast for 10-15 minutes

- Creamy Maple Dijon Dressing 

4 Tbsp Plain Coconut Milk Yogurt
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp Liquid Smoke

- Preheat Oven to 425'F. Place the cut rutabaga chunks into a bowl and drizzle over the olive oil, maple syrup and Bragg’s. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t measure exactly, but I didn’t use a lot so you can change the tsp quantity to suit your taste. Give the bowl a few good shakes to make sure all the rutabaga is covered in the mixture then spread the rutabaga out onto a baking sheet.

- Bake for 15 minutes until the rutabaga is smelling wonderful, and it’s a nice golden brown. It should be tender-firm.

- While the Rutabaga is roasting prepare your salad by evenly distributing the salad ingredients amongst two bowls.

- Next make the dressing. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until well combines and smooth. Since the yogurt may want to curdle when you add the mustard in this may take a couple of minutes of vigorous whisking to turn smooth. It will get there however.

- Once the Rutabaga is cooked divide it amongst the two bowls and drizzle the dressing over top of each salad.

Enjoy, on a lazy summer afternoon with a good book, and a drink.

Tropical Avocado Smoothie...

Looking for another Green-Tastic smoothie to start your day off right? Well I have just the thing. Lately I’ve been really into the whole Avocado for Breakfast thing. Whether it’s in a smoothie or spread onto toast, I’m addicted! It’s delicious, filling, creamy, satisfying and some might even say that avocado on toast is even ‘buttery.’In a smoothie half an avocado adds depth of flavor, and creaminess which I love. Plus it makes your morning smoothie taste rich and decadent when it’s really not. Some people shy away from Avocados but not me. Healthful fats like those found in Avocado or other whole plant foods are an important part of a healthy balanced diet. Your body needs fat, your brain needs fat - unfortunately we as a species are getting far too much of the wrong kind of fat and we’re getting it far too often. However if you’re eating a healthy, balanced, nutritionally dense diet half an avocado - or a whole one - every once in a while isn’t going to do you any harm. And, while we’re on the subject of fat, I kind of like the idea that if you’re going to eat fat you may as well eat it in the morning that way you have the day to work it off and use it for energy. If you eat a lot of fat at night and then just lay around or sit on the couch your body’s just going to store the fat instead of utilize it. So indulge in a little tropical-avocado goodness and power your morning the right way, through fruit, veg and healthy fat!

Tropical Avocado Smoothie 

1 C Coconut Water
½ Large Avocado
1 C Frozen Pineapple Chunks
1 Large Satsuma Orange
1 Sliver of Ginger - or to taste
Pinch of Fresh Parsley
3 Large Leaves kale
1 tsp Spirulina - Optional

- Place everything in a high-speed blender and blend on high for 90 seconds until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

PS: If you’re looking for something to do with that other half of Avocado you can freeze it and use it in a smoothie another day. Or you can do what I did and toast 1 slice of whole grain or gluten-free bread. Then mash the avo in a bowl with some lime juice, sea salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes then spread it over the toasted bread. It may sound strange to you at first - trust me it took some convincing before I was even willing to try it - but it’s so freaking delicious. Your mind will literally be blown! 

Vegan Mofo #22 - Celine & Tamasin’s Navajo Tacos...

Vegan Mofo #22 - Celine & Tamasin’s Navajo Tacos 

The Book - Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day!
The Author - Celine Steen & Tamasin Noyes
The Recipe - Navajo Tacos
Page # 47
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 30 minutes

I was intrigued by this recipe from the first moment I opened this book. The picture is scrumptious looking and the recipe sounded easy and delicious. I couldn’t wait to give it a try though I’ll admit I was initially daunted at the prospect of making my own bread. Not that I’m not capable of making my own bread but whenever I do it always seems to be such a long process. Not so in this case. This entire recipe is super simple to throw together even with the bread. The dough is simple, only has to rest for fifteen minutes and then it cooks up quickly fried in a pan of hot oil. The dough recipe is suppose to be enough for 4 pieces of bread but I found it was really only enough for two, two plate sized pieces.

As for the other ingredient’s it’s somewhat traditional taco fare all piled onto a piece of fried bread. Perhaps it’s not technically a sandwich but as it is on bread, and as I do believe I mentioned including taco’s in my Mofo theme, and as the recipe does appears in a book of vegan sandwiches I feel it was appropriate.

So what goes onto the bread? Shredded lettuce, corn salsa, tomato salsa lime wedges, avocado, cilantro and chorizo chickpeas. However I changed this around since I didn’t have any limes I just squirted some bottled lime juice over top. I also didn’t have any corn salsa and couldn’t find any organic corn salsa at the store so I just used organic frozen corn - thawed of course - and extra tomato salsa instead. The chickpeas however are the real star of the show, and I have to say - chorizo chickpeas are probably my new favorite thing ever!!

