Today it's easy to eat pig-friendly fare! Recipes for veggie "sausage" and "bacon" can be found in almost any vegetarian cookbook, and health-food stores and well-stocked supermarkets carry delicious mock meats like "not dogs," Canadian "bacon," ham-flavored deli slices--even veggie "bacon" bits. Try these products in your favorite recipes--Babe and his pals will thank you!

Mix the soy sauce, yeast flakes, maple syrup and liquid smoke together in a shallow container. With a cheese slicer, shave the tofu into very thin slices. Marinate the tofu in the soy sauce mixture for 1 day or more.

To cook, heat a lightly oiled, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, fry the tofu slices until they are golden-brown and almost crispy on both sides, scraping underneath the slices as you turn them with a sturdy spatula. Turn several times during cooking and let cool in the pan; the slices will crisp up as they cool. This makes excellent “BLT” sandwiches and can be crumbled or diced and added to other dishes for a bacon-like flavor.

Makes about 40 thin slices.

In a bowl, pour the water and soy sauce over the textured vegetable protein. When soft, add all the other ingredients, except the flour, and mix well. When the mixture is cool, add the flour. Mix well, then shape into 10 thin patties or 20 small “sausage links.” Steam-fry in two batches in a lightly oiled heavy frying pan over medium heat, covered, until firm and browned (7 to 10 minutes per side for patties; at least 20 minutes total for links). These can be refrigerated or frozen for later use. To reheat, place in a covered, lightly oiled skillet with a few tablespoons of water and cook over high heat until the water has evaporated.

Makes 10 patties or 20 links.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the soy sausage links until golden brown. Cut into 1-inch pieces and set aside. In the same frying pan, sauté the onions and peppers with the salt until the onions are translucent. Add the sausage pieces and the marinara sauce and stir gently. Cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Serve over the cooked noodles.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and gently stir them together. Simmer the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.
(From Table for Two by Joanne Stepaniak)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sausage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sausage browns, about 5 more minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the tofu, soymilk, salt, thyme, fennel seed and cayenne and mix well. Blend in the sausage mixture. Lightly oil a large, shallow baking dish and place the bread in it. Pour the sausage mixture over the bread, using a fork to distribute it evenly. Let stand until the liquid is absorbed by the bread, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F/170 degrees C/Gas Mark 3 and bake the casserole for 45 minutes. Increase the temperature to 400 degrees F/
200 degrees C/Gas Mark 6 and continue baking until the casserole is puffy and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.
(From The Soy Gourmet by Robin Robertson)