Fakin' Aspragus Recipe

Mock comfort food + something healthy = Fakin' Asparagus!!!

It is the fantastic combination of smoky, salty, crunchy with crisp, clean, caramelized heaven.  Fakin' Asparagus is a great appetizer especially in the spring and early summer when asparagus is in season.  I wanted to get the recipe out before they were out of season.  Remember to check out That's Vegetarian Eating What's in Season for valuable resources on seasonal foods by locale.  

I use Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips because they are the closest to the bacon essence. They are very similar to the salad topping Bacos, which are vegetarian as well.  They are also lower in fat, cholesterol and calories.

Baked Pork Bacon

Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips

Bacon - Almost 2xs the calories & fat;  50% more sodium; less fiber, iron & calcium. However, bacon does have 3x's as much protein.  
The serving size of bacon is half of the fakin on the right. Double amounts on left when comparing.



Let me now redeem my recipe with the facts about asparagus.  It is low in sodium to balance out the sodium of the fakin'.  It contains many minerals and vitamins including potassium, magnesium, manganese, vitamins A, C, E, K, and an entire slew of the B family.  

Fakin' Asparagus is a fun appetizer that has a comfy feel to it.  Try it now while the asparagus is still in season.

Watch the video, print the recipe, prepare any one of the dishes and you'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"

FAKIN' ASPARAGUS RECIPE

1 Box Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips

36-72 Asparagus spears

1/4 c Fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved (opt)

Defrost the Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips for at least 1 hour to increase ease of handling.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Break the ends of the asparagus stalks by holding at the blunt end and a 1/4 of the way down from the tip. This will allow the asparagus to break at the best point to eliminate any excessive fibrous ends. Spray baking dish with olive oil, place rinsed trimmed asparagus in pan, sprinkle with pepper and toss in pan. Bake at 400F for 5 minutes, 4 if the stalks are thin.

Remove the asparagus and let cool for about 5 minutes, until they are at a comfortable temperature for handling.

Fakin' Asparagus Video

Grab 2-4 stalks of asparagus all facing the same direction and one MF bacon strip. Wrap the asparagus with the fakin from the tip down on an angle slightly overlapping. Place in the same baking dish with the edge of the fakin closest to the bottom of the spear face down on the pan to prevent it from unraveling.

Bake at 400F for about 4 minutes, until the strips have browned. Watch closely as they brown quickly since they are defrosted. Remove from oven once lightly browned.

Cool for about 5 minutes and enjoy.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 5 minutes for asparagus, 4-5 minutes for wrapped asparagus

Serving size: 3 pieces

Serves 6

Level of difficulty - easy.

3pp with or without the cheese because there is so little.

Fakin' Asparagus Printable Recipe

http://www.morningstarfarms.com/morningstar-farms-veggie-bacon-strips.renderImageText.html?BID=29192&MD5=714d8244ef514ee6b9b94c873e6a1ade&FT=MorningStarFarmsVeggieBaconStrips_352&productORrecipe=product&freeTextPresent=no

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/10602/2

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/pork-products/7354/2

Pear Crisp

Fall fruits make great pies, cobblers, and crisps. I chose the CRISP option to keep it lower in fat and calories although I do have an awesome crust recipe.  (To be shared at a later date :).)  This is another fun texture recipe.  Big or small pear slices.  The crumbly top.  The sweet and tart of the fruit and lemon juice.

I used pears but you can use apples, berries, or a combination of fruits.  The fall is perfect for pears, apples, cranberries, persimmons, and almonds.  This recipe is not very sweet.  You may want to add more maple syrup or sugar if you want it sweeter.  Maple syrup is an excellent source of zinc and manganese. 

The "crisp" part is nice and light.  You can make as much or as little as you like and use dairy free spread or butter.  Your choice!!  Oats provide a great source for fiber, selenium and manganese.  This is an easy recipe to add a little bit of flax to for those added benefits.    Flax is rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins ~ Magnesium (nerve transmission)*, Phosphorus (formation of cells)*, Copper (iron absorption)*, Thiamin (energy)* and Manganese (cell regeneration)* to mention a few.  (Funky Flax Facts) 

Watch the video, print the recipe, prepare any one of the dishes and you'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"

*Read on...Harvard Help Guide and Healthy Check Systems

Pear Crisp ~ Vegan 

Topping

1c      Quick Rolled Oats

1/3c  Brown sugar

1/2c  Whole wheat flour

1T      Flax seed meal

1t       Cinnamon

1/2t    Nutmeg (Or 1-1/2t Pumpkin pie spice)

1/4c   Butter or margarine (VEGAN)

Filling

8c      Pears (approx 11 pears), quartered lengthwise and sliced*

Juice from one lemon

1T      White flour

1t       Cinnamon

1/4c   Maple syrup

Spray 8” pie dish with vegetable oil. Set aside. (Or use ramekins or lined cupcake tins for individual servings) Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine sliced pears, lemon juice, white flour, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Pour into prepared pie dish.

