Home made bacon, why not?

The scientific process in action: bacon. Because who doesn't like bacon? Some people think that there is a a fifth flavour, called umami, and bacon would definitely fall into that category.

In making the switch to mostly organic, natural, and local foods, I find myself asking if I could make things myself. Cheaper, healthier, but not necessarily easier, making and preserving food has been going on for thousands of years. If they can do it, why can't I?

Bacon Experiment #1

I picked up a kilo of pork belly from Safeway, at a cost of about $15. Im interested in how much finished bacon this will yield, in the end. I'm not entirely sure this will be a cost-effective experiment, but you never know. A little less than a pound of natural bacon at the store runs about $8.

Adapting this recipe, and information from this site and many others, here's what I'm trying.

2lbs pork belly, skin off

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar

1/2 cup kosher salt

2tsp Himalayan pink salt

1tsp freshly ground black pepper

3tbsp maple whiskey

Pretty simple list of ingredients! There should not be any nitrites in the finished product, as the pink salt I'm using is the Himalayan variety, not pink curing salt. There is much debate as to whether or not to use curing salt, as the nitrites will help preserve it and inhibit bacterial growth. For this purpose I'm choosing not to. Mostly because if it works, I doubt it will last long enough to grow anything anyway.

 

I bathed the raw pork in the whiskey, and let it sit for awhile to let it absorb some of the flavour. Next, I packed that sucker in the salt / sugar mixture, making sure I covered all sides. Finally, it's into a foodsaver vacuum sealer bag, and into the fridge. Now, I've got to flip it every day to ensure that it cures evenly.

3-7 days is the timeline. Most suggestions on most recipes seemed to average 5 days, so we shall see.

 

 

 

 

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Winter food, day 7

Finally Friday, of the only full school week in February. Freaky, also because it's the 13th. (Shudder)

After an exhausting few days, we are literally running on empty, and looking for some comfort food. Now we come to the reason why we don't eat out much: tonight's menu. Some people, when they have cravings for certain foods, will find a restraunt and order out, or eat out. Maybe we're just cheap, but we tend to think, "hey, let's make that".

The appetizer course tonight consisted of an old classic: Vietnamese Salad Rolls. Delicious with a tangy dipping sauce, lots of rice vermicelli, and of course, fresh organic veggies.

We also had some leftover won tons from the other night, so I suppose this is cheating somewhat, but let me tell you: having a package of frozen won tons in the freezer is pretty handy when you just want to throw together a quick Wor Won Ton soup.

And the coup-de-grace (yes I just threw down some French in reference to an Asian themed meal) was some homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken. On basmati rice of course. Can't have S&S chicken without rice.

 

 

 

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Winter food, day 6

The backstory: to kick off this hour of dinner preparation, Carter threw the Mother Of All Fits, complete with writhing and twisting on the floor. So, what better thing to do, than cheat a bit? Well, Today we half cheated, and did something we rarely do anymore... We made food from a package! (Gasp!) but, these were some handmade ravioli, from a speciality Italian store in Edmonton. Italian Sausage Ravioli, with an Italian sausage meat sauce, and fresh Parmegiana Regiano. (We've also got a second package of Prosciutto, Fig, and Mascarpone stuffed ravioli in the freezer, for a rainy day. Or a Tuesday.)

Apparently in Europe, it is customary to have lots of fresh breads available. In keeping with the theme, and her general awesomeness, Amanda made a fresh loaf of cheese stuffed bread. Don't forget the fresh homemade butter, and side salad par Brayden!

And what better dessert to have than a true Italian delicacy - cannoli! Chocolate chip and cream filled, with a crispy shell... So good. It's one of those things that we saw on Cake Boss all the time, and they always looked so good. Trust me, they are!

Love the Italian Shoppe. They have an entire aisle of pasta. The next aisle is devoted strictly to various tomato sauces and the like. Their bakery is amazing, I wish I had taken a picture of their display case. And the best part - the deli. Fresh everything, cheeses, olives, and sausages as long as a table. Makes me wish it was closer... But then we would go broke for sure.

 

 

 

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Winter food, day 5

Today was a brutal day, so we're taking it easy on the food challenge. I'm sure I'll make up for it later this week, and we will average out at two stuffed items today. After over three hours in a waiting room, or three hours on a table, (depending on your perspective of course), one does not feel much like being either inventive or effective.

To be completely honest, at one point today I seriously considered a box of macaroni and a spoonful of peanut butter, and calling it stuffed macaroni.

