SmarterShades Makes A Smarter Home
May 5, 2009 by Natalie
How many people does it take to create a window accessory that provides energy savings of up to 25%? The answer is three University of Notre Damn students.
Will McLeod, Mike Stacey, and Ryan Tatzel, all students at UND, created the SmarterShade - an aftermarket window accessory that regulates the amount of heat and light that is allowed through the glass. The SmarterShade actually allows the window to be adjusted from clear to dark (and various degrees in between) using a remote, which ultimately increases or decreases the amount of light and heat let through.
It completely eliminates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains and is incredibly easy to install. Homeowners simply snap the SmarterShade in place within any window and it’s ready to be used. Besides the obvious savings from having such an energy efficient window treatment, it’s also easy to clean, keeps you healthy by blocking UV rays and can be applied to any of your existing windows.
The SmarterShade model currently available costs about $200.00 and runs on battery power (for the remote control tint). However, the future of SmarterShades will hopefully run only on solar power. The SmarterShades are a unique and ingenious window treatment that will not only save the homeowner in monthly bills, but also offers a more environmentally friendly solution for heating, cooling, and lighting the home.
For more information on this and other similar products, check out this article and interview of the student inventors as well as their website, SmarterShade.com.
Start Summer Early With Beach Ball Lamps
May 1, 2009 by Natalie
Now that April showers have brought May flowers, summer is finally just around the corner. Unfortunately for us heat-lovers, we’ve still got some time before we can unpack the short shorts and get out our bathing suits.
If you’re having troubles getting rid of the winter blues and think you may not make it until the warm weather finally hits, you can add a touch of summer to your home with these adorable Beach Ball Lamps.
Designed by Toby Sanders, these lamps with their bright blues, reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows will brighten up any room and give you that fuzzy, summer feeling. Made from reused beach balls and non-toxic materials, these lamps not only bring vibrancy to the home, but they’re great for the environment, too.
No matter how glum you are about the rainy weather outside, it’s impossible not to feel good when lounging under these fun and creative Beach Ball Lamps.
The Future of Furniture
April 27, 2009 by Natalie
Recently, I did a post about futuristic furniture that looked like they were stolen straight from The Jetsons, but the real future of furniture is much more than just sleeping pods and colored LEDs.
Furniture of the future will be less about trendy designs and luxury and will focus more on efficiency, functionality and being environmentally conscious. A lot of these pieces are still in the concept stage and are probably not available at your local IKEA. However, it won’t be long before these cutting-edge products are in homes across the country.
Flexible Furniture
Flexible furniture is by far one of the most unique and useful furniture concepts I’ve seen. The FlexibleLove is experimental furniture that was designed to be durable and made from low-cost, recycled materials. Although this pieces gets its name from flexible and loveseat, this piece can be extended to hold between 1- 19 people.
Expanding Furniture
The Schwartz Table in the video above is part of a line by designers dbfletcher called Fletcher Capstan tables and it’s a perfect example of taking an old concept and making it better. By simply turning the top, you can transform these small 4 person tables into one that can hold up to 12 people. These tables replace awkward inserts with one smooth, effortless motion.
Here’s another take on a table that can be easily converted from a small table to a larger one.
Collapsible Furniture
Designer Nils-Frederking focused on space-saving furniture that could be collapsed when not in use, rather than expanded. His folding table and chair look pretty simple, but they quickly show their complexity when he folds and unfolds them. Granted, this isn’t the first folding chair to hit the market, but it’s one of the best looking.
Moving Furniture
Even if you think its kind of creepy, you can’t deny how incredibly cool and useful this table really is. Forget scratching the floors and straining your back when your table needs to move. Simply give it a push and the table literally walks itself across the floor. It was showcased at Dutch Design Week and I can’t wait for this concept to be applied to every piece of furniture in the house.
Bonus
It’s not technically considered a piece of furniture but I couldn’t resist throwing in this flexible ceiling light.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any more information on it other than that it was showcased at the Dutch Design Week, but I hope this idea didn’t go down the drain. Not only does it have a unique and even stylish look, but I just love the idea of being able to concentrate your lighting by collapsing and expanding it.
Be Fashion Forward With Futuristic Furniture
When decorating your home, there are tons of themes, concepts, colors and designs to choose from. Your home can be sleek and modern with stark colors and smooth shapes, have a cottage country feel with flowers, pastels and antique woods, or use bold colors and vintage pieces to create a retro retreat.
But if you’d rather look to the future instead of the past, and being simply ‘current’ isn’t cutting-edge enough for you, opt for these futuristic furniture pieces that will make your home out-of-this-world.
1. Misfits Modular Sofa (by Ran Arad from Moroso)
2. LunaBlocks (by Lunatic Construction)
3. Accelerator Sofa (by Phillip Grass)
4. Air Lounge System (by Meritalia)
5. Kure Dining Table (by Fatih Can Sarioz)
6. Sleeping Pod Bed (by Albert Frias)
7. Sonic Chair (by Sonic Chair)
8. ALight Kitchen (by Altera Design Studio)
9. Omega Desk & Chair (by Atomere)
10. Hidden Kitchen (by June He)
The Greenest Professional Sports
April 16, 2009 by Natalie
As world leaders pledge to reduce carbon emissions and the importance of protecting the environment continues to grow globally, individuals and businesses are searching for ways to decrease their impact on the environment. It’s no surprise then that professional sports leagues are beginning to develop and encourage ways in which they can become more environmentally friendly, too.
This comes as a great relief to environmental critics, especially considering one baseball game can produce 760,000 bottles and cans that are discarded in the trash rather than recycled, one football stadium can produce about 100,750 tons of carbon dioxide per game, or that NASCAR’s total fuel consumption for an entire season has been estimated at 2 million U.S. gallons.
The decision for national sports teams to promote green initiatives is an important step. Not only will it positively effect the environment while the teams are on the field, but it also has the potential to influence their millions of fans to be green off the field.
1. Major League Baseball
With 30 teams, 162 games per season, and on average, 80 million spectators, Major League Baseball (MLB) certainly provides its fair share of the negative environmental impact caused by professional sports.
However, due to initiatives over the past few years, the MLB is quickly becoming one of the greenest professional sports leagues. Last year, the MLB partnered with the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) to create a Team Greening Program.
This was the first league-wide environmental protection program and aims to organize and support environmentally sensitive practices. The Team Greening Program plans to:
- Create club eco-committees.
- Provide information on how to offset carbon emissions from the team and fan transportation, as well as, facts and resources to assist each team in assessing their environmental impact and how to reduce it.
- Create an official environmental policy.
- Add environmental policies and language to contracts.
- Reduce the use of paper in offices and switch to recycled paper products.
- Work towards renewable energy use.
- Encourage fans to make environmental changes in their own homes.
The MLB has also made significant changes to their baseball parks across the country. They now have recycling bins for plastic cups and bottles and the vending machines are being made more energy-efficient. Solar panels have been installed to provide some of the energy used for games and even the grounds crew is switching to more environmentally friendly cleaners.
Not only are changes being made for the league as a whole, but individual teams are taking the green movement into their own hands. The Atlanta Braves have built the first ballpark stadium that meets standards created by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Pittsburgh Pirates are using corn-based cups, soy-based ink, and recycled toilet paper, the Boston Red Sox have installed solar panels and the Seattle Mariners recycle food waste, paper and plastic.
