Oink

Being the chinese piggy year, porky products (particularly the fanstasticness of bacon), must be celebrated! Or whatever. Any excuse to obsess over bacon. and avocado.

Bacon
Pronounced "BAY-kuhn"
Cuts of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig, cured and possibly smoked. A commonly used ingredient in recipes, valued for its flavour and as a source of fat.

Bacon tastes brilliant with almost anything:

- with Boursin cheese on crackers: Fry up some bacon strips. Cut and serve on crackers with a bit of boursin (gournay cheese with garlic and herbs). Panchetta (italian bacon) or Proscuitto may be susbstituted

-with avocado as a 'special' maki roll: Fry a bacon strip but remove from the pan before its too cripsy. Remove the oil and wrap it around some boiled sticky rice and finely chopped avocado. Eat with wasabi mayonnaise.

- again, with avocado, as a mini sandwich: very very simple. on toasted ciabatta, spead some mayo. load up the avocado, tomato and fried bacon. add pepper, salt and some jalapenos for added kick. melted monterrey jack cheese is also yummy.

Bacon and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Apparently a japanese recipe, this was one of the first instances I came across of bacon being used as a substantial food ingredient.

Ingredients:
Garlic (2 tbsp)
Ginger (2 tbsp)
Green Chillies (2, finely chopped)
American Bacon (1/2 packet)
Asparagus (10-12 stalks)
Spring Onions (6 stalks)
White Mushrooms (8 whole, chopped)
Soy Sauce (3 tbsp)
Vegetable Oil (2 tbsp)
White Rice

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and lightly fry the ginger, garlic and green chillies in a large wok. Add the finely sliced bacon and cook on medium heat, until its almost cripsy.
Add the chopped asparagus, spring onions and mushrooms and cook in the soy sauce (not too too much, because the bacon has ample enough salt.)
When the veggies are tender (not soggy!), remove from the flame.
Serve over plain, white rice.

Pasta Carbonara

A recipe from my friend, cute-ness personified, agatka - who partakes in the bacon obsession!

Ingredients
Pasta (fettucine, linguine or penne)
Olive Oil (2 tbsp)
Garlic (2 large cloves)
White Onion (1 whole, finely chopped)
American Bacon (1/2 packet, chopped)
Egg (1)
Pepper
Parmesan Cheese

Boil your favorite type o pasta and set aside.

In olive oil, lightly brown the chopped garlic and onion.
Add the bacon and fry it on high until cooked to your preference. Alternatively, if you prefer cripsy bacon, its best to fry it seperately on high and then just add it to the pan.
Once thats set, add the pasta to the bacon/ fried onion/garlic mix.
Break an egg into the pan over the pasta, and mix it in quickly over low heat for about a minute. Remove from the stove. Garnish with freshly ground pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Going out for homemade food

Using his trusty mobile phone to take photos for this post, your mild-mannered blogger faced certain mugging, or at least harassment by aggressive 14 year-old girls. Not willing to put my life on the line for the sake of the reader, and having more hunger than sense of propriety, I made a beeline for Makan, Portobello's offering of Southeast Asian cuisine to the starving punter.

Situated right beneath the Westway along Portobello Road, you have to make your way past a variety of weirdos, trustafarians, women who lunch, and the general jobless to get there. It's tempting to think that, juxtaposed with a restaurant whose initials are S&M, Makan ('food' in Malay) will only deliver the mundane. What is on offer is a variety of curries, vegetables, classic singaporean and malaysian dishes, and sundry snacks such as samosas and banana cake.

The servings are generous, and the prices reasonable. Rice with three dishes is a mere £5.20. Some favourite combinations: rice with chicken rendang, spicy okra, and potato-lentil curry. Among the set dishes, we find Singaporean Char Kway Teow, or the mildy hot Laksa. I highly recommend the seafood Laksa not only because a large bowl of spicy, coconut-based soup filled with noodles, vegetables, and seafood is a perfect complement to the cold wet London midday weather, but also because it takes slightly longer to make, forcing your eating companions to wait for you.

All the dishes have the look and smell of authenticity. Service is with a smile, though if you're the type who quibbles over the difference between a lot of food and more than is good for you, wait until one of the girls is free to serve. For some unknown reason, they seem authorised to really dish it out, whereas asking one of the guys for "more please, sir" is usually met with a shewd scowl.

I, and everyone in my office less senior than me who aren't allowed to offer their opinion when I'm talking, give it our whole-hearted recommendation and approval. It offers seating space for about 15 people, as well as any dish to take-away. Lunch is usually between £4 and £6.