The best french toast -- vegan!

There's a saying that goes "there's nothing wrong with Vegan food that can't be fixed with grating some cheese on it." Generally, I agree with this statement. But over the New Year, my friend served me the most delicious french toast I've ever had -- and it's a vegan recipe!

Maple Pecan French Toast

Serves 4

3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
1-1/4 cups soy milk or other dairy-free milk
4 ounces silken tofu, drained
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
8 slices whole-grain or sprouted bread

Place 1/4 cup of the pecans in a dry blender and grind to a powder. Add the soy milk, tofu, vanilla, and 1/4 cup of the maple syrup and blend until smooth. Pour into a large shallow bowl and dip in the bread, coating both sides evenly with the batter. Preheat the oven to 200º. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prepared bread, and cook until browned on both sides. Keep the cooked French toast warm in the oven while preparing remaining slices. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup of maple syrup and remaining 1/2 cup pecans and heat until warm. Spoon over the French toast and serve at once.

It is possible to cook truly delicious vegan food. So why are vegan recipes in general not as tasty as it could be? Two possibilities:

1) In terms of foregone yumminess, the cost of becoming vegan is high. This will have the effect of discouraging fanatical foodies from becoming vegans (of course I'm not saying that it's impossible). Less fanatical foodies working on developing good vegan recipes means veganism as a lifestyle becomes even less attractive to fanatical foodies. Vicious cycle continues until tofu scrambles tasting like bell-pepper flavored wet paper mache is produced.
2) Apart from the moral aspect, the other motivation for becoming vegan is health. This adds another layer of restrictions as well as demote the importance of taste as a criteria.

I care way too much for the tastiness of my food to become a vegan, or even a vegetarian. But that does not mean I give no consideration to the appalling way sentient beings are "farmed" to bring meat, milk and eggs to our table. If the Vegan community can serve up some recipes that are tasty enough, and I will cook them in preference to conventional versions. Oh, and while I don't mind some morality on the side, please hold the judgemental attitude.

In a similar vein, I think an utilitarian cookbook would be an excellent idea. If the Werewolf ever gets serious about writing one, I would be glad to furnish him with recipes.