Cheddar, kale and facon muffins

As soon as I saw Cakeyboi's Cheddar, Kale and Bacon Quick Bread I bookmarked it.  Of course I was never going to use traditional bacon.  But I make vegetarian bacon quite often and immediately had ideas on how to substitute.  It took some time to get around to it.  Once I did, the quick bread became muffins and was most delicious.

I changed the recipe quite a bit.  Tofu bacon seemed the obvious choice to substitute for the bacon.  The texture is right and I was already making a batch for a rice bake.  In fact after baking these muffins I found I had made some similar savoury muffins some years ago: tofu-bacon and spinach muffins.  This latest batch is richer, more complex and more delicious.
  

I took the muffins out of the oven just before rushing out the door for Sylvia's swimming lessons.  The muffins were wonderful to come home to.  The next day I felt like a domestic goddess at work eating a couple of muffins with some chopped red capsicum for my lunch.  They really are a meal in a muffin.  And they taste excellent accompanying a mug of soup.

I really loved these muffins and wish that I had more impressive photos to show you.  Sadly I spent too much time rushing about before darkness fell.  So I just snapped a few pictures the next morning before work.  However I hope you will understand that these are so good that you wont want to stop and take photos. 

I am sending these muffins to Meat Free Mondays and Eat Your Greens. 

More tofu bacon recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Artichoke, sun-dried tomato and cheese muffins 
Bubble and squeak frittata (gf, v)
Cauliflower risotto wih tofu bacon (gf, v) 
Lentil and potato filled pancakes
Potato, cabbage and facon soup (gf, v)
Pumpkin facon soup (gf, v)
Red capsicum and mozzarella pasta bake

And 20 more recipes with facon

Cheddar, kale and facon muffins
Adapted from Cakeyboi
Makes 12 muffins

2-3 tsp olive oil, divided
125g tofu bacon
1 red onion chopped
120g chopped kale
150ml milk (I used soy)
1 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
2 medium eggs 
125ml olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
175g plain flour
125g grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 200 C and grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

Fry tofu bacon in oil in 1-2 tsp oil until golden brown.  (If it is taking quite a while to colour, you can add some more oil.)  Set aside bacon and fry the onion in the same frypan with an additional 1 tsp of oil (if required) until starting to colour.  Add in kale and fry until starting to brown around the edges.

While doing this frying, mix milk and lemon juice for about 5 minutes in a small mixing bowl until it starts to curdle.  Lightly whisk in eggs, olive oil and maple syrup.

Meanwhile, place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Gently mix in the fried ingredients and wet ingredients.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  Keeps about 3 days or can be frozen.

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