And on another note...last night's dinner was pretty great!

Simple Farmhouse Supper of Eggs, Roasted Bacon, and Baked Potatoes

My daughter has a friend who is the manager of Dismas Family Farm In Worcester, Ma. The following is their mission statement.

The mission of Dismas is to reconcile former prisoners to society, and society to former prisoners, through the development of a supportive community.

Supportive community is characterized by: students and former prisoners living together in a family setting, active involvement of volunteers from the broader community, and a spirit of open and participative decision-making by all in the community, with emphasis on the common good.

I've gotten beautiful fresh eggs from the farm in the past. A couple of weeks ago, Jen posted that they were offering a pork sampler for $50. The package includes: 

• 4 pork loin chops (and these chops are at least 1" thick!)
•  1 package of smoked bacon
• 2 smoked ham steaks
• 1 package of ground pork

It was a no-brainer for my husband and me. My husband and I love pork but I don't love factory-farmed meat. Also, the money supports a fantastic organization. Also, Jen is a fantastic person.

Last night's dinner was very simple. This isn't a recipe so much as a shared meal and one new technique if you've never roasted bacon before.

I started with the baked potatoes. Most people know how to bake a potato but here's my method:

Wash and pat dry a nice Russet potato. Poke all over with a fork or knife. Rub or brush with olive oil (or bacon fat if that's how you roll). Sprinkle the top with a little salt and place directly on the center rack of a 375 degree oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Once the potatoes are done, raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Place your bacon on a rack in a cookie sheet. For easier clean-up, line the cookie sheet with foil.  I had a last-minute inspiration and sprinkled fresh rosemary over the bacon. YUM!
Roast for approximately 15-17 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. I've read that this method works best with thick-cut bacon (for thinner slices you can broil the bacon for less time, keeping a close eye on it).

The finished bacon is perfectly crispy, with very little grease. Still, you should remove the bacon to a paper towel to absorb any remaining grease.

I cooked the eggs over easy which is my husband's favorite. My method is to cook over fairly low heat to insure a well-cooked white while preserving the runny yoke my husband and I love.

 If you've never had an egg straight from a farm, do yourself a favor and find a source. There is no comparison to those you find in the grocery store. Even the expensive 'cage-free' eggs do not come close. As for the bacon? Oh.my.gawd.

I'm one of those folks that finds the smell of bacon is so good that I'm left disappointed by the taste. This bacon was smoky without overwhelming the taste of the meat. The pungeant woodiness of the rosemary was a perfect compliment to the smoke. Heavenly.

My husband immediately transferred one of his eggs to his potato. It's not pretty but it's pretty delicious.