Is it picnic time yet? We’re hanging for a bit of a sunny day off (I tend to photograph for the blog whenever the sky is blue) to be able to stroll around the hills of Paros, which are breathtakingly beautiful at this time of the year (I will post a photo on Instagram once we do). We’ve had a lot of rain and tempestuous weather this winter, which means that the island’s hills are now carpeted with an array of colourful wild flowers. Everything is lush green with pools of pink, purple, yellow and white springing up all over the place.
We are ready to get walking again especially that hunting season is now officially over too! Yay! I absolutely abhor hunting for obvious reasons. Apart from hunters needlessly killing all the wild birds and small animals in sight, they are also a menace to anyone who simply wants to enjoy nature. We went walking in the hills in the middle of December. Not only was the entire path littered with empty bullet casings and we walked to the intimidating sound of rifles, but towards the end of our walk we had to cower and run off the path as the guns started going off in ridiculously close proximity to us despite diminishing daylight. This was the last walk we did and it would have been brilliant if not for constantly worrying about whether we will have our brains blown out by accident. One of my favourite things about walking is a chance to have a lunch with a view, in beautiful surroundings. Is it me or food always seems to taste better in nature, especially once you’ve put some effort in first. Whenever we go walking, I never leave my house without a sandwich, a salad box or at least a cookie to sweeten the afternoon 😉 (how very typical, eh?) These vegan BLT sandwiches with bacon tofu are perfect hiking food! Very portable and filling! They don’t taste bad at home, but they taste even better at the end of a long walk, promise!
200 g firm or extra firm tofu, pressed* 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp liquid smoke 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce 2 tsp tomato paste
MAYO
¼ cup / 60 ml aquafaba (chickpea water) 4 tsp lemon juice (or apple vinegar) ½ tsp ground mustard ¼-½ tsp salt, more to taste ¼ tsp powdered garlic, more to taste ¾-1 cup / 180-240 ml of mild tasting oil (canola, grapeseed, safflower or delicate olive oil) pepper, to taste
ASSEMBLY
