2703. CREAMY BACON, MUSHROOM and SEAWEED SOBA

serves two

160 grams soba noodles
6 grams hijiki seaweed
2 bacon rashers
1/4 sheet nori seaweed
1 garlic clove
1/2 onion
50 grams enoki, shimeji or shiitake mushrooms
1 consommé stock cube
300 ml soy milk
salt and pepper to taste

Soak the hijiki and shiitake mushrooms separately in a bowl of water. In the meantime, cut your bacon and nori seaweed into 1cm strips and slice your garlic and onion.

In a pan, boil the soba noodles for five and a half minutes or according to your packets instructions. Grab a large frying pan, add a little oil and soften the garlic, then add the onion, mushrooms and bacon.

Once the bacon and onion are cooked through add the consommé cube and soy milk, mix well, then add the reconstituted hijiki seaweed. Cook for a further 1–2 minutes.

Drain the cooked soba in a colander in the sink, rinse with cold water to remove any stickiness and gently squeeze out any excess water.

Transfer the soba noodles to the frying pan with the sauce and mix together, ensuring the noodles are evenly covered. Cook for a further 1–2 minutes to ensure the soba are heated through.

Serve on a plate with a sprinkling of shredded nori and salt and pepper to taste.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Japan Centre, Japan Centre Group Limited, 14-16 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4PH, England (shop address)

1828. BACON SMOOTHIE with ACAI, RASPBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES and CHOCOLATE

1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup acai
1/2 cup frozen raspberries and blueberries
1 teaspoon greens (dietary supplement)
2 strips of slow cooked, savory maple bacon
1-2 tablespoons dark chocolate powder
1 tablespoon agave

Pretty simple: Just throw it all in a blender and blend it.

NOTE: The reason the recipe works is the chocolate. Chocolate and bacon go together, but there still needs to be fruit. Raspberries, blueberries and acai not only go with chocolate, but they’re also good for you and you need something good to offset the bacon, which is not a health food.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Rick Bakas, Back to Bakas, March 10, 2009

1445. CURRY BROCCOLI SOUP with BACON and TOASTED ALMONDS

makes five servings


4 slices hardwood smoked bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped leeks
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
4 cups finely chopped broccoli
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1-2 pinches cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup soy milk
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons lightly toasted slivered almonds

Heat a medium sized soup pot over medium flame. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add it to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until bacon is browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon bits to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pot.

Add olive oil to the pot and heat briefly. Stir in leeks and carrots; cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften. Stir in broccoli, curry powder, basil, and cayenne; continue cooking a few minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken or vegetable stock and bring mixture to simmer. Cook soup until broccoli is tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir in the bacon and soy milk, season to taste with salt, and heat through. Serve each bowl with a sprinkling of slivered almonds.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Organic Valley Family of Farms, CROPP Cooperative, One Organic Way, LaFarge, Wisconsin 54639

434. SOY MILK SOUP with BACON

1 potato
1/2 onion
1/4 carrot
4 sheets bacon
2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 soy milk
1 cube chicken bouillon

Cut onion, potato, carrot, and bacon into cubes. Put butter in a pan, and saute onion, potato, carrot, and bacon in the pan. Add soy milk and chicken bouillon in the pan and simmer over low heat. When vegetables are cooked, stop the heat.
Add some salt and pepper as you need.


courtesy of: Setsuko Yoshizuka