I don’t know about you, Internet, but I find holiday weekends a royal strain on the wallet. Between the drinks with friends, breakfasts and dinners with friends, pedicures, bottles of wine at the house, cases of beer at the house…well, you catch my drift. We’ve been on a spending bender that has left me full of remorse, but also full of happy (if somewhat hazy) memories. Totally worth it.
I woke up this morning, however, determined to stanch the flow of currency, and this wallet looks like the solution. The Bacon Wallet will hold my cash, strap down those credit cards, and keep my money from voluntarily flying out at every vendor I pass. Frankly, imagining the sight of me pulling raw bacon out of my purse is probably enough to keep me in check. No one likes to see a look of revulsion on the shop girl’s face. Makes me loseWeight Exercise my shoppetite.

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Also known as the Viscount St. Alban, Sir Francis Bacon is best known for his Baconian method, known to this day as the scientific method of inquiry. A widely-respected scientist, philosopher and statesman, Bacon was also believed by some to have ties with the occult, the freemasons and other connections of dubious nature. Despite the enemies who disapproved of Bacon’s ideas and lifestyle, he never lost favor with King James I, a friendship that would save his career and his life.

Bacon tidBits

• Although many historians reject the idea, Sir Francis Bacon is listed (along with his brother Anthony) as one of history’s famous gays by a number of GLBT authors and researchers.
• Some research suggests that Sir Francis Bacon is the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
• Like Christopher Marlowe, Bacon is said to have been the real Shakespeare, penning the Bard’s many famous works under the famous nom de plume.

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Happy 4th of July!!

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I love it when July 4th falls on a Friday. It’s the perfect 3-day weekend where you actually start the partying on day one and either rage on through, or have a full two days to recover. Believe me, I’ve done both.

I was looking for something to spice up tomorrow’s grilling menu. I do love the tri-tip, chicken, burgers, sausages and grilled veggies that are our barbecue norm, but I always come up lacking in the seafood department. I know bacon-wrapped shrimp isn’t exactly boundary-breaking, but check out this recipe. I love the flavor of chipotle and am always anxious to try new recipes using this smoky pepper. I think I’ll chop up some canned chipotle instead of using chipotle powder. And I’m DEFINITELY going to use more than 12 shrimp and 6 slices of bacon.

Everyone have a great holiday weekend, and be safe with those fireworks!

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Will wonders never cease? I just ran across a recipe for homemade vegan bacon, using coconut as its base. I don’t usually do this, but here’s the recipe:

3 large handfuls of bulk coconut
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
2 tablespoons soy sauce/ tamari
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)

Directions:

Place coconut in a shallow baking pan.  Mix other ingredients together and coat coconut well. Cook in preheated 400 degree oven until crispy. It will get crispier after it cools. Use in sandwiches or salads as a vegan bacon substitute. May be kept in sealed container for several days.

And here’s a photo of this treat in a vegan BLT wrap. Amazing. People have big old brains sometimes. Looking for more ways to create faux meat products at home? You can probably find them on VegWeb.com.

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More bacon cake, this time for humans! This is a simple cornbread cake with crumbled bacon and maple/cream cheese frosting between the layers and, of course, on top. Yum!

Have you ever done a bacon search of Flickr? Crazy stuff. I mean, what the heck is this thing?

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I have to be honest with you, readers. My roommate, Marianne, can be a little stingy with the treats. Sometimes I go to the office with her to help out, and for all my efforts I get, like, two treats the whole day. It’s pretty unfair, considering all the support I give her during the day. Fortunately, we have a co-worker named Christine (not the Kevin Bacon-hating Christine, that’s a whole other story.)

Christine seems to really appreciate the work I do around here, and regularly invites me to help out in her office. She’s also plenty generous with the goodies, like these delicious, organic, all-natural bacon and cheddar biscuits from A Dog’s Life. They’re wonderful, like a savory, crunchy cookie. And they’re organic so I can feel good about eating them, even on days when I earn…what, eight biscuits? Plus they’re small, so eight’s really like two. Thank you, Christine, for understanding a dog’s rights and needs. You’re the best.

One really cool thing about A Dog’s Life is that you can submit a photo of your dog, and it could possibly end up on one of their packages! The bag Christine bought has a local dog, Bella, and I think I may be the next best candidate. What do you think of this shot? Don’t I look buff? Do you think I have a chance?

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Considered by some to be the first scientist, Roger Bacon was a Franciscan friar and English philosopher known for his emphasis on empirical research and experimentation. Bacon studied at Oxford at the tender age of 13, and later became an Oxford master, lecturing on the teachings of Aristotle. As with many famous Bacons, Friar Roger was criticized for his forward thinking and rebellion. He criticized not only his contemporaries within the Franciscan order, but the order itself, which landed him on house arrest.

Bacon tidBits

• Bacon is sometimes credited with writing the Voynich Manuscript and Speculum Alchemiae.
• Bacon championed the scientific method, an empirical style of research whose official development would be credited 300 years later to Sir Francis Bacon.
• This friar was a veritable Nostradamus of the sciences you really must check out his work. Start here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bacon)

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