INSTEAD OF GUM, CHEW BACON

The aroma of frying bacon immediately invalidates all notions of vegetarianism, nay, any inclinations toward even vaguely healthy dining habits. Human will melts right along side that sweet, salted lard. My mom recommended I try finding some Niman Ranch^* bacon, as she had recently tried some and was impressed. This is significant because my mom comes from Ireland, a land where bacon is so categorically different that it may be cut from some semi-mythical ur-swine whose descendants diminish with each blood-diluting generation (actually, I’ve found this true of all the meat I’ve eaten in Ireland, which, admittedly, is not a lot). Basically, bacon over there is about meat, while over here it’s about fat. An Irish rasher is mostly meat, and they don’t fry it to a crisp. Very tasty stuff, and generally what I think of when I contemplate bacon (um, not too often, seriously).

Anyway, I bought some of the Niman Ranch stuff, and though it’s definitely fatty and meant for crispin’ like other American bacon, it is quite fantastic. Excellent smokey smell, not too salty, very flavorful. I used it in a green garlic soup, cut up into bits and fried to supply the fat to saute the veggies. It overpowered the green garlic for the most part, but dude, my lilies don’t mind a little gilding. Green garlic is, well, young garlic w/o a significant bulb and sold with greens attached. I’ve only ever seen it in farmer’s markets out here. Can any one else confirm if this is a strictly Californian delicacy?

^*You know, those folks who are real nice to their pigs right up until they put one of these to their heads.