2. National Football League
The MLB is certainly tackling the environment dilemma from all angles, but the National Football League (NFL) is also doing their fair share to make football a green sport.
Although the NFL has had an environmental program since 1992, it wasn’t until recently the league has begun making key improvements, particularly when it comes to the Super Bowl. The program has been working to:
- Improve solid waste management at all NFL facilities.
- Develop environmental guidelines for all contractors and vendors.
- Donate food and leftover building material, office supplies, and sports equipment.
- Make any Super Bowl event carbon neutral.
For the 2008 Super Bowl, the NFL committed to planting 2,700 trees to help offset gas-emissions and the Tampa Electric Company provided renewable energy for 100% of the electricity needs for the game.
At the team level, the Philadelphia Eagles have taken the greatest responsibility for the environment and developed ways to decrease their environmental footprint.
In 2007, the Eagles developed an ambitious program that rewarded all Eagle employees who signed up for Wind Energy. The employees are then reimbursed by the team so there is no out of pocket cost. In 2008, the Eagles purchased 14 million kilowatts of wind power to help the team run on 100% renewable energy at both their Lincoln Financial Field and their training facilities.
As a result of their initiatives, the Eagles have managed to switch 25% of the team’s energy use to renewable sources, avoided 65 tons of greenhouse emission and 2 billion BTUs of dirty energy generation, and also saved 100,000 trees.
3. National Hockey League
Although hockey is sometimes considered a cleaner sport than others due to shorter schedules and smaller arenas, there is a still a huge footprint left behind from this sport.
In 2007, the National Hockey League (NHL) partnered with The GreenLife Organization to develop solutions to help the league go green. The program focuses on:
- Creating green initiatives.
- Identifying areas that need improvement.
- Offsetting carbon emissions.
- Switching to renewable energy.
- Generating public awareness and promote green living outside the sport.
Like the MLB, the NHL has also been working with the NRDC to provide advice and resources to reduce each NHL club’s impact. The league has also had much success with the NHLPA Carbon Neutral program that encourages players to take action to decrease their footprint on and off the ice.
The program was developed by the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) and the David Suzuki Foundation. So far, the program has helped offset more than 4,200 tonnes of carbon emissions this season and 420 NHLPA members have signed on for year two.
4. National Basketball Association 
The National Basketball Association has also teamed up with the NRDC to develop programs and events that will help generate awareness and funding to protect the environment.
While the NBA’s partnership with NRDC isn’t as extensive as the MLB or NHL, they are still taking positive steps toward preserving the environment.
The inaugural NBA Green Week, which was held between April 2 and April 10 2009, is a week-long event that engages all 30 teams in auctions, community service programs, and public service announcements. They are also working to create a new micro-website, www.nba.com/green that will feature green tips for fans.
Noted environmentalist and actor, Robert Redford was involved, as well as Addidas, who pledged to outfit players with 100% organic shirts. The NBA store will also host Recycling Dreams, a footwear drive to collect gently used athletic shoes.
Beyond public awareness events, the NBA is working with NRDC to offset energy usage and waste in offices and arenas. Green modifications that are currently underway include:
- Installing solar panels and wind-powered energy sources.
- Installing water-saving fixtures.
- Using organic food in concessions.
- Encouraging public transportation.
- Creating a recycling program.
- Purchasing energy credits.
5. NASCAR
Understandably, a sport that involves very fast cars with low miles per gallon, circling a track 500 times is a hard sport to make environmentally friendly.
However, where others may choose the easy road, NASCAR has decided to take the green road and make an effort to reduce their negative impact.
In 2007, NASCAR partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency and announced that they would switch to unleaded racing fuel by the start of the 2008 season. NASCAR’s environmental services provider, Safety-Kleen has also begun collecting the 240 million gallons of used motor oil to re-refine and reuse. Beyond the obvious benefit of reusing the oil rather than throwing it out, re-refined oil also uses 85 percent less energy than making new oil.
NASCAR also participates in National Car Care Month where they help promote better car maintenance, which in turn increases vehicle performance and reduces fuel consumption.
Even some speedways are getting involved to help make a difference. The Michigan International Speedway preserves 200 acres of wetlands and is looking to use wind and solar energy within the next 10-12 months.
While many argue these steps don’t entirely negate the negative impact professional sports can have on the environment, the initiatives do make a difference. If you consider how many professional sports teams there are, simply making even the smallest step can have a massive affect not only on the environment, but also on the millions of fans who watch them.
The Armoire Kitchen Is All Your Kitchen Will Ever Need
April 14, 2009 by Natalie
Manufacturers have been developing combo appliances and all-in-one kitchen units for years now and many homeowners have been thankful for the dual or triple functions these space saving units can provide.
However, many of these units look cumbersome or awkward when actually placed in the kitchen. That was, until YesterTec developed the Armoire Kitchen.
This seven feet tall by six feet wide maple cabinet appears to be just a beautiful storage piece, but when the doors are folded back, it reveals an entire kitchen unit. Complete with stainless steel sink, microwave with hood, 2 burner cooktop, refrigerator/freezer combo, dishwasher, and of course countertop space and shelving for any pantry items, this unit is an incredibly efficient, self-contained kitchen.
The Armoire Kitchen is refreshingly simple and clean, and offers a wonderful way of saving space without compromising on features or functionality. The starting price for this cabinet is around $9,300.00, but considering how much each of these appliances would cost separately, it’s a pretty good price. Plus, it’s portable so if you need to move, you can take the Armoire Kitchen with you.
That Appliance Is One Smart Cookie
April 9, 2009 by Natalie
When most homeowners think of Smart Homes, they think high-tech electronics, sophisticated security systems and high installation costs. While this is generally true, many smart appliances can achieve smart home goals without breaking the bank.
Large Smart Home upgrades can require major restructuring to the home’s electrical system and can cost between $10,000 - $250,000, depending on how ‘smart’ the home is. But homeowners can begin converting to a Smart Home simply by purchasing Smart Home Appliances.
These appliances range in features and cost, but can offer homeowners convenience, more control, peace of mind, independence and even help save on monthly bills. By upgrading in small steps, homeowners can receive the benefits of a Smart Home without breaking the bank.
1. Beyond Internet Coffee Maker
It seems like a very small place to start, but even a coffee maker can be the first step towards a Smart Home. The Beyond Internet Coffee Maker merges with the internet to give homeowners control over when they want a cup of coffee.
It has a built in ‘Grind and Brew’ like most other coffee makers, but it can be programmed and rescheduled to brew coffee from any web browser. This luxury means fresh coffee will be ready when you are instead of having to drink old coffee that has been sitting in the warming mode.
2. Fisher and Paykel Active Smart Refrigerator
The Active Smart Refrigerator from Fisher and Paykel may look like a regular fridge but it offers much more than that. The main feature of this fridge is the Active Smart System which has two variable speed fans to provide faster cooling and heating throughout each level of the fridge and freezer. The system continually adjusts the flow of cold air based on daily use; making sure the temperature is at a safe degree for food freshness.
The Humidity Control System allows you to customize the humidity for each crisper drawer and the Variable Capacity Compressor allows for greater energy efficiency. The door also comes with an alarm to alert homeowners if the fridge door has been left open; another way to help reduce wasted energy and lower monthly bills. Everything can be controlled using the External Electronic Interface.
3. Whirlpool Centralpark Refrigerator
During CES 2008, Whirlpool unveiled their concept for an intelligent refrigerator that they believe will help unclutter consumers’ kitchens and maximize efficiency.
