Sustainability: Is Going Green Where It's At?

Sustainability. Slow food. Carbon footprints. Local food. Fair trade. These are hot topics currently in the culture at large and the buzzwords du jour of the food community. And with good reason.

People care more and more about where their food is coming from. In 2009, Merriam-Webster added the word "locavore" to their dictionaries, thus solidifying the farmer-fed movement that cuisine pioneer Alice Waters has been advocating since 1971 (when she opened the quintessential sustainable restaurant, Chez Panisse).

If you ask a kid where their food comes from many may say "the store." But ask "Where does the store get it from?" and the same child will likely look back at you quizzically. Celebrity chefs like Waters and Jamie Oliver hope to change this by teaming up with schools to promote teaching kids about food sources. Waters' foundation helps a California middle school's students to farm and cook the food they grow. Oliver's Food Revolution is all about changing school lunch programs to promote better nutrition as well as food education. And the White House, with First Lady Michelle Obama as their spokesperson, has launched Let's Move with the goal of raising a healthier generation of kids.

Do a Google search for "sustainable restaurants US" and you will end up with 6 million returned results. Websites like Local Harvest, Organic Highways, and Eat Well Guide allow travelers and locals alike to find restaurants by location or keyword search that assert themselves to be organic or farmer supplied and the like. It's not just so-called "hippies" who are thinking local, organic, or natural. Whole Foods Markets boasts stores in 38 U.S. states as well as the U.K. and Canada. Whole Foods also has their Local Producer Loan Program investing in small, local products and their producers.

In Denver--where I live--restaurants build culinary clout by not only sourcing food locally (and changing their menus seasonally as a result), but also in managing their own farms like Alex Seidel's Fruition. Similar places exist in metropolitan areas large and small in Virgina (Alexandria, Roanoke), Indiana (Terra Haute), Georgia (Summerville), Alabama (Birmingham), Texas (San Marcos), Missouri (Springfield), among others. Talk about a revolution--local found is in abundance!

So what will the next trend among savvy restaurateurs be? My money is on the fully sustainable restaurant. If sourcing or growing your own local food isn't enough for diners (or owners or chefs), then build restaurants out of recycled materials, use all items and generate zero waste, offset carbon footprints, the sky's the limit! I found this TED talk from London restauranteur and chef Arthur Potts Dawson, whose Acorn House and Water House restaurants feature gardens, compost, non-fossil fuels, and other green elements.

 

So is sustainable food just a trend? Will it soon be passé, like Asian-fusion or tapas, glutting the market with so much supply that demand will wane? Perhaps, but I somehow doubt it will disappear into obscurity. Because unlike other food trends there is more romance in local food. Exotic and global cuisines are enchanting, to be sure, but nothing pulls at the heartstrings of diners like the quaint idea that one is eating something in the same fashion his or her great-grandparents might have enjoyed.

Bon Anniversaire Bacon & Other Bad Habits!

Logo courtesy of Simply Fabulous

Gosh, has it really been a year? And yet, simultaneously, has it only been a year?

It's hard to believe that it was over a year ago when I was making bacon toffee cookie bars in my kitchen and had the epiphany moment. I decided then, fingers covered in dough, house smelling of pork products, that I wanted to write a cookbook. But as a home cook I didn't know the first thing about writing a cookbook. I'm no chef, just some girl who likes to make food things who grew up in a household with people who like to make food things, who descended from a long line of people who like to make food things.

So I decided to write a blog to first whip both my brain and my kitchen into thinking outside of the recipe box. I woke up in the middle of the night with the thought that this all had to happen NOW, bought the URL at 2am and registered both the Blogger and Wordpress user-names. My friend Kathryn, a classically trained chef, was unemployed at the time and offered her partnership services. And thus, Bacon & Other Bad Habits was born.

Photo of Kathryn and Leah courtesy of Kokoro Photography

In the past year many things have changed. I've been trying to get into better shape and so my cooking has taken on a new approach of how to eat healthy but not give up on taste or things I like to eat. I hope I've succeeded in this. I've forced myself to branch out from standards and family favorites and figure out how to cook new ingredients and use new preparations for everyday items. I started getting my vegetables from a farm to help challenge me and introduce me to new produce.

