All posts tagged: oven

The smallest piece

“The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece… the whole universe will get busted.” – Beasts of the Southern Wild Our oven got busted. The smallest piece, the pin for the oven timer snapped off rendering the whole oven useless. Our landlord has been and gone, taking the timer with him so we have a hole where it used to be. Hopefully it is an easy and quick fix. Our stove works fine so I’m not relying on raw or microwave meals. Just no roasting or baking for a while. At least this isn’t a baking blog! Stovetop pavlova and cheesecake anyone?

Make Bacon

After reading the book Heat by Bill Buford, I’ve dreamed of curing my own pork. Curing meat uses salt to draw out the moisture and this allows the meat to last much longer. When the apocalypse that we’re all waiting for hits, we might need low tech techniques like these to make our food go further. Maybe. In the meantime, there’s nothing wrong with home made bacon just for fun. Traditionally, pig slaughter takes place in autumn, after a summer of fattening up and curing begins at this time of year too. The work is generally done outside and needs cooler temperatures to keep the meat happy. Winter is too cold in many parts of the world to work outdoors, so Autumn is the perfect season. Also, in the northern hemisphere, the holiday season follows soon after autumn and there is much appreciation of pork over the festive feast period. Christmas ham anyone? I’ve always loved the idea of curing/brining my own bacon. I wasn’t sure if I was going to smoke it too since I …