The Whirlpool Centralpark Refrigerator has a plug and play platform for consumer electronics that clears countertops and clutter from the front of the fridge. With the centralpark connection, homeowners will have an interchangeable connection point where they can connect their cellphone or photo frame. Homeowners can also connect iPods or digital music players, for music on demand while they are busy in the kitchen.
Beyond photos and music, there are several other add-ons available such as the Cozi Family Organizational Software that can help families manage schedules and tasks, as well as the Quartet Qnote Message Center by Acco Brands that offers a superior dry-erase writing surface that’s completely customizable.
4. Multimedia Hoods
The Imago+ Multimedia Hood from Faber worries less about energy efficiency and more about added convenience and entertainment. This steel/glass kitchen hood houses a 19-inch LCD TV with a 1,440 x 900 resolution and 850:1 contrast ratio. This TV has an analog and digital tuner, on board recipes, Internet, video call, multimedia player, webcam and USB input.
ILVE has their own version of a multimedia hood called VELA. It only comes with a 10-inch LCD TV built in, but also has a remote control and a RCA input/output for hooking up a cable box, DVD player, or game console.
With these multimedia hoods, homeowners can watch their favorite cooking show, receive a video call and keep an eye on their children in the next room.
5. The Ultimate Kitchen Combo
Rather than focusing on improving just one home appliance, John Lewis has decided to tackle them all and create the Ultimate Kitchen Combo. This combo is a 4-in-1 system that includes a wall mounted coffee machine, an electric oven, a steam oven, and a 19-inch LCD TV.
This kitchen-in-1 provides all the basic cooking necessities and surprisingly, looks incredibly sleek and uncluttered.
6. Demy Recipe Reader
For the homeowner who can’t afford purchasing new major appliances, the Demy Recipe Reader by Key Ingredient can still add intelligence to your kitchen. This 7-inch display touchscreen has storage for up to 2,500 recipes, three kitchen timers, a measurement conversion calculator, an ingredient substitution dictionary and USB connectivity for syncing with a PC. It’s also guaranteed ‘kitchen-safe’.
7. Verizon Hub Home Phone
Verizon Wireless has just launched an intelligent home phone called the Verizon Hub that’s designed to replace old fashioned home phones with a sophisticated home communication system that merges landline and wireless connectivity.
The Hub comes with a 7-inch touchscreen display that has the ability to sync your calendar, traffic, weather reports, and of course, contacts. The Hub allows for texting from your home phone for those text addicts and can even order pizza, provide maps and directions, and preview trailers for upcoming movies. The Hub uses your existing broadband connection and will work with current Verizon wireless subscribers.
8. Smart Meters
New to the US market, Smart Meters are an advanced electrical meter that will offer homeowners an entirely new way of managing their electricity use and monthly bills. Smart Meters will record the total household electricity consumption hour by hour and then send this information real-time to the utility company.
By doing this, Smart Meters will provide an economical way of measuring this information and allow price setting agencies to introduce new prices for consumption based on time of day or season. By billing customers based on how much electricity they use at certain times of day, it will force them to adjust consumption habits and be more responsive to market prices. These meters will also help control the rapid increase of electricity prices and reduce the need to purchase energy from higher priced sources.
Currently California is looking to install 5.3 million Smart Meters between 2009 and 2012. It’s also hoped that this same process can be applied to natural gas and water consumption.
9. Smart Thermostats
Smart Thermostats are interactive ‘communicating’ thermostats that can ‘talk’ with each other and help reduce unnecessary use of the home’s heating and cooling systems. They can manage and adjust the home’s energy consumption based on current prices and necessity.
Smart Thermostats can even be programmed to allow homeowners to create heating and cooling schedules based on time of day or if the home is vacant or occupied. If you have zoned heating and cooling, these thermostats can be programmed to heat certain areas of the home at certain times.
By programming a Smart Thermostat to work around your schedule, homeowners can save as much as 30 percent annually. These thermostats also use the home’s heating and cooling more efficiently which has a positive impact on the environment and on the homeowner’s monthly energy bills. EcoBee’s Smart Thermostat promises to pay for itself in energy cost savings by the first year and a half of use.
10. Smart Home Lighting
In the US, home lighting accounts for 20% of all electricity consumed and 50% of that is wasted on inefficient light sources, such as unoccupied rooms. By using Smart Home Lighting, homeowners can use indoor and outdoor lighting more efficiently which will help conserve energy and save them money.
One of the most common and easiest forms of Smart Home Lighting is a dimmer switch or a dimmer module. By programming dimmer switches to turn on and off only when needed, they can potentially save up to 60% more energy and make your bulbs last up to 20 times longer. Homeowners can even add motion sensors that automatically turn off the lights when no one is in the room for increased efficiency.
There are several areas homeowners can use Smart Home products to improve their life, and Smart Appliances are only one part. The home automation market continues to grow every year and new products are being developed that are more affordable, more efficient, and more convenient.
For more information:
Smart Home Is Still Looking For A Market
Apartment Decorating That Will Make You and Your Landlord Happy
April 7, 2009 by Natalie
There are tons of great decorating tips for homeowners on how to express themselves through paint, wall treatments, flooring, and art. When a person owns a home, it is literally their canvas in which they can reveal their personality.
However, there are many of those who have their self-expression stifled by the fact they are renting an apartment. There are very few landlords willing to let their tenants paint the walls blood-orange red and a lot of the time, renters aren’t even allowed to hang anything on the walls.
So for those who haven’t entered the home-owning stage of their lives, there are ways to make your apartment feel like a home while still keeping your landlord happy.
If your landlord isn’t willing to let you paint the walls, the next best thing are wall decals. They come in various styles and colors from sophisticated to silly and are a great way to spruce up those boring off-white walls. Since they peel off easily, with no damage left behind, you can add your own unique touch to your apartment that can be removed when you move out.
If you have some art or photos that you really want to show off, there are lots of products on the market that let you hang pictures on the wall without leaving any holes or marks behind. Just check out your local hardware store for some hanging solutions.
Since redoing your apartment floor is probably not a possibility and is an expensive way to decorate a space you’re not going to live in forever, opt for a luxurious and vibrant rug to hide that ugly shag carpet.
If screwing in a curtain rod is out of the question, you can still add some privacy and color to your windows with temporary blinds, like RediShade. These shades are easy to install, require no drills or screws and can be customized to suit your needs. The best part is you can remove them when you move out and take them with you.
Finally, the absolute best way to add your own personal touch to your apartment is to accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Use funky lamps, bold pillows and throws, lush greenery, and anything else you can find that expresses your tastes.
Even if your walls are bare and plain, you can create a look that’s trendy and uniquely you by surrounding yourself with decorative accessories.
Your Toast Will Never Be The Same
April 2, 2009 by Natalie
It’s simple, it’s quick, and it’s the perfect compliment to a bacon and eggs breakfast. That’s right, I’m talking about toast. With just the push of a button and a few minutes of your time, you can transform regular, old bread into golden, toasted goodness.
Look inside any kitchen and you’re bound to find a traditional toaster sitting on the counter, but just as major appliances evolve over time, the toaster has had a few updates too.
We’ve talked about some awesome toaster combinations before, but here are two unique toasters that will take your breakfast to the next level.
The VHS Toaster
This geeked-out VHS Toaster is certainly one of a kind and adds an old school touch to your toast. Insert your preferred choice of white or whole wheat bread, push play and in just a few short minutes, your VHS toast pops out the cassette slot.
