T.M.I. About My T.L.T.

Sometimes I eat food out and about and it reminds me of my own skills, how I could have done it better myself.  Take the T.L.T. I had on my Queens expedition recently.  It was fine and all, but its simplicity as a sandwich requires great care with all components, care I can give and want to give.  Moreover, the T.L.T. —Tofu. Lettuce. Tomato.–is powerfully nostalgic for me, bringing me back to the days of Kate’s Joint in the 90’s, when vegan options were way less plentiful and therefor more sacred.  So I needed to do it right.  With the need for a portable and hearty lunch this week, I made my own T.L.T.s.. or T.A.L.T.s since I added avocado on this particular day.

Care starts with the most important ingredient: Tofu.  You need to care for tofu, otherwise it sucks. I whipped up a marinade with a million different things but following basic marinade flavor rules: balanced salt, sweet, fat, heat, and acidity.  I thinly cut the tofu lengthwise and let it sit in my flavorful pool.  After, I like to bake my tofu low and slow, flipping and coating in marinade again.  I baked for 50 minutes total and let it sit out on a cooling rack before storing in an airtight container.

Once the tofu is delicious, the rest is quite easy and has mostly to do with selection.  You need good, preferably organic, tomato (I bought an heirloom and a conventional beefsteak to mix and mingle as I am on a budget these days), also organic greens (I chose a small head of Romaine), and good bread.  My favorite bread: Dave’s Killer Bread, toasted.

Oh and I had avocado getting softer and softer on the counter so I threw that in too.  And I made an almond milk mayo from scratch.  Almond milk does not emulsify the same way soy milk does, so it was airier but still did the job.  Here is my delicious T.L.T. on my massively growing to-do list.   

Almond milk mayo detail.

A fantastic vegan sandwich staple done right.