Bacon; Not Just Pork

I read that there are those who don't eat bacon because they don't eat pork. Not all bacon has port in it. I know there are bacon made of chicken or turkey. The dark meat of the chicken or turkey is the 'pork' in the bacon and the white meat of the chicken or turkey is the 'fat part of pork bacon'. I have been told there is beef bacon. I have tried veggie bacon which no meat in it whatsoever (and - in my opinion - not much flavor in it either).

The article at Oola.com shows 17 types of bacon. I knew of some but I did not realize there that many.  It would be neat to try them all. This article expanded my knowledge on bacon. It also shows it is not limited to bacon being made just from pork. I wish others will realize this too.

I was looking for different types of bacon and came across this article. It shows the different types of bacon. The article is at the Bacon Scouts site.

TomLeeM

My art store at Cafe Press.

Hamburger Bun French Toast With Pepper Jack Omelet and Bacon

I like to get creative when I make things; especially for breakfast. One time I made a hot dog bun French toast (it was pretty good - I had cooked a hot dog to put on top of it - different blog). This time I decided to make a hamburger bun French toast. With the hot dog bun, I ran out of regular bread. This time I had regular bread but had bought hamburger buns since they were on sale; two for a dollar. 

 My brother wanted to get hamburger to use the buns with. While I used some for this, there are two packages so it can be used for that too. I just don't go just for beef patties but also turkey or chicken patties; made from a package of ground meat. I used to get ground lamb too; the butcher at the grocery store would grind it up for us (back when I lived in NJ with my Dad). Those are future blogs (more ideas for them).

This the hamburger buns after I dipped them in the egg mixture. It doesn't seem to soak up a lot of the mixture. There was some leftover to make the omelet. They are cooking on one side. One can definitely recognize them as hamburger buns. I used a non-stick pan to cook them in.

This is after I flipped them. One can see that they are cooked pretty well on this side. Since the buns are small (relatively), it was easy to flip them. 

This is when they were on the plate - the hamburger bun French toast and my pepper jack cheese omelet - and before I decided to make a sandwich with them. At first I was going to eat it this way but thought it would make a neat sandwich; a breakfast sandwich of sorts.

The hamburger buns were still soft and were not crunch on the outside. I think the egg mixture kept the buns from getting to crunchy. I egg mixture was two eggs, whipped milk, a little bit of olive oil,  flax seed meal and oak bran (the last two ingredients to make it a little healthy - I was told to add those to the pancake mix to make it a little healthier). I don't remember if I added anything else. Each time I make the egg mixture is different depending on what I have in the kitchen.

When I made the omelet, I took some slices of pepper jack cheese and laid it on top of the cooking eggs. I folded it - not successfully - over (had to divide it in half since it was really big and even my big spatula had trouble flipping it as a whole). 

This is the plate of cooked bacon. It was part of a 'managers special' (three packages of bacon wrapped together and sold for 4.99 - a deal I could not resist. I am not an expert on cooking bacon but it seems I did a good job on cooking it. My brother had some and he liked it.

Here is the label for the bacon. I think it was on sale due to being close to the expiration date or perhaps it was not selling well. It was still good and did not smell or taste like it was bad. It cooked up pretty well. I used paper towels to soak up the fat in the pan. I don't know if this is the right thing to do but it would splatter and hit me if I didn't. 

Here is the end result. I left the left one open so one can see the bacon on top with the pepper jack cheese omelet beneath it. I did not know how it would taste but it was pretty good. It made for a unique breakfast sandwich or an any time of the day sandwich; there are those who ate breakfast not just in the morning and there are places that one can order breakfast at any time of the day.

 TomLeeM

(since my web site - Big Goofy Guy - is down, I might change it to TomLeeM).

My art store is still gong strong (don't think it is selling anything but it is still there).

TomLeeM at Cafe Press.

As one can see with some of my posts at this blog, I am not a professional cook. I am not even an amateur cook. I just like to cook. There are times I would cook something and the result wasn't very good. I might eat it anyway because I have strange tastes. As you can see by my picture, I am not starving.

This blog is just about food in general. I thought since I like to eat food (can't go day without doing so), why not blog about it? It is fun. I hope to continue to do so for a very long time. It would be neat to make some money through advertising on my blog but I am not sure if I blog enough for it to happen.

I think a future blog idea is on cook books that I have read. There is one that not only shows recipes but also gives some background information on the recipes. There is one that I am reading that gives some information (I don't agree with everything they indicate in it) about low carb cooking. I am reading or read about some that was for a specific ingredient. Some of the books are printed and some are e-books (I use e-book reader on my tablet computer, my computer and an e-book reader - I guess this could also go in my 'nerd' blog too).

