Today was such a beautiful day.  Beautiful Sundays always make me want to set out an amazing brunch.  Brunch is definitely one of my favorite meals.  I love the laziness of brunch;  I love to linger over the delicious foods, reading the paper, and enjoying life.  Brunch to me means relaxation.  My absolute favorite brunch food has always been eggs benedict, and my vegan version, which has been a work-in-progress for some time now, is so great that I will post it soon.  Today, however, I made another of my favorites.  Quiche Lorraine.  Quiche Lorraine?  How can that be vegan, you may be asking.  After all, not only is quiche usually made with eggs and cream, but Quiche Lorraine also has bacon and cheese.  Pretty hard to veganize, right?  Wrong!!  This vegan version is savory and delicious, as well as nutritious, and is the perfect way to enjoy a lazy Sunday brunch.  A green salad, a fruit salad, and this quiche, and my Sunday afternoon is complete!

For the frozen pie crust, I prefer wholly wholesome, found in specialty stores, but many major supermarket chains carry vegan ones, such as shoprite – just check the ingredients and make sure there is no butter or eggs.  You will be surprised how many frozen pie crusts contain neither!

• 1 9″ frozen pie crust
• 1 lb extra firm tofu, pressed
• 1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 vegan beef bouillon cube (I prefer Edwards and Sons not-beef)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 slices fakin bacon
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/3 cup vegan cheddar shreds, such as Daiya

Preheat oven to 425.

Press the tofu in a tofu press, or place it on a plate with another plate on top and some heavy objects, such as books or heavy pots, on top of that.  Leave for about 20 minutes and the liquid will be released.

In the meantime, lightly grease a small pan and brown the fakin bacon on both sides over medium high heat.  Remove from pan and cut into small pieces.  Set aside.

Place the cashews, tofu and nutritional yeast in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Pour into a large bowl and set aside.

Add olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat.  Saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the bouillon, salt and onion powder to the onion and mix to combine well.

Add the onion mix to the large bowl with the tofu mix.  Add the bacon and the cheese and combine well.

Pour into frozen crust.

Bake 10 minutes, then lower oven to 375 and bake 30 minutes more.

Serve warm.