Thought I might try out a new writing prompt: participating in a weekly meme, Ten on Tuesday.
10 Things to Love About Bacon.
1. It's bacon, man. Crispy, chewy, salty, full of flavor....what's there not to love? It's downright American.
2. Every vegetarian I've ever known has waivered in their convictions at least once because of bacon, myself included. (I'm off the wagon now--thinking about getting back on--and bacon's my only point of contention.)
3. 99.7% of the time, there's nothing that takes the edge off a wicked hangover quite like a platter of eggs and bacon. (It doesn't hurt to sip a tall bloody Mary with about two tablespoons of blistering hot sauce, but I'll save that for the 10 Things to Right a Night Gone Wrong.)
4. Pork fat may not be as bad as we thought. A friend of mine--and local knitter--is a registered dietician at Munson and claims that lard is actually on the Good List. It's one of those original fats the human body recognizes and can easily break down, unlike man-made substitutes like margarine and cottonseed oil. (The way I see it, she's all but saying it's good for you.) More of lard's praises being sung here, here and here.
5. Bacon reminds me of vacation. Because my parents have always believed that bacon is on the Bad List, it was rarely on the menu. Once a summer, though, we'd rent a little cabin on a little lake and all bets were off, bacon included. On the teeny cabin cooktop, we'd have bacon and eggs--and bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, sugar doughnuts, soda pop, caramel corn--all the unhealthy food kids really crave. When I smell bacon cooking, I think of knotty pine panelling, my grandpa's blue flannel shirt and that squeaky rollaway bed--summer at its best.
6. I just found this recipe for guacamole (my desert island food) and this variation has bacon in it. Brilliant.
7. My favorite confectionary in the world (and trust me, I'm pretty devoted to the Search) consistently lists Mo's Bacon Bar as their best-selling product. Chocolate + bacon = foodie heaven. Salty, creamy, sweet and crunchy? Thank you, Vosges, for covering all your bases.
8. People love bacon so much that they've devoted entire websites to it, where you can join Bacon-of-the-Month clubs, burn bacon-scented candles, flavor your food with bacon-inspired seasonings, protect yourself from the elements with bacon-flavored lip balm, even apply bandages that look like mini rashers. To these people, bacon isn't a food--it's a religion.
9. In college, my friends and I used to play this game every single day we called the Hollywood Game, which is heavily based on the Six Degrees of Separation. The theory behind it is that every single person in Hollywood can be linked in six steps or fewer--either on-screen or in their personal life--to Kevin Bacon. The crazy thing is the fact that it always worked. Every. Single. Time. I imagine there were plenty of ways to squander a private education, but seriously. Who wants to talk about John Donne when you can talk about John Leguizamo?
10. At my house, we take our bacon seriously. No store-bought, vacuum packed, flavorless mediocrity here--we raise our own pork. Shively says hello!
Thank you to Carole, for creating Ten on Tuesdays. I'm happy to be a part of it!
