This recipe was given by a friend who made a delicious batch for our Green Nosh group. He found this recipe on this site: www.nomeatathlete.com/vegan-bacon.

• 1/2 cup adzuki beans or other small red beans
• 1/3 cup hulled wholegrain buckwheat (not buckwheat flour)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp hickory liquid smoke
• 4 tsps nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 T Braggs Liquid Aminos (an substitute with soy sauce)
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 tsps tomato paste
• 2 tsps maple syrup
• Recipe calls for 1 tsp coconut oil, can be omitted

Rinse the beans and buckwheat, place in large bowl covered with several inches of cold water; let soak overnight.

Preheat oven to 400.

Next day, strain the soaked beans and buckwheat, and rinse. Then place the beans and buckwheat in the bowl of a food processor. Add the onion powder, liquid smoke, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, aminos or soy sauce, salt, tomato paste, and maple syrup.

Pulse several times to combine, scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl and continue pulsing until uniform but not as pureed as hummus.

Line a 9 x 13 casserole dish with parchment paper and coat pan with baking spray. Place mixture in pan and spread as much as possible with a spatula. To get the mixture very thin and evenly spread, spray another piece of parchment paper lightly with baking spray and press the paper on top of the mixture and flatten with your hands. Remove and discard the top piece of parchment paper, then use a spatula to spread over and fill in any bare spots.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then slice into 24 strips, about 1 inch by 4 inches. (Do this by making one lengthwise cut down the center, and then twelve cuts across the shorter side.) Remove the strips with a small spatula.

Heat 1 T of oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Brown the bacon slices for 2-3 minutes, flipping once.

Alternatively, before frying, you can freeze the bacon, then brown when ready to serve. (No need to thaw first before cooking.)