MoFo Day 3: BLTs - even better than the real thing

Bacon is the bane of my vegan existence. Not because I want to eat it, because I don't. But because of all the "what do you mean, you don't eat BACON???" and "OH MY GOD, how do you LIVE without BACON?" remarks I've heard over the decade I've been vegan. To be fair, when 19-year-old-me first decided to try veganism, I remember thinking "this will only last a few months. There's no way I can go the rest of my life without bacon." Much to my surprise, within a month, I had no desire to eat it. And within a year, I found the smell disgusting. I'd argue it's not bacon people love, but the smoky, salty, sweet flavor combination. I even argue (though no omnivores have ever agreed with me) that a BLT is just as good with tempeh as with bacon. The BLTs I grew up eating were bread, tangy mayo, lots of lettuce, and thick slices of garden tomatoes, plus maybe two pieces of bacon. The bacon just gave flavor, but it wasn't a huge part of the sandwich. So naturally, I don't even notice swapping out something that gives the same flavor (but is easier to bite and doesn't splatter animal fat all over the kitchen when I cook it). Here's all the ingredients, ready to become a delicious TbLT:

One of the myriad perks of living within walking distance of work is being able to come home for lunch. In keeping with my MoFo theme, I sat at the table and ate my lunch like a civilized person, rather than a cube-jockey at my desk, eating while staring at spreadsheets.

I made the mistake of grabbing an apple from my apartment lobby. It's September in Michigan. In a month, we'll have amazing apples everywhere. Sadly, this mealy thing was from New Zealand and I threw it away after eating two pieces. Yuck!