They’re quick and simple to prepare. They’re spicy and sweet. Basically you pan-fry canned chickpeas in a medley of spices - paprika, cayenne, sea salt, onion powder, minced garlic, olive oil, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, and cumin. Until the liquid has been absorbed then you pile them on your taco and voila! Delicious! It’s nice to have both a soy and gluten-free option for a vegan chorizo that is nice and wholesome like that.

By far one of my newest favorite meals, you must try it!

Vegan Mofo #18 - Chloe’s Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus

Vegan Mofo #18 - Chloe’s Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus 
The Book - Chloe’s Kitchen
The Author - Chloe Coscarelli
The Recipe - Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus
Page # 107
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - 30-40 minutes

I love a good falafel, and I enjoy them pretty regularly but I never thought of turning one into a burger. I also never thought of making hummus with avocados, what a brilliant idea! Two of my favorite things hummus and avocados in one dish? Amazing!

These sliders are actually really quick to throw together. The burgers come together quickly and once they’re formed into patties they only need a few minutes of frying on both sides. You can bake them if you prefer, which will take a little longer, but still it’s relatively quick. Again I like that these were made with wholesome pantry-staple ingredients. Chickpeas, red onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, cumin, coriander, sea salt, garbanzo flour, and olive oil. The only change I made here was I used cilantro instead of parsley because I didn’t have any.

Next the avocado hummus is just as simple. You whip a quarter cup of chickpeas together with an avocado, some parsley - cilantro again in my case - olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt and cayenne, and you’ve got some of the most delicious hummus I’ve ever eaten. Being the garlic lover that I am of course I added more garlic then she suggests.

Lastly you make a creamy tahini sauce that is also super easy. Blend some tahini with water, garlic, lemon juice, and salt and bam, super creamy goodness. Served on a slider bun with sliced red onion, and tomato it’s a quick, and delicious dinner.  I used Pretzel slider buns because who doesn’t love a good pretzel but you could use any kind, just don’t skimp on the hummus.

Vegan Mofo #10 Celine and Joni’s Tempeh, Pepper and Spinach Pesto Sandwich...

Vegan Mofo #10 Celine and Joni’s Tempeh, Pepper and Spinach Pesto Sandwich 

The Book - Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites
The Author - Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
The Recipe - Tempeh, Pepper and Spinach Pesto Sandwich
Page #84 Pesto on Page #210
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 30 minutes.

This is a super simple and delicious sandwich that you can throw together in no time for a quick lunch or light dinner. The whole reason I chose to make it was for it’s simplicity and for it’s emphasis on whole ingredients. Besides how can anyone pass up a combination like bacon flavored tempeh, roasted red peppers and pesto? Yum!

I think one of my favorite things about this recipe is the method of how the tempeh is made. The tempeh is sliced thin, slathered in a mixture of soy sauce, liquid smoke, Dijon mustard, sesame oil, granulated onion, paprika, chipotle chile powder, garlic and brown sugar. Then it’s baked for 20 minutes until brown and crispy. The only alteration I made to this method was that I steamed my tempeh first, and then let it marinate for an hour as opposed to just baking it right away. I think this worked out really well and gave it a nice full bodied flavor.

Second I love the pesto in this recipe. I’ve made a lot of pesto’s in my time, vegan and non-vegan and this is one of the best. I love my walnut based pesto but using almonds as this recipe does gives the pesto a really unique flavor and a creaminess that you don’t quite get with a walnut pesto. I also love the addition of spinach because it boosts the pesto’s nutrition, adds to the creaminess and lends a subtle and delicate flavor to the final product. Absolutely perfect paired with the smoky tempeh, and amazing with those roasted red peppers. Which by the way I roasted myself but you could easily buy jarred roasted peppers to save yourself some time. In the recipe it’s suggested to add spinach or arugula to the sandwich - I chose to add arugula - and to serve it on a toasted bun. I didn’t toast the buns because I’m not a huge fan of toasted bread but I’m sure that would have brought this sandwich even further into the realm of awesome flavor. I did however add some sliced avocado, because I had some that needed using, and I love avocado on practically anything! This actually worked really well with the tempeh, pesto and peppers and I highly recommend it!

Vegan Mofo #6 -Alicia’s Avocado Melt Panini...

Vegan Mofo #6 -Alicia’s Avocado Melt Panini 

The Book - Vegan Comfort Food
The Author - Alicia C. Simpson
The Recipe - Avocado Melt Panini
Page #120
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - 10 minutes

This sandwich is so simple you’ll laugh and wonder why you never thought of it. Or at least that’s how I felt. I know when I first got this cook book, and I saw the recipe I thought “Why is this even in here?” It’s too simple, too easy, it never occurred to me to actually make it until I set myself the goal of making sandwiches for Mofo.

Yesterday afternoon I needed something quick and easy to whip myself up for lunch because I was busy writing essays for school and couldn’t be distracted by any long cooking times. This was the perfect thing, and it’s made even better by the fact that I love me some avocado. Besides who doesn’t love a really good oozy-gooey, melted sandwich? I know I do. What I really love about this simple sandwich is that the avocado makes it so gooey that it feels really decadent and bad, when really it’s actually not. Avocado’s are a healthy fat, so as long as you use a minimal amount of oil and cheese this sandwich is actually pretty healthful.

