The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Bacon Scallion Pancakes

Bill bought a lot of scallions recently, when we made sushi with my niece and my sister, and we needed to use them up before they started getting yucky….

And we had bacon….

So?  Scallion pancakes…with bacon!

My Versions of Stuffies and Clams Casino

 

I say “my versions” because, well, that’s what they are.  Slightly different from the traditional, and heartily approved by my three main critics.

Making Sausage – And Other Things

It’s a big food production day here.  Not only are we making sausage, but we’ve got a few other projects under way.

Bill brined a turkey breast overnight in a mixture of water, salt, sugar, limes, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and I don’t know what else…

This morning he rinsed it off, dried it, and now it’s on the grill – it should smoke for about an hour and a half to two hours.

When that’s done, we’ll trim the meat off the bone and slice it up for sandwiches.  Most of it will go in the freezer.

And…

Ribs.

Trimmed from the pork belly, we’ve got two sets of ribs.  One will go on the smoker and the other has been cut up for an Asian recipe Bill’s made before. 

Yes, this is man’s work.

After Bill and John sawed the ribs in half, John separated the ribs like this:

At the moment, Bill’s got water on to boil, and I’ll let you know what happens next with those.

Oh – and last, but definitely not least, John’s smoking a batch of bacon.

I think that’s everything.

Oh – and I’ve got a batch of baked beans simmering in the oven.  They’ve been in there since a little after six this morning.  We’ll have them with lunch.       

Red Curry Macaroni with Five Cheeses – and Bacon!

My fridge is packed.  And not in a good way.  It’s stuffed with neglected containers of meals past, with foods that need to be chopped and cooked and canned…with feta in brine for another couple of weeks, with jars of salsas and jams and pickles that we cracked open just to make sure they had turned out okay.

I needed to do some cleaning out.  And part of the clean out resulted in this version of macaroni and cheese. 

All Four Food Groups! Including the All-Important Bacon Fat Group!

I almost feel like I should post this under an assumed name, what with all my perky, healthy, Look!  We Grow Vegetables!  posts lately. 

It’s…I don’t even know what to call it, other than one of the yummiest breakfasts I’ve ever had.

It’s a fried egg on top of warmed goat milk mozzarella on top of arugula on top of a piece of leftover pizza dough that was fried in bacon fat.

Yes.  Bacon fat. 

And yes.  It was that good.

Here’s how it happened…

Making Bacon – Part 5 – Bacon Beer

This one will be short and sweet because I didn’t take a lot of pictures and there’s not really a lot to tell.

And with that amazing sales pitch, here’s the story…

Making Bacon – Part 3 – Fried Pork Rinds

In case you missed the first two parts of my bacon-making series, here they are:

 Part One – Curing

Part Two – Smoking

So, now that the bacon’s made, what else is there to do?

Making Bacon – Step Two - Smoking

If you missed part one, head over here to see what’s going on…Making Bacon – Step One – Curing

Just like we experimented with two cures – one with maple syrup added, one without – we also experimented with two smoking methods – hot and cold.

Hot smoke is faster, cold smoke…isn’t.  But cold smoke seems more authentic, somehow.  You know, like people would have done it back in the olden days.

Making Bacon – Step One – Curing

I cooked jonnycakes and bacon for breakfast for Bill yesterday (Father’s Day) and I think that triggered the need to write about our experiences in making bacon.  We made bacon twice last year, and we’ll definitely be making more this summer. 

Why?  Because it’s cool.

The Bacon Posts are Long Overdue

It’s about time I wrote about making bacon.

We’ve done it twice now, and we’ll do it again this summer, because it’s yummy, and it’s cool to be able to make your own stuff.

That’s why we make lots of our own stuff – bread, cheese (well, working on expanding that, but still…), beer, we grow lots of plants, we can things and pickle things and make sauerkraut and kimchee…there’s probably more, but you get the idea. 

So yes, last year, two times, we made bacon.

And I took pictures, and meant to write about it, but the giant Painting The House Ourselves project took over, and then other things came up, and I just kept not doing it.

That has to stop.  And stop now.

So stay tuned…the Makin Bacon Saga will begin shortly….

Bacon Pancake Bites – Maple Syrup Optional

We had some people over for an early Christmas dinner last night.  Some family, some friends. 

But before all that, when it was morning, I cooked some bacon and eggs for Bill.

The bacon is homemade.  We made it.  It’s our second batch, and it will not be our last.  Some time soon I will tell you all about that.  The making of bacon.

But for now, there’s this little story. 

Scallops Wrapped in Nori, Topped with Bacon and Chives and a Maple Soy Ginger Glaze

I know.  It's a rather wordy name for a one-bite item, but I couldn't think of anything shorter.  If you've got any suggestions, feel free to offer them up.  

Ah, where to begin?