For the Health of It

Hello, lover. Come to mama.

The bacon season is upon us {also known as man food season, finger food season, football food season and – for some of us ladies who awesomely love the sport – superbowl season}. Thanks to tempeh bacon, I’m getting my party food on – vegetarian style – in time for the game.

Until now, I bacon fanboys were off their rockers. As a meat-eater, I never liked it, and I’ve never been impressed with the Morningstar Farms faux veggie bacon strips. Whenever someone verbally drooled over peanut butter bacon sandwiches, bacon chocolate chip cookies or salted bacon ice cream, I gagged a little bit. But now? Now I’ve seen the light. I’ve been sucked over to the dark side.

Bacon – whichever variation you so choose – pork, turkey, tempeh… – is the bomb. Let’s wrap this stuff around everything and go all Paula Deen on our friends for the Superbowl.

Bonus points: if you roll with this recipe, you’re still a hundred thousand calories ahead of any Paula recipe.

I made a light dinner out of the tempeh bacon-wrapped asparagus bundles by combining two of them with a pile of supremely amazing roasted cherry tomatoes and goat cheese:

But make no mistake – it was the asparagus appetizer that stole the show!

Tempeh Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Vegan, makes nine bundles

Prep time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 package Lightlife “fakin bacon” bacon-flavored tempeh strips
• 2 bunches of slender asparagus
• 4 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Wash your stalks, then snap or slice the crisp, white ends off the bottom of the asparagus stalks. Massage olive oil into the asparagus.
• Separate each asparagus bundle into four smaller bundles {one will be left over – roast it unwrapped along the wrapped bundles to eat on your own, or save for a later date}.
• Pull one tempeh strip from the package and hold at the bottom of the smaller, separated asparagus bundle. Twirl around the asparagus stalks until the bundles are fully wrapped. Be delicate – the strips don’t necessarily crumble, but they aren’t as limber as pork bacon.
• Arrange bundles in a baking dish or casserole dish; bake for 6-9 minutes. Serve warm. Cheer for the Giants to beat the Patriots {No skipping this last step}

Set, HIKE!

Are you Team Giants or Team Patriots this Sunday? Or are you just team food-beer-commercials-friends-anything-but-the-game?