While you can’t buy this baby in the store, a toast-loving mastermind has offered up instructions on how to make your own.
The Portable Toaster
The Portable Toaster is more practical but equally as cool. This device is hand held, made of reinforced ceramic and is shaped much like a cake knife. By using CarboNano technology, the ceramic knife is capable of generating enough heat to toast your bread, in about the same time it would take a conventional toaster.
The butterfly design lets you know how toasted your bread will be so you’ll never have to worry about burnt toast again. The Portable Toaster does need to be charged in between uses but it’s perfect for work, camping, or anyone who just really loves toast.
This toaster should be available sometime in 2009.
The Baconcyclopedia: The Ultimate Bacon Reference of Baconic Proportions
March 29, 2009 by Natalie
Men and women the world over have united under one common passion: Bacon. It is the meat of gods - the holiest of foods. Even vegans and Jews are tempted by its smoky aroma and tantalizing taste.
It is the most revered, the most loved, the most desired and most delicious of all the meats.
In honor of this smoked gift from heaven, we have painstakingly compiled everything bacon into this Compendium of Cured Meat, this Handbook of Hog, this Pandect of Porkbellies. It doesn’t matter how you slice it, thick or thin. This is the one, the only, the absolute, Baconcyclopedia: The Ultimate Bacon Reference of Baconic Proportions.
Baconcyclopedia Index
Bacon Days of Yore
The phrase “bring home the bacon” comes from the 12th century when a church in Dunmow, England offered a side of bacon to any man who could swear before God and the congregation that he had not fought or quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. Any man that could bring home the bacon was highly respected in his community.
Prior to the 17th century, bacon or bacoun was a Middle English term referring to all types of pork. The word bacon comes from the French word bako, German bakkon and Old Teutonic backe, which all mean “back”.
Fun Facts:
- Bacon is one of the oldest meats in history dating back to 1500 BC.
- The earliest reference of bacon was in 1560 by a London Cheesemonger.
- In the 16th Century, European peasants would proudly display the small amount of bacon they could afford.
- The Yorkshire and Tamworth pigs are bred specifically for bacon.
- 70% of all bacon in the US is eaten at breakfast time.
- More than 2 billion pounds of bacon is produced each year in the US.
Bacon – The Fifth Food Group
Bacon Snack Attack
There is an overwhelming selection of bacon-flavored snacks that any bacon worshipper can stock their cupboards with.
There are bacon chips and sticks, bacon and cheddar crackers, bacon squares, and Baconzitos - just to name a few. Every brand, every crisp, chip, stick, fry, ring, puff and cracker is available in bacon flavor at your local grocery store 
to help curb your bacon craving. And for those of you who have an adventurous lust for bacon, you can now broaden your cultural horizons with Bacon & Cheese Crickets. *chirp chirp*
You can even buy Gourmet Bacon Popcorn.
Everyone knows that pig is the new cow and with Bacon Jerky you can enjoy your favorite dried-meat snack with a punch of smoked pork.
Its not just for humans, either - puppies even get to join the fun with these Bacon Pet Treats.
Bacon is Meat Candy
The good folks at Udder Delight have added Bacon to their bold and creative list of ice cream flavors and for a more complete breakfast, you can try Bacon and Eggs Ice Cream at the Fat Duck restaurant.
HHere’s more meat candy for you to salivate over:
- Vosges Mo’s Bacon Bar with applewood smoked bacon, alder wood smoked salt all covered in deep milk chocolate.
- Of course, Vosges could have called it quits right there and returned back to dark chocolate and nuts, but they decided to create another pork and cocoa masterpiece, the Flying Chocolate Pig. Yes, it is exactly what you are imagining – a pig-shaped milk chocolate confection filled with applewood smoked bacon and alder wood smoked salt.
- Chocolate-Covered Bacon is another favorite for any bacon lover. You can purchase it at specialty stores or simply make your own using your choice of chocolate.
- For a light, airy, melt-in-your-mouth bacon sensation, try Bacon-Flavored Cotton Candy, available at McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston.
- Scientific study after scientific study has conclusively proved that maple bacon is downright delici
ous and with this in mind, Lolliphile decided to take it one step further with their Maple-Bacon Lollipop. - Most of you are probably familiar with the bizarre line of jelly beans that let you enjoy such culinary delights as rotten egg, vomit, grass, and moldy cheese. Thank god they’ve finally redeemed themselves and their product line by introducing Bacon-Flavored Jelly Beans.
- Smack on a juicy piece of Bacon-Flavored Gum Balls.
- And for those of you who are not true baconnoisseurs but want to jump on the wagon, you can try Uncle Oinker’s Strawberry-Flavored Gummy Bacon.
Check out our Bakin’ with Bacon section to find out how to make your own Candied or Chocolate-Covered Bacon and Bacon-Flavored Ice Cream.
Everything Tastes Better With Bacon
Chef David Burke has a line of naturally-flavored cooking sprays that come in 35 sweet and savory flavors. The best flavor, of course, is his Bacon Spray. A few sprays from this little pump bottle will allow you to literally taste everything with bacon. The best part? It has zero calories and zero fat! Indulge in the irresistible flavor of bacon without any of the guilt.
Currently available in Original, Hickory, and Peppered as well as Limited Edition Flavors such as Applewood, Jalapeno, Mesquite, Cheddar, and Maple Redux, BaconSalt is perfect for any food that you like salty and full of bacon flavor. There’s even an entire site called IHeartBaconSalt that explores all the possibilities of this holy product, including snorting it up your nose.
And from those same bacontrepeneurs, the ultimate bacon-flavored spread, Baconnaise, lets you make every sandwich, every sauce and every dip deliciously bacon-y. Available in regular and lite.
Finally, for all those spam loves out there that believe it’s perfectly acceptable for meat to come in can form – Canned Bacon. Yum!
Bacon Not Stirred
Bacon Beer. This German ale called Rauchbier literally translates to ‘smoked beer’, but beer critics can’t help but notice the distinct bacon flavor this German ale has.
For a more authentic cured taste, there is also a real Bacon Beer made from American Pale Ale infused with lean bacon that’s so far only available at the Front Street Ale House in Washington.
If you’re in the market for something that will put some hair on your chest, then try Gentleman Ham’s Bacon Whiskey or some Bakon Vodka. They’ll put a burn in your pork belly.
Even some vineyards prefer their bubbly to have a hint of bacon essence. You can sample wines perfumed with smoked bacon with loam and chocolate, with earth and black plum, with black pepper, coffee and wild blueberry, and with black cherry.
Now your cup of Joe is now available in a full-bodied bacon flavor thanks to Boca Java. Let Maple Bacon Morning start your day the right way. Best enjoyed with a side of bacon.
Unfortunately the rumors of a bacon soda, Diet Coke with Bacon, seem to be too good to be true, but you can get the lifeblood of Mother Nature flavored in bacon. Molli Brands INC has a non-carbonated, filtered, vitamin-enhanced water that comes in several meaty flavors including our favorite smoked pork belly.
(Technically, this water is for your pets, but if you dream of living entirely on bacon products, your dream can now be realized.)
Check out the Bakin’ With Bacon Drink section to learn how you can make your own bacon booze.
Fakin’ Bacon
As unfathomable as it is, there are those who voluntarily choose to not eat meat. Yes, it’s practically an abomination that they willingly deny themselves this succulent food group but it’s certainly no surprise to fellow carnivores that even the strictest of vegans still crave a rasher of bacon.