But other things have changed too. Kathryn started teaching at a culinary school and working as a personal chef and had less time to devote to my pet project. As such, she stopped blogging in February. She is also almost eight months pregnant as I write this; a delightful new critter is about to enter her world. I am very proud of my friend and former contributor and happy that her pushing and partnership are why this blog exists to begin with. I'm equally happy that she now has a pet project of her own--a baby!

My own life is on a new adventure as well. I'm slowly moving out of my tiny 400-square-foot dollhouse (take the tour on YouTube and check out my old super awesome asymmetrical haircut. I was so rad.) and into my boyfriend's house. The kitchen is bigger, the lighting is worse. Here's hoping I become a better photographer...

Thanks for reading Bacon & Other Bad Habits. For "liking" it on Facebook. For re-tweeting the tweets. And more importantly, for telling your friends and family about the site. And for cooking the recipes and providing so much excellent feedback about what you want to see more of.

Now, if I only had time to focus on that cookbook...I suppose that's all in due time, all in due time. Happy birthday Bacon & Other Bad Habits, here's to another great year!

xo,
L.

Photo of Leah courtesy of Kokoro Photography

Cookies Made of Air...And Pecans

I somehow feel that cookie monster would be proud of these little sweets. I've been trying to branch out more with baking. I just feel like I'm not so good at measuring and being exact; baking has so many rules and I've never been good at following rules. Also, it seems that cow dairy products like delicious butter and milk and cream (gahhhhh) actually make me sick by giving me headaches or hives. How can you bake without dairy? That's like re-naming french-fries to freedom-fries. It's just unnatural...

That is until the BF's dad requested that at some point I make a meringue pie. While I haven't accommodated that, it did spark a little thought in my brain. Meringue is just egg whites and sugar, and eggs don't seem to make me sick, so... Genius! Meringue style cookies! Making lemon meringue cookies seemed out of season (but sounds like a good experiment for the next time I want to try my hand at baking) so chocolate was the only way to go. But I wanted these cookies to have a little more oomph, so nuts were necessary.

Little known family fact? My great-Granny's house in Georgia had a grove of pecan trees. (It was also located on Highway 41, where the dude from that Allman Brothers song, Ramblin' Man, claims to have been born in the backseat of a Greyhound bus.) Family members would harvest these pecans and shuck them and send them out to land-locked pecan-deprived Colorado. As such I have a bit of a bias toward pecans.

You will want to use parchment paper for these light, meringue-style cookies to avoid burning the bottoms and aid both in cooling them and also removing them from the pan.

Pecan Ginger Chocolate Meringue Cookies
--2 3/4 cups chopped pecans
--3 cups powdered sugar (also called confectioner's sugar)
--3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
--1/4 teaspoon of salt
--1 TBSP crystallized ginger pieces
--4 egg whites
--1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pecans out onto a non-greased baking sheet. Brown the pecans for 7-9 minutes until they are slightly toasted and tasty smelling but not too browned or burnt. Set them aside and allow them to cool.

Mix the sugar, cocoa, salt, and ginger pieces in a large bowl until well mixed. The mixture will turn grey as the cocoa and sugar combines. Add the cooled pecans and stir again until well combined.

Add the egg whites and the vanilla. Using a fork, beat the mixture slowly and steadily until the batter is moist but not stiff.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (you can re-use the pecan toaster) and drop spoonfuls of batter spaced out onto the sheet. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. The tops will still be shiny and the cookies will start to crack and may be a little gooey in the center; they will finish setting into firm cookies as they cool. Remove from the hot baking sheets and set the entire parchment paper piece on a wire rack to allow the cookies to cool before pulling them away from the parchment paper and serving.

These guys will keep in a sealed plastic container (like Tupperware) for a week or so before they get too hard.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 24 cookies
Estimated Calories: 172 per cookie

R x R Makes A Sweet Treat

I have a confession to make: I've never eaten rhubarb. I don't know how much of a confession that truly is as rhubarb seems to only make an appearance in pies. Now I'm a big fan of pie, so don't think that my reluctance to rhubarb has anything to do with pie. I've never seen it at the store and we didn't eat it growing up so I guess I just missed out on the great rhubarb craze. Until now...

I was gifted some rhubarb from a farm (which was already pre-chopped, how nice!) and didn't have quite enough gumption to venture out into my first rhubarb-pie-making foray. So I decided on modifying a nice southern recipe that I'm quite comfortable with--cobbler! Add some fresh raspberries from the garden and Voila! Raspberry-rhubarb cobbler.

This. Was. Tasty. I can't wait until next rhubarb season, because damn! Tasty.

