Asparagus with Black Pepper, 'Bacon', and 'Goat Cheese' Sauce

To replace the bacon in the original recipe, it's an easy vegan substitute - the Smart Bacon from LightLife. For the goat cheese, however, I was torn between using vegan feta (which I use for crumbly-type goat cheeses) or vegan cream cheese (which works well for creamy goat cheeses), since the original recipe didn't specify. I decided to go with the vegan feta, but you could try it both ways, and see which one you think fits this sauce better!

First, bring 1 gallon (16 cups) of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add 2 pounds trimmed asparagus spears and cook for 2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels and chill.

Note: don't fret about the large quantity of salt; using so much helps the asparagus stay a nice bright green, but most of it will be rinsed down the drain after cooking.

Just before serving, combine 3/4 cup vegan feta (such as Sunergia) or vegan cream cheese (such as Tofutti) with 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise (I like the canola mayo from Spectrum Foods), 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, and 2 cooked and crumbled vegan bacon slices. Add 1/4 cup plain soy milk (such as Silk), 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Arrange the chilled asparagus on a platter and drizzle with the sauce. Divide into 8 equal servings of 70 calories each.

Cost:
asparagus $6.55
vegan feta $3.69
vegan bacon $3.39
plain soy milk $2.99