I’m not sure what to call this one, but I think it shaved 1 month off my life!

• 1 Pkg of Bacon
• 1 Lb Macaroni
• 1 Cup half & half
• 1 Cup water
• 3 tbs Flour
• 1 tsp Thyme
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
• 1 Medium shallot - minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Slice the bacon into thin pieces, saute in a large skillet until crispy, drain, set aside & reserve the bacon fat.
2. Set aside 1tbs of bacon fat. 
3. Saute the shallots with the remaining bacon fat in the pan until soft.
4. Add the cream into the pan, scrape the fond from the bottom of the pan, add the cheese, water, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper.
5.  Make a peanut-butter roux with the remaining bacon fat & flour, add to the liquid in the pan.
6. Bring the sauce up to a boil stirring constantly, adjust consistency if necessary with more water.
7. Boil the noodles, once cooked & drained oil them with the 1tbs of bacon fat.
8. Mix the macaroni & bacon bits, then add the  sauce.
9. Eat, feel your tummy bloat, say it….. Mmmmmmmmm bacon.

I have gotten a shipment of grass fed beef from Thousand Hills Cattle Company out of Cannon Falls, MN.

This is my first attempt at cooking the beef:

Pot roast with roasted potatoes

Ingredients:

• Grass fed chuck arm roast
• Baby yellow potatoes
• Red pearl onions
• Pinot Noir wine
• Baby carrots
• Rosemary & Thyme
• Butter & Flour (Roux)
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil & Butter
• Mushrooms

 In this preparation the beef was very good, I can’t say that I noticed any flavor or texture difference between the grass fed & regular beef.  

Taken from Good Magazine: http://www.goodmagazine.com/

I love sparkling water.

Recently I calculated the amount of bottled sparkling water I was buying & drinking per month.

Outside of the cost there are other factors that I didn’t like about bottled water:

• The glass bottles - I recycled a lot of bottles
• The environmental impact of the bottled water being shipped from France to me
• Cost, about $130 dollars per month

I searched the Internet for several alternative to buying bottled water there were a few commercial machines, 1 home/commercial machine & some setups  you can piece together yourself. Most of these options were well over $1000, were large and required a place to put the cylinder & equipment.

Eventually I found this product the SodaClub Penguin.

I ordered the starter kit which consisted of:

• The machine
• 6 glass bottles & caps
• Soda flavor sampler
• 2 carbon dioxide cylinders.

Un-boxing & Setup:

All of the items were securely packed in 1 box, setup was very simple, the only thing you really had to do was take it out of the box and attatch the CO2 cylinder to the unit (don’t forget to read the directions).

Operation: 

The unit is really easy to use, here are the directions from the website. You can control the amount of carbonation in the water by the number of times you depress the lever on the back of the unit.

Results:

The carbonated water is fantastic, I would say that it is better than the stuff in the green glass bottle that I was drinking before. Its easy & not take a lot of time. The bottles have a seal-able cap on them so if there is left over carbonated water or drinks you can save them in the fridge. I do have to note that I am using well water that has been through a reverse osmosis filter, I liked the water before it was carbonated, I would imagine if you don’t like your tap water this isn’t going to make it taste any better.

The SodaClub soda mixes are odd, so far we have tried the cola and it tastes good, but all of the mixes have Splenda in them; the non-diet sodas have about 36 calories per serving and the diet ones have about 0 calories per serving. There is no mention on the website about why there is Splenda in all of the mixes.

 Cost:

Based on the best price I could get for the bottled water, I calculated that it costs $1.64 per liter.

The SodaClub Penguin’s cost to operate (based on information provided on the website) is about .44 cents per liter. (this cost is based on SodaClub’s published yields for there CO2 cartridges, this does not factor in the initial $299 for the starter kit, only the monthly cost after you have the kit).

What is this place?

Why am I here?

Where’s the beef?

These are 3 questions that have plagued mankind for a long time.

This blog is about me, a former professional line cook, and my journey into my food.

Why am I taking this journey? I think its time to understand what we eat, where it comes from and how it was treated.

Im trying to find good local sources for organic produce, humanely raised organic meat, organic & humanely treated dairy cows, etc.

Believe me, I am not a vegetarian, I love meat! I think its time that we all take a look into what we are eating.