Smart Bacon by LightLife is a popular bacon substitute that still packs a bacon punch. However, supporters don’t deny that it doesn’t even remotely look like the real thing.
MorningStar Farms has a line a veggie meat including Veggie Bacon Strips made from tofu. It’s low in fat and cooks as fast as regular bacon but has a very play-doh-esque look.
Also, Yves Veggie Cuisine has Canadian Veggie Bacon that’s fat free and made from soy. It’s still recommended to not actually look at it while you eat it.
There’s also a wide variety of sauces you can purchase at local health food stores that will give any dish that salty, smoky taste reminiscent of bacon like Marmite, Bragg’s Liquid Amino, Tamari (soy sauce), and Torula.
Lastly, you can sprinkle any veggie dish with fake bacon bits like Bac~Os available at your local grocery store or even make your own.
Of course, even the most dedicated vegans find bacon difficult to resist, like Mandydale who recently gave up her vegetarian ways and embarked on 30 days of Pork .
If Bacon Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to be Right
Bacon is often toted as an ‘unhealthy’ food and it leaves many wondering how something so undeniably good could ever be bad?
Sure, there are studies that say children who eat cured meat may have a higher risk of leukemia, and nutritionists have linked bacon to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type II diabetes and high blood pressure, but Bacon Lover Mike Nelson vowed to eat bacon for the entire month of February and much to the naysayer’s surprise, he didn’t die. Actually, Mike felt great during the 28 days of nothing but bacon. He had no cravings, his blood pressure went down, and he even lost some weight.
Then there’s Gertrude Baines, the world’s oldest woman who at 114 believes that a diet including bacon is the key to a long, healthy life.
And an amazing trio of Canadians set a new record for fastest trek across Antarctica, thanking a steady diet of deep fried bacon and butter.
Furthermore, there have been studies in the last few years that have suggested cured meats are actually healthy! They have shown to have a protective effect on damaged heart tissues post-heart attack.
The Reese brothers have seen the future and they say it tastes great! For the past decade and a half, they’ve been working on creating ‘super bacon’ that would taste the same but be even better for our bodies.
Makin’ Bacon
This is the ultimate how-to guide for makin’ everything bacon. In this section, fellow citizens of baconation can learn the finer points of how to prepare, smoke, cook, weave, cure and store bacon so that it is at it’s culinary finest.
- Dave from BSBrewing ordered a 12 pound slab of ‘proto-bacon’ from his local meat market and went about cutting, flavoring, and smoking his own bacon in his backyard.
- If you don’t have a smoker, here’s an easy way to smoke your own bacon using your BBQ. Just pick the kind of hardwood chips you want to use, like maple, apple, oak, cherry, or hickory to flavor your bacon.
- When craving a few slices of fried bacon, there’s nothing worse than trying to thaw the frozen slab before your stomach eats itself. Using some baking sheets, you can freeze your bacon in singles or smaller sections for easy access when that craving hits you. Tip: You should freeze bacon within a week of purchasing it and you can keep it frozen for up to two months.
- It’s the latest bacon cooking trend to intricately weave bacon slices upon bacon slices to make a masterpiece fit for a king. Use these steps or watch this video to learn how to weave your own bacon.
- If your grandma ever made you learn how to knit a scarf, you can put those skills to good by knitting bacon. It serves no real purpose other than another awesome way to enjoy unnecessary amounts of bacon.
- There’s curly fries, why not curly bacon?
- And, if you cut your bacon just right, you can compete with this guy for the World’s Longest Bacon.
For those bacon purists who prefer to get hands on, you can even learn how to raise your own pig to enjoy homegrown bacon.
Raisin’ Bacon
So you want to raise your own bacon? It makes sense. Everyone wants the freshest, juiciest, most succulent bacon at their disposal and what better way than to raise your own swine?
First off, you need a pig. A baby pig can cost you anywhere from $20 - $65 and they take about 5 - 6 months to reach their most edible weight of 200 – 225 lbs. Now 200 lbs sounds like a lot of pig but think about it like this.
One 200 lb pig will produce approximately:
- 24 lbs of ham
- 20 lbs of bacon
- 17 lbs of pork roast
- 18 lbs of picnic shoulder
- 7 lbs of pork chops
- 8 lbs of sausage
- 7 lbs of “miscellaneous” cuts
- 6 lbs of salt pork
- 31 lbs of lard
Mmmmm… porky goodness. I can hear you salivating already. But if 200 lbs is good then 400 lbs must be better right? Well, not really. Once a pig reaches approximately 225lbs, they start “making pigs of themselves” by eating more food and putting on less weight. Plus they start to get fatty, and since you are going to the trouble of growing yourself some healthy bacon, you might as well do it right.
Tips on buying your piglet:
- Purchase your baby pig in the spring when it is about 6 – 8 weeks old.
- Get your piglet inoculated and wormed before purchase. (You may need to continue to de-worm your pig every 4 – 6 wks.)
- Buy your pig from a reputable breeder or a farmer with clean, disease-free stock.
- Do NOT buy a cute, little runt.
- Choose a long pig – fat pigs produce lots of fat (there’s a big surprise).
- Pick a young sow or a castrated male pig (a barrow).
- The breed doesn’t matter – all breeds have been developed to produce yummy, meaty deliciousness.
How to feed your pig:
- Your pig is not a picky eater. It will be happy eating grain, wheat, grass, corn-on-the-cob, table scraps, leftover garden veggies and even garbage. But, do NOT feed old garbage to your pig, pigs like fresh garbage.
- Pigs reared on fresh greens and plenty of exercise will produce lean, healthy and, (most importantly) juicy pork. Your pig should gain about 1 pound/ day.
- You can use a trough for your pig’s food. However, make sure that you secure the trough so your pig does not tip it over.
- Observe your pig’s eating habits so that you can make sure your pig is getting enough food and still keep waste to a minimum.
- Use a wall-mounted water bucket. This will keep your pigs dirty hooves out of the water and reduce spillage. A growing pig can guzzle 3 gallons of water a day so make sure your pig has a fresh supply at all times.
Your pig is a simple creature and only needs a simple house. But make sure it’s sturdy because pigs like to push and prod and could knock their home down. (And don’t forget about the big, bad wolf, his huffing and puffing is sure to knock down any shoddily built house.)
All your pig needs is a 3-sided shed, approximately 8 x 6 feet, 5 feet high in front, 3 feet high in the rear, with a tar-paper roof. Leave the front open (to let the smell out) and build it in a shaded area to keep your piggy cool in the summer.
Pigs love to roam and forage and keep their snout to the ground. They are also known to be expert escape artists. This means that any fence will need to be well-constructed at ground level to keep your sneaky pig in otherwise your neighbor may be the one dining on free-range pork.
Once your pig is big enough to eat, it is probably easiest to get a professional to slaughter your pig for you. Your feed dealer will know someone who can dress your pigs, smoke the hams, bacon, make sausage, hog’s head cheese, liverwurst, mmmm…. Or if you are feeling adventurous you can do your own curing and smoking once the pig has been slaughtered and dressed. (Refer back to Makin’ Bacon)
It is also an option to slaughter your own pig but make sure to do it when the weather is cool. You don’t want the pig to freeze so 40 – 50 degrees is the perfect temperature for pig killing. Then hang the carcass for at least 24 hours to ensure all of the pig’s body heat has dissipated.