I still haven't figured out dairy-free baking so this guy has butter and milk in it because those things are also tasty. If any one has tips for someone like me (who is allergic to the glory that is the cow but often eats it anyway because of the aforementioned tasty factor) I'll gladly take them!
The great thing about cobblers is that you don't really have to measure the fruit. At least my great-granny never did. She would just drawl, "Now, you slice these [apples, peaches, insert-fruit-here] and start layering 'em in." And I would until I decided it was enough fruit and I would stop layering and eat the rest!

In baking things must be measured (much to my chagrin since I pour and pray as you know) so this recipe is perfect for me because it's a happy medium of measuring for the filling and the topping, but not for the fruit!

Raspberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

--fresh rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

--fresh raspberries
--3/4 cup sugar

--3/4 cup water

--2 cups flour
 

--1/2 teaspoon salt

--1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
--3/4 cup milk

Move a rack to the dead center of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In the bottom of a glass baking dish, mix the rhubarb and raspberries together and evenly spread them across the dish. In a small saucepan, add the water and sugar and heat together, stirring often to dissolve the sugar and create a syrup. Pour this over the fruit and bake the dish in the oven for about 12 minutes to let the filling "set."

While the filling sets, whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter and using two butter knives (as shown above) cut the butter into the flour making a biscuit-y dough. It will be very coarse. Now add the milk and keep cutting with the knives until the dough just comes together (it will still be lumpy and resemble biscuits).
Pull the baking dish out of the oven and add the biscuit topping, dropping it into little clumps so that it begins to resemble a biscuit "crust." Put the whole shebang back in the oven and bake it until the topping is golden (25 or so minutes). Cool the cobbler for at least 25 minutes before attempting to eat it.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 45 to make it plus 30 minutes before you can eat it.
Serves: 8 healthy pieces of cobbler
Calories: 338 per serving

Ellen Gustafson: Obesity + Hunger = 1 global food issue

Operation Goodbye Gut: A Contest!

Hello June. Hello swimsuit. Hello pool parties. Hello gut.

Grrr. Gut.

I know it could be worse. People don't (often) ask me if I'm pregnant. (I'm not, and yes, there have been one or two who have looked at my little round belly and asked). I have what is known as a "First World Problem."  I am happy, healthy, and well-fed. I have many options open to me as far as food is concerned and my little Buddha isn't so large that it's unhealthy. And I don't look like this guy:

But I'm tired of the chub-rub, where the top of my jeans digs in to my tummy.  Perhaps you've noticed some tweaks to the Bacon & Other Bad Habits site? There have been more vegetarian choices (because I'm not eating much meat minus the chosen pork product) and I've added nutritional content to all new recipes.

Okay, I love bacon. I know that it isn't the most health-conscious choice, but seriously, what is a life without things you love?  There IS a way to enjoy things we like in a way that is still good for us (and bad for our guts!) so.... It's CONTEST time!

I've got fun prize packs thanks to the folks at BIGS™ Sunflower Seeds (the makers of delicious summertime treats that feature J&D's Bacon Salt). These prize packs have everything you need to enjoy an afternoon at the baseball game or a bbq--including beer coozies!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

From now until June 15th, submit a recipe that is secretly healthy but sure doesn't taste like it!

You will be scored on the following three items*:

--Total calorie count per serving
--Ease of preparation
--Accessible ingredients/tools

*Extra points if your recipe includes bacon or a bacon-inspired product!

Winners will be chosen by June 30th and the winning entry will be posted here (clearly) with recipe credit of course, and perhaps a big fancy photo of you.

Email Your Recipes!

Federal Trade Commision, this fine print is for you:

Winners will receive one prize pack courtesy of BIGS™ valued at $50.00. Bacon & Other Bad Habits does not receive any funds from the fine folks at BIGS™. They were just nice enough to give us some super cool schwag that our fellow bacon-lovers could win because they're nice people and they love bacon too.

You Are Exactly What You Eat

Generally, this website is reserved for recipes and other tips like pantry stocking or planning that are directly related to making meals. Today however, I leave you the video below. I know it is 22 minutes long. But I promise you, it is 22 worthy minutes. If it weren't, I wouldn't have placed it here.



Jamie Oliver--perhaps known to you as "The Naked Chef"--has been working on a "food revolution" for the past seven years. Many of the folks highlighted in the below talk come from a third generation of folks who have never cooked their own food. Ever.