I know it’s hard to tell what all’s going on in this picture because it just looks like one big gooey green monster of a mess but besides avocado the sandwich also has vegan mozzarella - I used Daiya - cilantro, red onion, and tomato. It’s suppose to be served on sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and grilled in a Panini press, but I don’t have one of those. I also didn’t have sourdough - which I’m sure that would be delicious too. Instead I used regular thinly sliced Italian bread, brushed lightly with olive oil and I seared it in my cast iron skillet. Worked beautifully. I love how the heat not only melted the cheese but even melted the avocado for a little that extra ooze.

1 avocado is suppose to be enough for 2 sandwiches, but since my husband was at work and I didn’t want to waste half an avocado I just used the whole thing. I did add a little less then 4oz of shredded Daiya Mozzarella though to even it out. Also I added in a little salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder when I mashed up my avocado, that’s how I usually like my guac and so I thought it would be just as good that way on a sandwich and I was right.

The perfect mid-afternoon lunch.

Vegan Mofo #5 - Joni’s BLT and Avocado Burger...

Vegan Mofo #5 - Joni’s BLT and Avocado Burger 

The Book - The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet
The Author - Joni Marie Newman
The Recipe - BLT and Avocado Burger
Page # 106
Difficulty - Relatively Easy
Duration - The recipe says the burger dough has to rest for 20 minutes. Then it needs to be baked for 35 minutes. Active time is pretty minimal though. Will take longer if you make your own buns, and your own bacon bits.

I hate to write a review of a meal that turned out less then perfect, but I suppose with more then 50 sandwiches to make they can’t all be winners right?

I originally chose to make this burger because I read BLT and Avocado and was immediately sold. I mean who doesn’t love some veggie bacon, and an avocado? Put the two together and you’re in heaven am I right? It was too good a combination to pass up, plus I had all the ingredients handy. I was however a little intimidated by the recipe. It calls for a whopping 1 cup of bacon bits, and 1 cup of wheat gluten plus 1 cup of all purpose flour. I was also daunted by the prospect of having to make the bacon bits myself from TVP and then making my own buns. Luckily I did a little planning ahead and so I made the buns the day before, and the bacon bits in the morning for a pretty easy throw together meal.

I used the bacon bits recipe on page 185 of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet and they turned out great. Perfect flavor profile, tasted great just own their own too! For the buns I used the Scarborough Fair Buns on page 195 of the book Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites by Joni Marie Newman and Celine Steen. The buns turned out perfect and delicious, they were by far my favorite part of the entire meal.

As for the BLT burger - it is a bit of a process. You make your burger dough and personally I found it a bit too wet so I had to add more gluten, and flour. Next you let it rest then form it into 8 patties. Forming the patties was a bit difficult because the chopped tomatoes and bacon bits that go into the dough didn’t really want to stay in the dough despite my efforts at kneading them in. Once you have your eight patties you mash your avocado. Then you divide your avocado putting a heaping scoop onto four of the patties. You then layer the remaining patties over the four patties covered in avocado. The layering was hard. I pinched and pinched and the patties did not want to seal properly. Oh well - I baked them anyway as per the book’s instructions. I baked them for the exact time, actually five minutes longer but they weren’t quite done, though I didn’t realize this until I took my first bite.

I dressed my burger with lettuce, tomato and a bit of vegan mayo. - I did not top it off with extra bacon bits as the recipe notes suggest because really 1 cup of them is quite enough in one meal I think, but to each their own. Perhaps a few strips of tempeh bacon instead would have worked well? -  I eagerly took my first bite and the burger tasted like mush. It was chewy in some places, but mostly it was soft, squishy, a little mushy. The flavor of the burger was pretty decent but they obviously needed to be baked longer. It was pretty late in the evening at this point around 10:30 since my husband and I have a tendency to eat quite late, and so I put the other two burgers back into the oven. I baked them an extra twenty to twenty-five minutes, and they were much firmer.

By then however I was pretty turned off by the quality of the burger already on my plate. The texture reminded me so much of raw ground beef that I just couldn’t bring myself to eat the second one. Even the next day that horrible texture stayed in my memory and so I never got to eat the re-baked version. My husband said that after the second baking it was much better, and much tastier though, I don’t think it was his favorite burger.

Also, as much as I like seitan I think I prefer it much less as a burger. Too much wheat gluten and the burger has a ‘taste’ to me that isn’t quite appetizing. Perhaps a half cup of wheat gluten would have been better along with some chickpea flour and a little liquid smoke right in the batter rather then the full 1 cup of bacon bits.

Now, just because this burger wasn’t exactly my cup of tea doesn’t mean you won’t like it. You may like TVP and wheat gluten a lot more then I do. As long as you adjust the baking time to get the burgers to your preferred doneness level you should be alright.

I can however highly, highly recommend the Scarborough Fair Buns though - they’re simply to die for!