Bacon

Not my bottom...trust me...my love of bacon has not produced something so trim and firm.

I am trying not to cook up the bacon sitting in the fridge. I am trying to lose weight along with millions of others who faced the new year with more than they expected. But I love bacon and that says a lot about me since for years and years I would not eat meat. I still avoid red meat like steak or roast beef fearing what it will do to my digestion after not eating it for so long as well as worrying about things like mad cow and injected hormones.

I eat chicken and do my best to purchase organic, free-range chicken though economic times make that difficult. I avoid seafood, unless it's served to me, because of my knowledge of the sea's depletion (years of teaching environmental science) and I spend time combing through vegetarian recipes trying to find something meat-like that can fulfill my craving for a sink-your-teeth-into meal.

But bacon...I could eat a whole package of crispy, chewy bacon. I could make quiche with an overabundance of bacon in it. I could eat BLT's all day with more B and limited L and Ts. Oddly, though, I will not eat a pork loin or pork sausage nor a pork chop. I bought a pork loin for Ann the other day because I know it's one of the foods she loves the most and misses the most now that I do the cooking. But I will not cook it for her since I have no knowledge of how to cook meat other than chicken, fish, and strips of bacon.

Yesterday, while I emptied the groceries into the fridge, I saw the bacon in the meat drawer and realized I needed to do something with it or it would go bad. This morning, that thought is still with me although it's no longer a thought -- it's a craving. Perhaps this craving is due to my impending menstrual cycle -- the elusive, sneaky, and uncertain beast that either floods my life or saber-rattles with out much bloody warfare.

I crave chocolate, too, but more than anything, I crave meat. Since bacon is the only "true" meat I allow myself to eat, the package in the fridge is like a drug begging me to consume it. Scrambled eggs with cream cheese rolled into a tortilla with three strips of bacon -- that's the kind of thing I think about when I hear the impassioned cry of the bacon. Or a zucchini bacon quiche with tart Swiss cheese and a golden brown, slightly crispy crust.

The planned menu for this evening is Oaxaxa Tacos -- a vegetarian dish made with black beans and potatoes. It's low-fat. It's filling. While it's a complicated recipe, the end result is a beautiful dish -- tasty and slightly decadent.

Still, it might rise to the level of extraordinary with crispy bacon mixed into the black beans or strips of bacon atop the potato-filled tacos.

Come on...I get let that bacon go to waste.

My only question: Who the hell bought the bacon in the first place?

Please note: The above photo comes from a series of "Bacon Clothing" found at the following blog...yikes!
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