When I started this blog (and asked Kathryn to partner with me), it was cheekily named "Bacon and Other Bad Habits." I love bacon. There's no doubt about that. But I also consciously eat healthily most of the time. Many of the recipes here reflect special diet restrictions. Vegans and folks who are gluten intolerant can find recipes here. Carnivores, Herbivores, Pescetarians can find food here.

I write and I cook for the same two reasons--I love to.

Perhaps you're learning to cook and that's why you're here. Perhaps you are an excellent home cook and you love the tips, tricks, and recipe ideas we feature here. Frankly, today it doesn't matter exactly why you've come here. Please, this is what I ask you to come away with

So I present you with a challenge:

Watch this. And please, teach someone how to cook. Even just one meal.

xoxo, Leah.

Bacon, In Cupcake Form

You knew it was coming. Because we're a food blog with bacon in the title. Because everything is better with bacon. Because we can!

Last week marked the birthday of Miss Kitty, a fabulous Denver rock and roller. In celebration, I made cupcakes which were sent to a show her band played that night.

I am not a baker. I mean, clearly, I am capable of baking. But I am not a baker in the sense that I cannot (yet) just make up a recipe on the spot (especially at altitude) and have it taste amazing (unless it's a southern dish like cobbler or pie, which doesn't scare me in the slightest).

But using the power of the internet (such a magical place!) I found several recipes that I kind of combined to make what is below. These cupcakes were dark and delicious (but I will warn you, they will dry out if you don't keep them in tupperware).

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and Bacon Sprinkles

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes:
--1 bag of dark chocolate chips/chunks
--3 sticks butter at room temperature
--2 1/4 cups sugar
--8 eggs
--1 1/4 cup flour
--1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
--1 1/2 tsp baking powder
--pinch of salt
--1/2 pound uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is pre-heating, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain, and chop the bacon into small pieces and set aside.

Place chocolate chips and butter in a metal bowl and put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water to create a double-boiler. Stir until everything is melted (see photo above). Once melted, remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the sugar. Allow the mix to cool for 10 or so minutes.

Once the mixture is cool beat with a mixer (electric or stand) for a few minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30-or-so seconds between each egg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the dry mixture to the chocolate/egg mixture and mix on low or stir until dry ingredients are just incorporated.


Add the bacon and stir. Scoop the batter into cupcake sleeves to about 2/3 fullness. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the middle cupcake comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.


While the cupcakes are baking it's time to make the frosting!

Vanilla Bean Buttercream with Bacon Sprinkles
--4 slices bacon
--10 TB softened unsalted butter
--1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
--1 TB heavy cream
--1 1/4 cups powdered/confectioners sugar
--pinch of salt

We made this frosting by hand, but you can use a standing mixer also.

Cook the 4 strips of bacon until crispy. Chop into small bits and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cut the butter with 2 knives until choppy. Then, using a spoon or spatula, mix the butter vigorously until smooth. Add in the sugar and the salt. Continue mixing/beating until fully combined. Add in the vanilla extract and heavy cream and mix some more until all blended. Beat until frosting is fluffy. Yum!


Frost the cooled cupcakes. Add the bacon sprinkles to the top. EAT!

Holly Jolly Southern Holiday

I trust not everyone is recovered from this years holidays. And if you are, it's just in time for New Years so we can start the recovery process all over again!

I come from a long line of Georgia women. And nothing says "Georgia at Christmas" like pecan pie. The recipe below is inspired by three different recipes from three very different southerners, but with my own twists.

By adding bourbon, white vinegar, and honey I didn't have to use corn syrup like most traditional pecan pies do. This cuts the sugary content down and makes it corn free if you have an allergy.


Honey Bourbon Pecan Pie
--1 pie shell
--3 eggs
--1/2 stick of butter, melted
--1/4 cup of honey
--1/3 cup of brown sugar
--1/4 cup of sugar
--1 Tbsp. white vingear
--1 Tbsp. flour
--pinch of salt
--1 tbsp. vanilla
--1/4 tsp. lemon juice
--1/4 tsp. cinammon
--2 Tbsp. bourbon
--1 cup of chopped pecans


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl whish the eggs until just barely beaten. Add each ingredient and give a few good stirs (you don't want to over beat the eggs) until all ingredients are mixed.

Pour into pie shell and bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown and pie center has a nice brown crust.

Easy as pie!