Shiitake Faux Bacon

One of the foods my family has missed the most since cutting animal products out of our diet is bacon. I read about making vegan bacon from Shiitake mushrooms on a blog the other day and decided to test it out tonight as a topping for our baked potato skins. I was skeptical at first, but was amazed how closely the flavor actually does resemble bacon. I followed the recipe on this video and adjusted the cooking time to 45 minutes for my oven. It's crazy how yummy these are.... it would be so easy for me to eat the entire batch by myself!



INGREDIENTS:
Fresh Shiitake mushrooms (I buy them in bulk at our local HEB grocery store)
Organic extra virgin olive oil
sea salt - (You could substitute tamari or soy sauce instead for the salt.)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Cut the stems off mushrooms (save stems for mushroom broth).
2) Slice mushrooms.
3) Drizzle olive or safflower oil over mushrooms.
4) Sprinkle with a little sea salt or soy sauce and dash of black pepper.
5) Bake on baking sheet in a 300 degree oven. (Make sure baking sheet has olive oil on it or your mushrooms will stick.)
6) Stir every 10 minutes.
7) Cook until dark and crisp. Be careful not to burn them. It took 45 minutes in my oven, but it could take up to an hour according to recipes I've read.