That magical animal

For my birthday last year several of my friends got together and surprised me with a year-long membership to the Bacon of the Month club. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me and without a doubt, an amazingly appropriate present.

So now I receive a package of artisanal bacon every month, and every time I see that familiar box sitting on the doorstep it brings an extra spring to my step. I haven't had to buy any bacon this entire time, and truth be told all that bacon is too much for two persons. We've had to throw some out - an outright travesty. Some of the bacon has been really good - I remember a maple-flavoured one which is probably my favourite to date. But there have been misses too - ene month I threw an entire package out after tasting a strip of the bacon. Yes, it was that bad.

The point is, to use up all that bacon requires some creative methods. I recently stopped eating meat for breakfast (probably not going to last, since I've been craving breakfast sausage like whoa). But I don't think there is anything that you cannot add to or top off with bacon. There really isn't. Bacon makes the whole world better. And even if you don't want any bacon in the final product, starting things off by rendering bacon fat in the pan is a great way to add a smoky, savoury accent to lots of dishes. I find it works particularly well in soups and sauces, or really any dish in which you have to build a good soffritto, or flavour base.

I made a beet salad the other day and topped it off with some bacon bits. The Times recently had an article in the Wellness section, listing the 11 best foods for you that you probably weren't eating, or eating enough of. Beets were #1, and frankly I don't understand why they aren't more popular. They're delicious! And colourful! What more do you want? Another of my favourite flavours - cinnamon - was also on the list. I love cinnamon. I try to sprinkle a healthy dash of it in my coffee every day if I can. Good times.

I made a lamb burger to eat with the salad but unfortunately I had no hamburger buns. I'm a huge fan of basting meats. I like to cook meat in a lot of fat (usually butter), and temper the fat with spices and other flavours (always garlic, and others as appropriate), then spoon the fat over the meat continually as it cooks. A simple thing, but something I find amateur cooks like myself do not do enough of. The result is a moister, more flavourful piece of meat. There really is a difference. In this case as in all other human endeavours - it's doing the little things and doing them well that separate success and failure.