The final thing to remember is that your pig is not your pet; you are raising it for food. Pigs can be fun and entertaining but don’t get too attached to it or you’ll never be able to enjoy the fresh bacon that you worked so hard to raise.
Cookin’ Bacon
Most people prefer to cook bacon in a cast iron skillet (or at least a frying pan) on low heat. But people have also been known to bake bacon, grill bacon and microwave bacon. And since there are so many ways to cook bacon, guess what? There are also all kinds of special bacon-cooking equipment available for your bacon-cooking needs.
Frying Pan
The 2 most important things to remember when cooking bacon in a frying pan are to use a cold skillet and to keep the temperature on low to medium while cooking. Starting with a cold skillet will keep the bacon curling to a minimum and the low temperature will prevent burning, both of which are pretty important when you are trying to show off your bacon prowess. Here’s some tips on how to keep your bacon from shrinking when cooking it in the frying pan.
Of course there are some gadgets to help out when you need that extra flat bacon like the Bacon Press.
This pig-shaped cast-iron press flattens your bacon strips for fast, even cooking with minimal shrinkage. Fits most 10″ skillets. Can also be used on an open grill.
Grill
Grilling your bacon doesn’t take any special skill. Simply preheat your grill. Place your slab o’ bacon on the grill (you don’t even have to separate the slices), grill for 3 - 4 minutes then open the grill and turn the bacon. Close the grill and continue cooking until desired bacon-y crispness.
Oven
Bacon is yummy when baked in the oven and the oven produces flat slices (perfect for bacon-o-licious BLTs).
To bake your bacon:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place a rack inside a baking sheet.
- Lay out your bacon-y slices of goodness and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on desired doneness.
- You can also use a broiler, but the splatters make a huge mess and can also cause fires!
However, if you are a risk taker and would prefer to use a broiler, watch Rachel Ray and she’ll tell you how.
Microwave
Some people actually prefer their bacon cooked in the microwave. (I’m not sure who these people are but apparently they have reasons). The #1 reason for cooking bacon in the microwave is that it cooks the bacon with out making a huge, greasy mess and still produces nice crispy strips. People also say that their bacon is healthier this way, but come on, it’s bacon…
There are several fancy contraptions to help you cook your bacon in the microwave but as long as you have a glass dish and some paper towel you are ready to get cooking.
Follow these simple steps from StartCooking.com to make perfect microwave bacon every time.
Lay 2 paper towels on the plate. Spread the bacon out in a single layer not overlapping on the dish.
Now lay another paper towel over the top.
Depending on your microwave, this amount of bacon should take about 4-6 minutes to get nice and crispy.
Using pot holders, very carefully remove the dish from the microwave.
Be careful! The dish itself will be very hot.
The paper towels will have absorbed all the bacon fat. With some tongs, put the bacon on a serving dish.
Now just throw away the paper towels and enjoy.
However, if you are interested in some special microwave bacon cooking equipment – we have some for your perusal.
Bacon Cooking Equipment
Sales Pitch: Use the Wow Bacon to make as much freshly-broiled bacon as you want without the usual mess. Your bacon will be healthier and you will never have any unsightly, burnt-tasting dark spots on your bacon. Dishwasher-safe.
Sales Pitch: The Bacon Wave will produce faster, healthier and crisper bacon with no mess. Enjoy bacon with less fat, less cholesterol and fewer calories. The Bacon Wave cooks 14 yummy slices of bacon at once and is dishwasher safe.
Sales Pitch: The Bacon Genie cooks 12 strips of delicious, crispy bacon in seconds. No more grease or paper towels, Bacon Genie makes great tasting bacon every time and is dishwasher safe.
Sales Pitch: The microwave bacon tray’s ribbed surface allows bacon fat to drain away while cooking. This tray is durable, freezer to oven to table use, and dishwasher safe.
Sales Pitch: The Presto PowerCrisp is the easy and delicious way to make crisp bacon. Bacon cooked in the microwave is leaner than pan fried bacon as the special cooking racks allow the fat to drip down into the base leaving healthier bacon for you to enjoy.
Sales Pitch: This great microwavable duo will let you prepare your breakfast with speed and ease. Keep your microwave free of grease with the bacon grill splatter shield.
For more Bacon Cooking Tips.
Maybe one day, they’ll finally build the Bacon Dispenser or better yet, Bacon Robots who’ll cook and serve Bacon whenever we please!
The Different Sides of Bacon
The most common kind of bacon is made from cured or smoked (or both) pork but it can be made from other meat such as beef, lamb, turkey, chicken, goat, and duck.
Bacon is generally cut from the belly or loin of the pig which produces the most common kinds of bacon: streaky and back. However, certain types of bacon can come from other areas of the pig such as collar bacon (from the shoulder area) and gammon (from the hind legs.)
Cuts
- Streaky Bacon comes from the belly of the pig and is the most common kind of bacon in the US. It is generally very fatty with long veins.
- Back Bacon comes from the loin in the middle of the back of the pig. It is a much leaner cut of meat with a very ham-like flavor. It is also referred to as Irish or Canadian bacon.
- Jowl Bacon is the cheeks of the pig, cured and smoked.
- Collar Bacon is taken from the back of the pig near the head.
- Middle Bacon is similar to back bacon but is cheaper and fattier.
- Cottage Bacon is from the pig’s shoulder and is thinly sliced and lean.
- Picnic Bacon is from the pig’s shoulder beneath the blade and is fairly lean but a bit tough.
- Gammon is from the hind leg of the pig.
Kinds
- Canadian Bacon is a thicker cut of bacon from the pork loin and most resembles ham.
- Pancetta is Italian bacon that is a type of dry cured meat. This bacon is made from pork belly that has been spiced and salt cured, then dried for three months.
- Ventreche is French-style pancetta.
- Proscuitto is gourmet Italian bacon that has been dry-cured, aged and spiced.
- Serrano is Spanish bacon very similar to Proscuitto.
- Guanciale is unsmoked Italian jowl bacon that is rubbed with spices and cured for three weeks.
- White Bacon, also known as salt pork, is pork belly that is unsmoked and cured with salt.
Flavors
- Hickory
- Maple
- AppleWood
- Mesquite
- Honey
- Sugared
- Peppered
- As well as many other Gourmet flavors.
Bakin’ with Bacon
As Dan Phillips of the Grateful Palate so eloquently put it, “Bacon is sex in the skillet. It’s the ultimate aphrodisiac for all living things. Except pigs, of course”.
While there are many wonderful ways to enjoy bacon in your life the best, nay, only way to truly experience this delectable and succulent, smoked meat is to simply eat it.
And not just by sprinkling some bacon bits on your salad, but by excessively adding bacon on top of more bacon to every mouth-watering spoonful that touches your unworthy mouth.
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can make sure your three meals a day have the savory, smoky crunch of bacon.
Sandwiches & Burgers
Beer Battered Deep Fried Bacon Double Cheese Burger
Peanut Butter Bacon Sandwiches
Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Pizza Burger
Soups & Chilis
Main Dishes
Bacon Breakfast Cake (Varied recipe)
Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin Stuffed w/ Sausage
Bacon, Cheese, and Chicken Roll Up
Snacks & Sides
Chicken Fried Bacon w/ Cream Gravy
Bacon and Cheese Jalapeno Rellenos
Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Popcorn
Condiments
And of course, bacon wrapped anything is always hit, like Bacon Wrapped Bacon Wrapped Bacon Wrapped Bacon. Just pick your favorite food, wrap it in bacon and viola!
