eggplant bacon? get outta here!

so i made some eggplant bacon. it was really good. no-no you don't understand. this was something i never imagined i'd do with an eggplant. eggplant is one of my favorite veggies, but never in a million years could you convince me i could make bacon with it. i took several baby eggplants and peeled them. then i took the best knife i had (because i don't have a mandolin) and sliced them very, very thin. i'm talkin' wah-fer thin. then i took those slices and let them bathe overnight in a mixture of tomato sauce, liquid aminos, liquid smoke, olive oil, granulated garlic, apple cider vinegar, and a T of turbinado. the next day i took the eggplant and baked them on a cookie sheet for 10 mins at 400 degrees flipping them for another 10 mins. until they were nice and semi-crispy.
the results? this was some righteous bacon although i think i would have achieved a better crisp by pan frying the slices in some olive oil. i'm sure the recipe will become more awesome every time it is made. the eggplant absorbed the marinade perfectly and the flavor was very savory and smokey. the texture was chewy and meaty--probably would make a bangin' jerky in the dehydrator. was it bacon? of course not, but i think this is a very good use for eggplant if you're sick of making babaganoush or moussaka. picutured above is an EBLT with a side of roasted veggies topped with the cheez sauce on page 69 of the ultimate uncheese cookbook. i had never tried this sauce before and it was rich in roasted pepper goodness. the recipe called for cashews, and i didn't have any on hand so i used hazelnuts instead. i think it made the sauce richer. perfect for topping veggies or as a dip.