Eggs Benedict With Eggplant Sweet Sausage And Home Fries At Hebert's

Once a month - on the first Saturday of the month - the men of Calvary Baptist Church hold their Men's Breakfast at Hebert's. It is a small group of men. We usually just take up a table or a booth. Most order the same thing. I order the special from the special board. It changes each time I am there.

One can see the Benedict Special almost at the bottom on the left. It doesn't show the price but my total was about $11 which included the tea. I think it is very reasonable, especially considering what one gets and the service of the people there. 

It is not easy choosing what to eat. They all look really good. Next time I will try a muffin; the PBChip sounds good (might not be on the list the next time I am there). 

Here is a side view of what I had. One can see the home fries. One can see the edge of eggplant and a piece of sausage poking out from under the egg and sauce. 

Here is the front view of what I had. On the right one, one can see the sausage and part of the English muffin that it is on. There is sauce on top of it. I think it is Hollandaise sauce. I know it tasted good.

I had the eggs Benedict with eggplant and sweet sausage. It came with a side order of home fries. It was really good. The toast was crunchy but not burnt. The eggs were cooked so the yolk was still runny. The sausage did not overwhelm the dish. It came with a steak knife to make it easier to cut but I think a regular knife could have been used. 

The home fries was cooked just right. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I used the sauce that was left over from the eggs Benedict on the home fries. Because of this, I did not add any ketchup to it. 

My beverage was a cup of tea. The brand was New England Tea. It is not easy being a tea drinker when the waitress is usually serving coffee; she asked me if I wanted a refill while she was holding a pot of coffee. I told her I had tea and she offered to bring me more hot water.  I accepted it. I already had a container of tea bags on the table and those small creamer containers. I don't like my tea to be too hot. I think the creamer helped cool it down and helped the flavor. One time I added Coffee Mate to my tea (results would be a separate blog). 

TomLeeM

(might make this my name for my web site). 

My Art At The Cafe Press Site.

It is supposed to be an art easel, a paint brush and two containers of paint. It is not easy making pictures in Windows Paint. 

Teriyaki Pizza at the Anchor Stone Deck Pizza in Newburyport MA

There times I like to eat out while I am doing laundry. I like to take my laundry to a downtown location; Newburyport Laundromat. While it is in the washer then dryer, I go for a walk. I try to go to eat at a place that does not take long to get my food and eat it. I try to get back to the laundry mat before the washer or dryer stops; depending on when I go. The downtown area is not a long walk to / from the laundromat. It is good exercise.

The downtown area has some really nice stores and restaurants. It is a tourist attraction during the summer but not so much in the other months. It is open year round yet I wonder many people realize it. They are building a garage in the downtown area (well close to it). I am hoping this will get people to visit all year round.

Anchor Stone Deck Pizza is a nice place. The food is - of the times I tried it - always good. The people are very friendly. The prices are very competitive. It is neat since one can watch them make the pizza. 

I believe there are times there are some seating on the outside on the sidewalk. I believe they also deliver or one can order it and pick it up yourself. 

One can see the area where they cook the pizza. This photo was downloaded online and the light might made it look darker than it really is. 

This time I went to the Anchor Stone Deck Pizza place. I had two slices of what they had available. This was to keep them from having to make it which would make me get to the washer or dryer after it had ended.

Here are the two slices of the teriyaki pizza that I had. It was really good. A small part of the crust was on the hard side but 99 percent of it was really good. One can taste the flavors in every bite.

I order two thinking it is smaller than they actually are. There is enough for one person in one slice. The price is very good. At two slices, the price was not high. 

You cannot see it but I had a diet Coke. It was cold and refreshing. It is in an ice box with a glass door. They had other beverages to chose from too.

Here is the menu board of the pizza place. One can get a slice or one can order a whole pizza and have whatever one wanted on it. I believe they also deliver. 

The main floor does not have a lot of seating but I believe there is more seating upstairs; a stair case that leads up to it in the back of the restaurant. 

TomLeeM - Artist Store at Cafe Press. 

TomLeeM

might change the name of my website - once I get it back online.

Big Goofy Guy

Lunch at Copper Jacket Cafe in Hooksett NH

My brother and I went to the Shooters Outpost for a late lunch. It was at the Copper Jacket Cafe. I think the fact it is in the same building as the Shooters Outpost might have influenced the name. I think it was clever naming it after something that is used by guns. 

It is not a huge place but it is a really nice place. The next time I am in the area, I will eat at this cafe. 

I had visited the Shooters Outpost before and noticed a cafe at the end of the building but it was not opened yet. I noticed on Facebook that they had opened. It did not have a name to the place; none that I had noticed. There wasn't a sign indicating Copper Jacket Cafe. 

This was the crab cakes. It is not easy seeing the crab cakes but there are three of them They were on a bed of spinach leaves. They had roasted red peppers on them. It was really good. The crust of the crab cakes was just right. Some places it is a little too hard / crispy. The roasted red peppers added to it.

