Week before last I became a vegetarian. Ok, not really, but I had four vegetarian meals, which is more probably than, like, ever, in one week.
1st veg meal: I had some pseudo-vegetarian friends over for dinner (I prefer to call them “just plain fussy”) and struggled to find a main entree chic enough for a dinner party. A friend suggested some cheese-nut patties smothered in tomato sauce, but I knew it wouldn’t be appealing looking on a plate. I ended up making a mushroom, artichoke and spinach lasagna recipe I found on epicurious.com and it was delicious and hearty (good enough to make again).
2nd veg meal: I made those cheese-nut patties my friend had suggested. And, despite its rather unappetizing name — yum! And close enough in terms of texture and taste that G. was thoroughly convinced there was ground meat in it.
3rd veg meal: Had brunch in my ‘hood at vegetarian eatery and juice bar Pulp Kitchen with a girlfriend. I spent a long time choosing a dish (honestly, I really, really wanted some bacon) but settled on the PK Sandwich (avocado, roasted tomato and spicy crispy tofu) — I figured it’d be a safe choice and not something pretending to be something it’s not (aka tofu posing as eggs).
4th veg meal: Lunch date with a true vegetarian friend (not like the fusspots I had over for dinner) at Camros Eatery — kale salad, lentil patty and red rice ball. Tasty, filling and I felt nice and healthy afterwards!
All of these veggies, though, left me majorly craving bacon. And so I had a spaghetti carbonara the other day, and now I want to order this Bacon Freak Cookbook. Don’t you just love its tagline, Bacon is Meat Candy? It includes recipes from well-known chefs, including Rick Bayless, plus it has a chapter on desserts (chocolate bacon martini, anyone? How about a bacon-grilled s’more?)
Sounds pretty genius to me.
March 9, 2010
I promise this is my last item about pork this week. I came across this blog post, though, How to Win Friends and Influence People…with Bacon and it made me giggle (and salivate!) because it is a method I subscribe to. Come over to our house for dinner and there’s a good chance bacon will be part of the meal (I suppose this falls more into “swell” category than it does “health”). Cases in point:
1. A side dish we make fairly regularly is an incredible Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Cider Vinaigrette from Canadian House & Home. It has the power to convert brussel sprouts haters into lovers.
2. At Christmas, we were in charge of appetizers; we made a retro recipe I got from G.’s mom, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts baked in a brown sugar-based dressing, that disappeared in two minutes flat.
3. Our ultimate bacon pièce to résistance: the Bacon Explosion. I first heard about the Explosion in the New York Times a year ago and had been obsessed with making it (it was the arts and craftsy-ness of the bacon weave that I was particularly drawn to).
We finally got around to trying it this November and let me tell you it was all that I had dreamed of — sweet and salty all at once, with intense bacon flavour. And it was a bonus that it turned out to be quite simple to make.
And no, we didn’t have a defibrillator on site.
We used this recipe and cooked it in our oven since we don’t own a smoker. N.B. This recipe serves about six people (not 10 as the recipe indicates).
Just now I reluctantly used the recipe analyzer at www.dietitians.ca (I had a sneaking suspicion that ignorance is bliss when it comes to the Bacon Explosion). How’s it do? Per serving it rings in at 452 calories, 32 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbs, 24 grams of protein, and oh yeah, 1,846 grams of sodium. No, that’s not a typo.
So it’s definitely not something you’d have regularly, but perhaps as a once-a-year pork fest. For more pics of how our Explosion came together, click here.
January 29, 2010
Week before last I became a vegetarian. Ok, not really, but I had four vegetarian meals, which is more probably than, like, ever, in one week.
All of these veggies, though, left me majorly craving bacon. And so I had a spaghetti carbonara the other day, and now I want to order this Bacon Freak Cookbook. Don’t you just love its tagline, Bacon is Meat Candy? It includes recipes from well-known chefs, including Rick Bayless, plus it has a chapter on desserts (chocolate bacon martini, anyone? How about a bacon-grilled s’more?)
