Punctuation is 2 hard

LONDON – On the streets of Birmingham, the queen's English is now the queens English.

[...]

Mullaney hopes to stop public campaigns to restore the apostrophe that would tell passers-by that "Kings Heath" was once owned by the monarchy.

"Apostrophes denote possessions that are no longer accurate, and are not needed," he said. "More importantly, they confuse people. If I want to go to a restaurant, I don't want to have an A-level (high school diploma) in English to find it."

omg its about tyme.

Advertisers creep me the hell out

MILWAUKEE - Watch an advertisement on a video screen in a mall, health club or grocery store and there's a slim — but growing — chance the ad is watching you too.

As much as I am concerned about privacy issues and government policy -- and I certainly am -- I am possibly even more concerned about advertisers, and the proliferation of companies collecting ever-more-detailed marketing information. Are there any corporations left around here that don't have "loyalty programs"? To obtain a small discount, all you have to do is provide your name and contact info, then let the company (through your reward/membership card) track every purchase you make at the store.

Now they're making ads with video cameras installed in them, to monitor who's watching and tailor content accordingly. Am I the only one wondering how long before they'll be wanting to install similar technology in our TVs?

Beef and Bacon Chili

It is freakin' freezing around here (around -30C at the moment), and that means I had a serious need to make comfort food. My usual chili recipe was easily adapted for bacon -- really all I did was substitute for what would normally be 500g of ground pork.

BEEF AND BACON CHILI

1kg ground beef
500g bacon
2 large onions (yellow or white)
2 large cans stewing tomatoes
1 can beef broth
1 small can tomato paste
8 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 jalapeno (finely chopped, including seeds)
1/3 C chili powder
2 T cumin
2 T oregano
2 T cinnamon
2 T cocoa
1/2 bottle beer (I used Corona; or substitute equivalent amount of sherry/red wine)
3 14oz cans of kidney beans

Slice the bacon into small-to-medium-sized pieces, and fry until crispy. My pan is only big enough to fry half of the package at a time, so I fried up half the package of bacon, then set the cooked bacon aside and poured the bacon drippings into my big metal pot. I then used the pot (and the bacon drippings) to brown the ground beef and chopped onions. While browning the beef, I simultaneously fried the rest of the bacon in the pan.

Drain excess fat from ground beef/onions, and add bacon to big pot (I drained the second batch of drippings from the bacon pan, but didn't make any effort to pat the bacon pieces dry in either batch).



Add everything else. Simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness is reached. I let mine simmer for six/seven hours before serving, and it will be even better today after having settled in the fridge overnight.



Served with proper fixins, including the most excellent guacamole made by Cin, and bacon cornbread from our local Kiwi (who will hopefully post the recipe herself).

Korean Bacon

So Cin and I cheated slightly last weekend, because we spent the day in the big city and had no kitchen in which to fry up our delicious weekly bacon serving. Instead, we headed out to a Korean restaurant for sam gib sal, also known as totally awesome Korean BBQ. Sam gib sal is a form of Korean bacon, and roughly translated I believe it means "three layers of fat". Uh... let's try not to think about that part.

Begin by finding a great Korean restaurant, complete with a grill in the center of the table. Then, get your raw meat and start cooking. We actually had a selection of meats, but there is bacon in there. Traditionally, the bacon strips are cut into pieces with scissors as you grill them.

Once your sam gib sal is cooked, select a tasty-looking piece. Place it in a bit of lettuce leaf, and add bean paste and (optionally) garlic. Wrap leaf into neat packet. Dip into salty dipping sauce.

So good.

Update on Bacon-laced Tourtiere

Sure, it may be an affront to French-Canadian ancestors through history... but the tourtiere was really good, particularly with maple syrup on top. Served with mashed potatoes and some mixed roasted veggies.

Oh, internet

Sitting here scarfing back the popcorn-flavoured jelly beans I have such an unholy love for, I wondered.

And, yes. Yes, they do.

Test

Because I have no idea why the website just reverted to December 4, 2008 -- but all of our posts still seem to be archived on Blogger. Republishing.

Bacon Arugula Gruyere Bread Pudding

Bacon Arugula Gruyere Bread Pudding

Questions? Comments? (Aside from the 9 000 calorie per serving count?)

More of the Dessert Bacon You Crave

Lots of recipes here for the discerning connoisseur.

... or is a connoisseur discerning by nature?

Either way. Bacon.

Bacon vs. Hypothermia

SYDNEY, Australia – A trio of Canadian adventurers said Friday they have set a new record for fastest trek across Antarctica to the South Pole, after suffering through whiteout conditions, temperatures as low as minus 40 — and a steady diet of deep-fried bacon and butter.

Broccoli Bacon Salad

This tasty recipe originally came from my best friend's mother. My own mother made it over the Christmas holidays, and then she very patiently held the bowl when I insisted on taking a photograph. It was for science, I explained. She has seen this blog, and she is a patient woman.



BROCCOLI BACON SALAD

5 cups chopped broccoli
8 slices of bacon cooked to crispy
1/3 cup red onion
1/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup miracle whip
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons white vinegar

Mix miracle whip, white sugar, and vinegar. Separately, add diced cooked bacon to raw chopped broccoli, red onion, and raisins. Add dressing to salad. Toss. This is a great, easy recipe if you're having a lot of people to lunch or dinner.

X does not recommend...

... dipping radishes in vanilla cake icing before eating them. It is especially foul to try to wash it with a swig of red wine.
Just in case you thought it might be a good idea...