This is the tuna melt. As one can see, it is in the open sandwich form. It was really good. The toast was crunchy but not too hard. It had a delicious cheese on it. The tomato was good and it wasn't cold. The tuna salad was delicious. 

Even though it was about 1 in the afternoon, my brother ordered the big breakfast. He really liked it. It was not long before it was gone. 

I guess they had metal straws to combat the 'problem' with plastic straws or because of the cafe name. Either way, I thought it was neat. It was already 'pre-bent' to that shape. There was no real way to get holes in that. 

The diet Coke was cold and refreshing. I am glad I got a can. There are times they don't blend it correctly at the place where one eats. 

Here is part of the menu.

Here is the top of the menu that shows the cafe's name.

Here is part of the menu. I was hoping the photo would come in better.

Here is the sandwich part. One can see the tuna melt listing and what is in it.

These were on the table. I thought they were real but it turns out they are not. They look really great.

Here is behind the counter. One can see the kitchen through the small portal in the back.

This is a display in the cafe. One can see other things that they sell.

Here is the main counter. 

This is toward the front of the cafe. One can see the tables / chairs.

Here is the right side of the shopping center with the entrance to the cafe.

Here is the front of the building. You can see my brother in this photo. One can see the 'log cabin' them to the shopping center. I think it makes it really neat.

address;

1158 Hooksett Rd (32.17 mi)
Hooksett, New Hampshire 03106

(603) 707-4061

TomLeeM

aka; Big Goofy Guy

My Art Stuff on Items For Sale at Cafe Press.

Eighteen Inch Corn Dogs? at the Big E Fair!

My brother and I went to the Big E Fair at the Eastern States Exposition. It is located in West Springfield MA. We went both the 22nd and the 23rd of September. We stayed at a hotel in the next town. We did a lot of walking and did some eating. It was fun and tiring. Our legs hurt the next two or three days afterwards. 

The map is from 2016 but it does show how big it is. 

One of the food vendors (shown in the photo below in the background) sold 18 inch corn dogs. They were really big. It took awhile to eat it. We were really full. It was really good. 

Here is my brother - Jerry - holding his 18 inch corn dog. I believe the vendor that sold it to us is in the back ground but I am not entirely sure it was them that sold it (there was a lot of food vendors offering a variety of foods). 

Here I am holding my 18 inch corn dog. It was really big. We ate it watching one of the cow competitions. It wasn't the best corn dog I have ever had but it is definitely the largest one that I have ever had and it was really good. 

I like corn dogs from fairs. There are some fairs that are closer to me that have really good corn dogs. At one fair, they made it - dipped the hot dog in corn batter and cooked it - after one ordered it. It was warm and it was really good. Another fair had two ladies that made really good corn dogs. I went back for seconds on that one. I just wish I remembered which fair had which corn dogs. 

My Art Store at Cafe Press.

Big Goofy Guy

I am big, a guy and a fan of Disney's Goofy.

Buffet at Storrowton Tavern at the Big E Fair at the Eastern States Exposition

My brother and I went to the Big E Fair in West Springfield MA. It was huge. We went on the 22nd and the 23rd. We stayed at the Hampton Inns in Springfield MA on the night of the 22nd. We took a lot of photos. We explored most of the fair; too big to cover in just two days.

We had a late lunch at the Storrowton Tavern. It is on the grounds of the fair and is in a historic building or buildings. It is a historic building in a historic village in a really big fair.

This is the rug at the entrance that we came in. It is really nice. It was established in 1957 (per the rug).

This is the top of the menu - one used when there isn't a buffet. We went for the buffet. 

This is my plate. I only had one. It was quite filling. I had the fish, the sliced turkey, the mashed squash, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a creamy vegetable medley. I did not have the roast beef since they were out when I got there. There was about a half hour remaining for the buffet. 

It was really good. The mashed potatoes was nice and creamy, no lumps. The squash was also rich and creamy. The fish was cooked but not too little or too much. The sliced turkey was not dry but moist. I put the creamy vegetables on top of the stuffing. The stuffing was good with and without it.

We both had a diet cola. It was done correctly. It had the right blend. Some places they say it is a certain brand of diet cola but the mixture was wrong which makes them taste funny. 

This was part of the dining area we were in.

This was behind the table where we were seated.

This is the building - attached to the Storrowton Tavern - that held the area where we dined. It was a neat experience. 

It was nice to be able to sit down for a meal. We were tired from all that walking both at the fair and at the casino that was down the road from where we stayed at the hotel. 

There were a lot of food vendors at the fair. Most didn't have a place to sit down or one that was near. There was a wide variety of foods at these vendors. I doubt one could go hungry even if one was a picky eater. 

Big Goofy Guy

I am big, I like Goofy and I am a guy.

My Art On Things For Sale at Cafe Press.