For more creative ways to consume unnecessary, coma-inducing amounts of bacon, check out ThisIsWhyYoureFat, Royal Bacon Society, Bacon Facts, AllRecipes, Recipezaar, Bacon Recipes, and Love Bacon.
Of course, if you don’t have a knack in the kitchen, restaurants and fast food joints are quickly catching on to the bacon mania, like Wendy’s Baconator. Plus, other joints are usually very willing to add as much bacon as you’d like.
There’s no better way to end a bacon-filled meal than with a helping of sugar-drenched bacon.
Cakes
Apple Blue Cheese Bacon Cheesecake
Maple-Bacon Pumpkin Cheesecake
Bacon and Two Onion Cheesecake
Simple Single-Sized Bacon Cheesecake
Maple Bacon Toffee Apple Cheesecake
One-Bite Bacon Walnut Cheesecake
Make sure you have some fun when you decorate your bacon cakes and don’t forget your pets would love a Bacon Cake as well.
Cupcakes
Chocolate Oatmeal Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Butter Cream
Maple Bacon Cupcakes w/ Maple Frosting
Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting
Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes w/ Caramel Buttercream
Banana Chocolate Chip Mini-Cupcakes w/ Bacon and Peanut Butter Frosting
Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Cream Cheese Frosting
French Toast Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Sweet and Salty Bacon Caramel Cupcakes
Bacon Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Bacon Cream Cheese Frosting
Cookies
Banana Walnut and Caramelized Bacon Cookies
Bacon Cookies with Maple Glaze
Peanut Butter Brittle Bacon Cookie
Chocolate Chip, Cherry, and Bacon Cookies
Double Chocolate Bacon Cookies
Bacon White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple Cinnamon Glaze
Candied Bacon
Candied Bacon w/ Ground Chilies
Puddings
Pies
Ice Creams
Chocolate Crème with Caramelized Banana, Bacon and Burnt Milk Ice Cream
Pecan-Brown Sugar & Bacon Ice Cream
Maple Bourbon with Bacon Praline Ice Cream
Other Treats
Bacon Brownies, Bacon Caramel, Bacon S’mores
There are lots of ways to substitute bacon into your favorite dessert recipes.
Drinks
Wash your meals back with some home brew infused with everyone’s favorite cured meat.
Here’s a first hand experience at making, and tasting bacon liquor and with a little BaconSalt, you can make any drink a bacon drink, like a Bacon Bloody Mary!
Finally, if you’re ever having troubles deciding what you’re in the mood to eat, let this useful Bacon Flowchart help you decide.
Bacon Best Sellers
For those who are truly passionate about bacon and wish to incorporate its savory goodness into their daily lives as much as possible, here are some ‘must-reads’ in bacon literature.
- Everything Tastes Better With Bacon : 70 delicious bacon recipes, plus storing, buying, handling and cooking advice
- The Bacon Cookbook : More than 150 bacon recipes from around the world
- Seduced By Bacon : Recipes & Lore about American’s Favorite Indulgence
- Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing
- Sex And Bacon : Why I Love Things That Are Bad For Me
- Bacon: A Love Story : A Salty Survey of Everybody’s Favorite Meat
- 36 Ways To Serve Bacon
- Eat What You Want and Die Like A Man : The World’s Unhealthiest Cookbook
- Home Curing of Bacon and Hams
- The Best of Bacon Cookbook
- Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design
- Bacon Cookbook on CD
- Bacon Magazine
- Bacon Haikus
- How to Make a Bacon Tiling Image in Photoshop
Baconism
Bacontarians the world over have united under one common passion: to promote the consumption and unfaltering love for the most blessed of foods, bacon. And so, on this, the holiest of days, The Holy Church of Bacon was born.
The Holy Church of Bacon doth not judge nor discriminate. Anyone who doth seekith the bacon-y truth may join in this, the Holy Quest of Baconage. The Holy Book of Bacon, or the Bacon Bible, is the holiest of bacon texts and serves as a personal guide to Baconlightenment (Baconirvana). This sacred scripture includes the most important works in Baconic history:
- The Five Baconic Laws
- The Salty Scrolls
- The Fat Book
- Holy Baconic Recipes
- The Anti-Bacon
To practice Baconism, one must worship and revere this blessed food as the way, the truth, and the life.
Bacontarians must also recite the Pig Prayer:
May bacon be with you.
Patron Saint of Bacon
Saint Anthony, Patron Saint of Bacon is regarded as the intercessor and advocate of the most sacred of foods, bacon.
Anti-Bacon
Sadly, despite how deliciously sacred bacon is, there are those who choose to go against the bacon lords and participate in deviant and sinful behavior. They are called the Bacon Haters.
Psychopathology of Bacon Haters
Their senseless hate may be strong, but their numbers are small. Bacon Lovers Unite!
Bacon Celebrations
Get out your calendars and mark these bacon celebration dates down! You won’t want to miss out on hours of fun devoted entirely to nothin’ but bacon. A couple you just missed but there are some coming soon to a city near you.
Where: El Bait Shop and High Life Lounge, 200 S.W. Second St., Des Moines.
When: Saturday, Feb 28, 2009
Festival Photos and Video
Where: 500 3rd Street, Suite 510, San Francisco, CA
When: March 21st, 2009 - 1-5pm
Where: Radegast Hall & Beer Garden in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - 113 N 3rd St
When: Sunday March 29 at 5PM.
2nd Annual International Bacon Day party
Time: September 5, 2009 from 3pm to 7pm
Location: Santa Barbara
If you can’t go celebrate with the other bacon-lovers you can still join in at a Bacon Club.
Baconistas
When a person truly falls in love with bacon, it’s simply not enough to just eat it. You want to adorn yourself with it. You want your entire being surrounded by its smoky flavors. You want your essence soaking in its salty grease. You want I Heart Bacon written across your ass.
If you want to announce your love for bacon, you don’t have to scream it from the highest roof top. Just dress yourself from head to toe in baccoutrement.
Casual Wear
Bacon T-shirts, golf shits, tanks, and sweaters (some guy even had the brilliant idea of a Scratch n’ Sniff Bacon T-shirt. Not available yet, but fingers crossed!)
Push Button, Receive Bacon Hoodie
Footwear
Accessories
Bacon Wallets. They come in a Bacon Wrapped style or a more fashionable Turquoise Wallet.
Bacon Business Card Holder and Raw Bacon Biz Card Holder.
Real Bacon Bling for the adventurous type.
Bacon Earrings like Bacon & Egg Earrings, Short Strip Bacon Earrings, Long Strip Bacon Earrings, Medium Strip Bacon Earrings, and Bacon & Waffle Earrings.
Bacon Bracelets like Fuzzy Bacon Bracelet, Bacon & Egg Cuff, Bacon Strip Bracelets.
Bacon Necklaces like Bacon & Eggs Necklace, Breakfast Necklace, Bringin’ Home The Bacon Necklace, and I Love Bacon Necklace.
Bacon Rings like the BLT Ring and MMM Bacon Ring.
You can get a complete, matching Bacon Jewelry Set that includes earrings, bracelet, necklace and ring.
Bacon Scarf and Gloves
Bacon Shopping Bag, Bacon & Egg Bag, and Push Button, Receive Bacon Tote Bag
I Love Bacon Button or Bacon Pin
Bacon iPhone Case (plus Bacon iPhone Application!)
