VEGAN BACO BITS!!!

Check out the lastest review at "Peppers & More".

TITO & CAST IRON

Tito is the local barber in Rodeo, California. He is a great fisherman, He cuts our hair and can also dance like Michael Jackson on the dance floor. Tito knows everybody in town and is a local hero. These shots were stolen from the Crab Feed at the 'Crockett Bass Club'.

What does that have to with cast iron? Not a lot! Check out my new pot. It is huge.

NEW YORK CITY

We have defeated the bacon flu. It is time to have a New York cut of steak. New York City?

HELL TO PAY

Peppahead has created a masterpiece. “Everything you can imagine is real”. Larry, the Pablo Picasso of the pepper world has blended a slew of hot peppers to create this fiery hot sauce. This sauce will make you stand back to collect your thoughts and enjoy an artistic beautiful tasty burn. The colors of this canvas include Bhut Joklia, Dorset Naga and several other ingredients. This sauce is art in a bottle.

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MAYNARD SECRETS OF A BACON CURER

The start of the New Year has dealt me a nasty cold. It is not the swine flu, but, the bacon flu. Whatever you want to call it, it sucks! In between the sniffles and the hacks "Maynard, Secrets of a Bacon Curer" was read. This was a gift from the "President of Cookies". This was an autobiographical collection of short stories and anecdotes from Maynard Davies. Maynard is famous in England for smoking and curing bacon and hams in the traditional way.

Maynard was a dyslexic who had problems with his schooling. At a young age he served an apprenticeship with 'Theodore Mountford', a Master Curer of traditional bacon's and hams. He moved on and opened his own shop in a county setting with his wife. The book talks about various adventures at his shop. He had run ins with the health inspectors, was robbed, conned and still kept his optimistic take on life. He was a perfectionist when it came to curing and smoking products. Maynard gained a national reputation for the numerous styles and different cures of his quality bacon and hams.

This was a wonderful read. Maynard never elaborated on recipes or techniques. It gave a glimpse in the life of a bacon curer. He did give the readers a recipe for Mutton ham which I will not be making. There is also a follow up book called "Manual of a Traditional Bacon Curer" that does have recipes and techniques. I cannot wait to check it out.

ISBN 978-1-873674-93-2

ARTIFICIAL HAM FLAVOR

There is no need to adjust your set. Yes, you have read artificial ham flavor. It even sounds disgusting. Let's start from the beginning. We cooked a beautiful bone-in ham for New Years day. It was from the 'Meat Star' Dittmer from Dittmers Wurst Haus. It was scrumdiddlyumptious . Today we have a wonderful bone to make split pea soup. This is one of my favorite soups. Ms. Goofy is not partial to this green pea concoction, so I will enjoy it all week. I asked her to pick up a pound of dried split peas from our local Wally-Mart. She brought back this package of Hampeas. When did split pea get the name make over? After a brief observation of these fancy new dried legumes we noticed that this package came with a ham flavor packet. In fact, right in front, in plain English, it claims ARTIFICIAL ham flavor. Yuck!!! Luckily it came in a sealed package and I was able to remove it from the peas.

The split peas soup is delicious. It is flavored with the most flavorful "Real Deal" ham bone. It will go perfect with a ham sandwich and a visit to the couch to watch more football.

BACON CANDLES

Happy New Year! I am right on track with my New Years resolution. It has been seven hours and forty seven minutes of my diet. I will probably stay on track till 8oo. There is some great bacon in the ice cave that is calling me. While I am tossing my resolution into the black iron frying pan, there will be light from bacon candles. Kittridge Candles sells candles that smell like bacon. Who would of thunk of that. Of course some had to be acquired in the name of research.

Yes, these candles do smell like bacon. It will never be a substitute for frying some of your own. With that said, Happy New Year and I hope you can keep your resolutions longer than I.