In same bowl, mix dry ingredients of topping - oats, brown sugar, flour, flax meal, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add cold butter (or margarine) and mush together with hands until crumbly. Spread evenly over filling.

Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is soft when pierced with a fork. If topping gets too dark, cover with foil.

* Substitute apples, plums, peaches, rhubarb, berries, etc or a combination of a few.

 Pear Crisp Printable Recipe 

BevMo 5cent Sale Wine Pairing Challenge

Getting in at the last minute to provide you with wine Pairings for the BevMo's 5 Cent Sale with the recipes from That's Vegetarian from July on, the last time we did the pairing.  The sale is great, buy a bottle at regular price and the second one is just 5 cents!!  Bummer BevMo is in California and Arizona but you can order online!  Please send me the the name of the wine store in your area when they have a sale like this and we'll be happy to do the pairing for you!

To watch the video, click on Video.  To print the recipe, click on Print. 

Recipe	White	Red	Pink	Splurge
Mango Lime Coleslaw Print	Loredona Riesling '10	Crucillon Garnacha
Baked Falafel Video  Print	Guenoc Sauvignon Blanc Lake County '10	Buscado Garnacha '10		Gruet Pinot Noir '08
Watermelon Mint Print	Canals & Nubiola Cava Brut	Crucillon Garnacha		Luisi Moscato d'Asti '10
Gazpacho Video  Print	Terre dei Sicani Fiano '08	Trumpeter Malbec '09
Caprese Skewers Print	Chateau de Brandey Bordeaux Blanc '10	Trecipressi Chianti '09		Da Vinci Chianti Riserva '06
Vegan Ceviche Video  Print	Chateau de Brandey Bordeaux Blanc '10	Buscado Garnacha '10		Keenan Chardonnay '08
Stuffed Peppers with Peaches and Mango Print	Les Pierres Blanche Macon-Villages '10	Fog Head Pinot Noir '09	Bonterra Rose '09	Dahlia Pinot Noir Reserve '09
Mediterranean Summer Grain Salad Video  Print	Little Black Dress Pinot Grigio '09	Trumpeter Malbec '09		Buena Vista Pinot Noir '07
Baked Stuffed Zucchini Video  Print	Les Pierres Blanche Macon-Villages '10	Baroncini Chianti '08		Enrico Serafino Roero Nebbiolo
Banana Bread Vegan Video   Print	Gen 5 Chardonnay '10	Unruly Red '09

Enjoy making the dishes and pairing the wine.  Check Facebook and Twitter for wine pairing updates to previous recipes through the end of the week for the 5cent sale.  Please share your feedback on  , , and and subscribe for exciting updates and information! 

Go to That's Vegetarian and watch one (or all) of the recipe videos, print the recipe(s), and prepare any one of the dishes.  You'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"

Banana Bread ~ Vegan

A dark, rich, moist and robust yet subtle vegan banana bread that pairs nicely with a steamy cup of coffee.  Adding a little coffee to the recipe helps bring out the flavor of the bananas.  Instead of egg we are using flax seed meal, we did the same for our Pumpkin Bread.  I use oil in the video, but subsituting 1/2 cup of non-fat plain or vanilla yogurt in makes it more moist and lower in fat but no longer vegan.  I had suggestions of chocolate chips, carob chips, and peanut butter too!!  


Share your suggestions of favorite things inside or on top of your banana bread by commenting below.


Bananas are rich in Potassium (cell integrity)*, Manganese (healthy bones)*, Vitamin C (iron absorbtion)* and Vitamin B6 (red blood cell production). (Bountiful Banana Benefits)  Flax is rich is fiber, minerals and vitamins ~ Magnesium (nerve transmission)*, Phosphorus (formation of cells)*, Copper (iron absorption)*, Thiamin (enrergy)* and Manganese (cell regeneration)* to mention a few.  (Funky Flax Facts)  



Watch the video, print the recipe, prepare any one of the dishes and you'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"


*Read on...Harvard Help Guide and Healthy Check Systems

Banana Bread ~ Vegan

2 T ground flax seed
3 T water

3 T coffee  

4 large bananas, mashed
2 T olive oil or 1/2c yogurt or 1/2c apple sauce

1/4 c molasses
1 c whole-wheat flour

1 c unbleached white

1 T pumpkin pie spice

1 t cinnamon

1/3 c sugar
1 t salt
1 t baking soda

3/4 c walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk or blend the flax water and coffee until frothy.  Mix the mashed bananas, olive oil (yogurt/apple sauce), flax and molasses.

Mix the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, spices, salt, and baking soda.

Combine wet and dry and mix until well blended.  Add walnuts

Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 55-60 minutes.  After 50 minutes check with knife or toothpick by sticking it in the bread.  If it comes out clean ~ its done.  If it has some batter on it, cook a little longer.  If it still needs to cook longer but is already quite browned, place foil over the top to stop it from browning.

Remove and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Vegan Banana Bread Printable Recipe
Prep time:  15 min ~ Cook time:  60 min ~ Serves 10  ~ 7pp