Formal
Intimates
Bacon Bra (with and without back)
Just For Fun
Bacon Bikini (NSFW)
Bacon Costumes and Bacon & Egg Costumes (dress your Pets in Bacon, too)
Zazzle has a whole Bacon Shop full of shirts, shoes, hats, aprons and more. CafePress even has a bacon boutique to get your favorite bacon slogan printed on your shirts, and of course, you can’t forget Baconshirts.
Bringin’ Home The Bacon
As the aroma of crisp bacon saturates the air, bacon itself, is saturating our entire homes. No longer limited to the kitchen frying pan, bacon can now be found in the bathroom, the living room, or even the bedroom, providing us with delicious products to gaze upon and adore.
Bacon Bath
Cleanliness is next to Godliness and since bacon is God’s meat, it seems a natural choice to want to soak, lather, and moisturize your body with as much bacon as humanly possible.
Tend to your most delicate parts with Bacon Toilet Paper.
Get sudsy with Bacon Soap.
Create your own bacon spa treatment with homemade Bacon Bath Salts and Bacon Soap. You can even use bacon as home remedy to
Keep your lips hydrated and tasty with Bacon Lip Balm and leave those pearly whites looking good with Bacon Floss and Bacon Toothpicks.
And don’t forget to freshen your breath with Bacon Mints.
Let bacon heal your boo-boos with Bacon Band-Aids and Bacon & Egg Band-Aids.
Bacon Decor
Wake up every morning surrounded by total baconess with these bacon home products. From scented candles and placemats to magnets and lamps, let bacon seep its greasy way into every room of your home.
BLT Candles (make your own Bacon Candles)
Bacon Pillows like Bacon & Egg Pillow, Sequined Bacon & Egg Pillow, Bacon Strip Pillow, I Love Bacon Pillow, ‘Sexy’ Bacon Pillow, and Skull & Bacon Pillow.
Bacon Calendar (more Bacon Calendar Prints)
I love Meat Stickers (includes Bacon)
Decorate with Bacon Posters like Bacon Is Like A little Hug From God Skull Poster, Pancakes & Bacon Poster, Raw Bacon Poster, Bacon Is Like little Hug From God Plain Poster.
Special Baccasions
Not that any baconthusiast needs a reason to celebrate with bacon, but you can go all out over the holidays and spread a little bacon cheer with this seasonal bacon items.
Bacon Angel Ornament and Bacon Devil Ornament
Bacontainment
Baconians know how much pure joy and pleasure a forkful of moist, salty, just-out-of-the-frying-pan bacon can bring. But now bacon-fun goes beyond just your dinner plate with these toys, games and action figures all made in an ode to bacon.
Bacon Toys like Mr. Bacon, Bacon Lego, Bacon Bubble Buddy, Angry Smokin’ Bacon, and Pig Nose.
Bacon Games like What Would Bacon Do?, The Oracle of Bacon and Six Degrees of Bacon.
There is tons of Bacon Play Food like this Felt Breakfast Set, Bacon, Egg and Pancake Set, Breakfast Buddy Playset, Knitted Bacon Strip, Plush Baconman, Baconoki, Plastic Bacon, Bacon & Egg Jellyfish,
Toys for your pet, too like Bacon Flavored Dog Chew Toys and Bacon Pet Toys.
The Baconusual
Some awesome baconny goodness just doesn’t seem to fall under any other category. So here is a little bacompilation of bacon music, comedy, superheroes and whatever else we could find that was on the odd side of the pig.
The Case of The Missing Bacon
Bacon Boy SuperHero
Austin Winters created Bacon Boy at the age of 10 while he was being treated for leukemia in Portland’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. He was inspired by painter Frank Etxaniz who encouraged him to come up with a character to draw.
What started as a simple drawing, morphed into a superhero of Baconic proportions. Bacon Boy was born, along with his friend Sgt Sausage, who together fought off the evil Fry Guy and his minions, Knife and Fork. Fry Guy’s main goal is to cook his enemies but he hasn’t gotten Bacon Boy yet.
Bacon Boy has a hat, cape and multiple delicious superpowers to fight his enemies.
SuperPowers:
- Being able to shoot bacon bits from one hand and grease from the other.
- “Meat Vision” that lets Bacon Boy propel sausages and corn dogs out of his eye sockets.
- Powerful suction to upload various things, such as, water and grease.
Bacon Boy was entered into a children’s art contest and after winning, became transformed into a glass version for a permanent collection of kids’ art in the Tacoma Museum of Glass.
Austin made drawings of his characters, created iron-on images, t-shirts, did animation and shaped Bacon Boy in clay.
Austin lost his battle with cancer on September 18, 2008. Buying one of Bacon Boy’s t-shirts will support the Austin Winters Fund and the Children’s Healing Art Project.
If there’s Bacon Boy, then there must be Bacon Man!
Baccoustic Videos
Flip That Trick Like a Bacon Strip
Bacomical Videos
Make Bacon Not War (NSFW)
Don’t forget your Bacon Rolling Papers
Bacommercials
Famous Baconians
Beyond the delicious fifth food group, there are many famous Bacons that aren’t as tasty, but definitely hold a place in any bacon-loving heart.
Roger Bacon (1214–1294)
An English philosopher and Franciscan friar who was seen as a modern experimental scientist, a man before his time. He is sometimes credited as one of the earliest European advocates of the modern scientific method.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)
An English author, philosopher, scientist, lawyer and statesman. He served both as Lord Chancellor and Attorney General of England. He fell out of political favor when he was found guilty of accepting bribes.
Kevin Bacon (born 1958)
An American actor who has been in many popular films and stage shows. He formed a band called the Bacon Brothers with his brother Michael in 1995.
Canadian Bacon – The Movie (1995)
A comedy about a satirical cold war between Canada and the US, directed by Michael Moore. Canadian Bacon was the last film to be released starring Canadian actor, John Candy after his death in 1994.
Bacon Tattoos
Bacon Gaffitti
Graffiti And Your Next Stop Could Be Bacon
The Bacon Bizarre
Bacon Hypnosis : “You are getting hungry. Very, very hungry”
Rotten Bacon : For those who truly love all forms of bacon
Bacon Cat : “And people thought I was kidding”
Bacon Hitler : the Bacon Nazi
Bacon Beats Fries : State Senate Results
Larimer County: State Senate District 14 Results
Bob Bacon vs. Matt Fries
100% reporting ( 69 precincts )
Bob Bacon (Dem) 62% (43,893)
Matt Fries (GOP) 37% (25,893)
“You can make biodiesel out of any triglycerides(fats and vegetable oils) If you eat bacon, save the grease in a jar. After you get a jar or two full, take one out of the fridge and put it in a pan of hot water to melt it.
The water and solids will go to the bottom. Pour off about 500ml of the bacon grease, titrate, heat, and mix with the methoxide as you would with veg oil. I tried this about a year ago and the oil titrated at 3.25 and made the prettiest light yellow biodiesel you ever saw.
And it doesn’t go back solid at room temp like bacon grease would. Biodiesel out of 100% pig fat.”
Is there anything bacon can’t do?
The End of Bacon
Finally, The End of Baconmania. We don’t like to think of bacon as a trend, but rather a way of life. So, if you are a true bacon lover then for you, this ‘baconmania’ will never end. And for those of you who stay true to your bacon beliefs, you shall be rewarded in the after life, when you go to Bacon Heaven.