That being said, we slow cooked some beef to make Asian Fusion Tacos, with homemad corn tortillas. Yes, I made those myself - they're quite simple actually, requiring only five ingredients, and cook fast. In fact, by double fisting the pans, and working on my timing, I was able to fire off a dozen in under fifteen minutes.

These soft tacos are incredibly juicy, as the slow-cooked beef and marinated coleslaw has quit a bit of liquid between the two, so make sure to eat with your head over the plate!

 

 

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Winter food, day 4

Now it's getting a little more creative. Tonight, we decided on Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Baked Spaghetti Loaves. (That's a whole lotta capitals there.) These delectable delicacies are done with a dozen slices of delicious bacon and some sharp slices of cheddar. (Wow, alliteration attempt FAILED) Sorry, Shoulda Sliced for Serving. (Alliteration attempt ACHIEVED)

Simple Salad as a Side, so only Somewhat Stuffed tonight. However, it was filling and delicious, and I AM "stuffed", so that's got to count for something, right?

 

Dessert is a lemon and lavender reduction "stuffed" roll (yes I know it looks like a cinnamon roll, but IT'S NOT). The lavender is so subtle, you really have to be paying attention to taste it. Pretty awesome when it's warm, and served with some freshly churned home made butter. Again, because we can.

 

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Winter food, day 3

I'm fairly certain this challenge is ridiculous, and we've decided not to make too many drastic changes to a) our diet, and b) our grocery bill. Hence tonight's recipes: they are simply adaptations of what we had on hand, and what we had on our menu plan anyway.

 

Monday night was Sloppy Joes. But, instead of slicing the hamburger buns in half, we scooped them out into bowls, and stuffed the filling mixture in. Did I mention that these were homemade spelt flour burger buns as well? Gosh I love my wife :)

Because we always have two veggies, and we had some collard greens in the Organic Box this week, Amanda found a recipe for rolls. Stuffed with a mixture of mushroom-oil infused forbidden rice, and sweet yellow bell peppers, then rolled like a cabbage roll. Delicious! We don't get collards very often, but I love their dark green colour, and rich, buttery flavour. Sliced in half for presentation, but they held together quite nicely and could probably also be used in place of lettuce in lettuce wraps, or perhaps even in a variation of dolmatoes.

 

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Winter food, day 2

 

I was planning on making roulades tonight anyway. Usually I make them with a little homemade spaetzle and gravy, but tonight I decided to replace the noodles with double baked stuffed potatoes. Not something I normally make, due to the time constraints, but satisfying nonetheless. I completely forgot the paprika and cilantro as garnish however!

The roulades were stuffed with a traditional German filling: mustard, pickles, and onions, then Braised in red wine and beef stock (which was used to make a simple gravy afterwards).

And of course, a couple of vegetables, beets and green beans in this case, to round out the dish.

I was thinking today, and looking ahead to the week's menu plan. Thinking about how this challenge would or would not change what we made. I came to the conclusion that we make pretty good food, regardless, whether it is stuffed or otherwise. We were looking at the things we had on the list for this week, and we didn't have to make too many alterations to our menu to satisfy the "stuffed" factor of the challenge. Mostly, we are trying to find ways to adjust what we already are making to make it into a stuffed dish.

Even Carter is getting into it. Today he wrote a recipe for stuffed squash. If we had one, the totally would have tried to make it for supper tonight. He wasn't sure what he would put in it, but he was certain that if it was a sweeter squash, like delicate, he would use savoury things like beans, onions, etc. A little chef in the making.

I wonder what tomorrow night will hold?

 

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Winter Food: Get Stuffed. Day 1

My mom threw out a very random, food-based challenge for my sister and myself, and our respective spouses. The challenge is this: for the next seven days (Feb 7-14 2015), prepare a dinner involving two dishes that are "stuffed".

First off, what for? There has got to be an ulterior motive somewhere. A recipe book in the making? Who knows: Not I.

Secondly, define "Stuffed". As in, the items in the dish need to be stuffed with something, or that the dish itself makes one feel stuffed? Being that this is a "winter food" challenge, perhaps it is a search for hearty, wholesome recipes that are filling and nutritious, using readily available ingredients in the winter months.

She refused to answer both questions, incidentally.

I Tonight's menu includes Wor Won Ton soup. The won tons are stuffed with pork, ginger, green onions, and a little five spice, then boiled and presented in the soup, along with blanched broccoli, shredded carrot, and green onion. Great for a cold winter day (-18 C) and head colds.

Having some left over won ton wrappers, Amanda made the brilliant suggestion to stuff them with apples. Voila, Asian Apple Pies: cinnamon, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of sugar. Deep fried to crispy perfection. (And yes, I know that "voila" is French.)

Why? Because we can. And why not?

 

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