bacon

Baconfest 2013

/ Shane / Leave a comment

2013 logo

Ah, spring is in the air, and that means a young man’s mind turns to thoughts of bacon.

Our turn to host once again, and I think the food went pretty well. I kept feeling guilty, like I didn’t spend enough time planning things out. I think this was a combination of, 1) this is year 3, so we kind of know what we’re doing, 2) I spread out a lot of the planning over the course of the last year, and 3) we did some recipes that we have made before, which shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing, since we know they are good recipes.

2013_04_06_9914

The Menu

Breakfast

Piggy-shaped Pancakes

Bacon Taste Test

Lunch

Bacon-Cheddar Swirl Buns

Smokey Bacon and Corn Chowder Soup

“Bacon and Eggs” pretzels

Dinner

Kale with Bacon and Cannellini Beans

Dark Chocolate Chunk and Bacon Cookies

Snack

Roasted Chickpeas and Bacon

2013_04_06_9896

There were no heart attacks, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s a win!

The bacon can get a little overwhelming, but I didn’t think it did this year. I’m always on the lookout for “bacon related” recipes that don’t actually involve bacon, such as the “bacon and egg” pretzels and the piggy-shaped pancakes (harder to come by than you might think). Also, our recipes that did involve bacon also involved a lot of other healthy(ish) ingredients. I think this was the first year that I didn’t really feel like a bloated pig (no pun intended) at the end of the day.

The day was broken up with music class and swim class, and Oliver in particular had a hard time leaving the festivities. However, these seemed like minor distractions and didn’t take away from the hours and hours spent watching Evie’s puppet shows and plays. We didn’t have any bacon related activities this year (no Kevin Bacon movie), which is maybe kind of a bummer in retrospect, but we were pretty busy all day so I don’t know when we would have fit it in.

And not one person commented on our matching shirts while we were out and about! This is especially strange to me since I practically always get a comment when I’m wearing one of my baconfest shirts around.

I must admit that we did not actually eat the roasted chickpeas and bacon until the following day. The idea was to eat them that night while we played a couple of rounds of Pandemic, but, as usual for the evening of baconfest, nobody was hungry. So we ended up making it for lunch the next day. The good news is, we did manage to keep the swine flu from taking over the world (to say nothing of the bacteria-resistant chlamydia!). I think I’d take a game of Pandemic over watching a movie any day. Lots of fun!

Baconfest is always a fantastic time, an excellent tradition, and full of delicious, bacony goodness. Evie is absolutely convinced that it is a national holiday, right up there with Easter and Christmas. I have to admit, I probably enjoy it more than a lot of other holidays!

Bacon Level 11

/ Shane / Leave a comment

Some people get tired of all the stupid April Fools jokes that run around on the Internet. It seems like every company has some “joke” up their sleeve, to the point where there’s just no chance of anybody tricking you on that day.

On the other hand, I like it. April Fools day has turned into something like an Internet holiday. Wearing a green, pseudo-Irish outfit and drinking beer doesn’t make sense either, but everybody goes along with it because it’s St. Patrick’s day, and why not? Putting out a silly fake ad or doing something dumb on your website is the April 1st equivalent of wearing green. It shows you’re participating.

So, in honor of the 3rd annual baconfest this weekend, I give you Scope’s contribution this year: bacon flavored mouthwash, “for breath that sizzles”

This is the perfect example of an April fools joke. It’s a ridiculous and terrible idea, and yet it’s *just* plausible enough that a bunch of talking head idiots at a company might try to capitalize on the bacon sensation. Plus, there’s some serious production value on that commercial. It’s more enjoyable than a lot of actual commercials.

ThinkGeek, on the other hand, continues to use April Fools “pranks” as a way of beta testing perfectly good ideas to see what people actually want to buy. Seriously guys, there is an art to a good April fools joke. You have to start by making something that’s ridiculous, and then convince me, despite my skepticism, that it is a real thing. That’s a well done joke. Just showing me some products that you could make and sell, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet, is not a joke.

Scope link via Sylvain (and it should be mentioned this video came out *before* April fools, lending it credibility).

Bacon Legislation

/ Shane / Leave a comment

I’ve mentioned before the important, and useful ability of the common man to petition the federal government for important services. Now, unfortunately, some people have put this powerful website to silly uses, which is a shame, because it obscures the truly useful petitions. I’m referring of course, to this one: Have the USDA set a Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for bacon.

We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the USDA set a Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for bacon, so that all Americans can be guided on how best to participate in this amazing, nation building food.

Finally, something useful and important that the government could actually accomplish!

Please join me in signing this vital petition. We need 100,000 signatures by April 21st, and we have a long, long way to go.

Simple Potato Soup

/ Shane / Leave a comment

The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

Now that it is starting to be fall, it is starting to be “soup season”. Sara kind of thinks soup season extends year round, so she has quite a lot of soup recipes in her arsenal, but this one is by far my favorite.

The Journey:

Let me start by saying, I am very anti-creamy soups. I like thin soups, like chicken noodle, french onion, etc. And this soup is as thick as it gets. The next day you can practically cut it with a knife. And yet, I love it.

Maybe it is not coincidental that it has bacon in it, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

The Verdict:

Sooo yummy. It’s in the crock pot, so it’s not too difficult to make, but you do have to do a lot of potato chopping first which takes a long time. However, it makes a lot, so you get multiple meals out of it, making the effort more than worth it. It works fine to freeze it.

It is a very hearty soup. I recommend serving it with some fresh baked bread.

The Recipe:

Recipe from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook

  • 5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 cup half-and-half (or whole milk)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream (we use our homemade plain yogurt instead)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 ounces bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
  • 6 green onions, sliced
  1. Put the potatoes in the slow cooker and add water to cover. Cover and cook on high until the potatoes are cooked and falling apart, about 5 hours.
  2. Turn the cooker to low, add the butter, half-and-half, and sour cream, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until hot, about 20 minutes.
  3. Stir in the crumbled bacon and green onions. Serve immediately or keep warm on low, adding water or milk to thin if necessary.

Quote Monday is in an unhealthy relationship

/ Shane / Leave a comment

Evie, screaming from the other room: “I said put it in my room!!”
Ollie, to me: “EE’s attituding.”

::Evie hits Ollie::
Evie: “Now give me a hug.”
Ollie: “We’re having much fun, right EE?”

Poor Oliver is such an abused husband in that relationship.

::We were discussing Halloween costumes::
Sara: “Ollie, if you could dress up like anybody, who would you dress up as?”
Ollie: “Ollie.”

Me: “I just opened the windows and there is a sweet breeze blowing through here.”
Sara: “Yeah, but then its not going to smell like bacon anymore.”

I think we just figured out why I married her.