With the amount of bacon that we have seen on this site this year, 2006 should have been the year of the pig (2007 is actually the year of the pig). It has popped up everywhere from breakfast plates to evening cocktails. Some say that Everything Tastes Better with Bacon, but after checking out our list of the top 8 uses for bacon from the last year, you can decide for yourself if you have been Seduced by Bacon:

• Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not start it off with a big bowl of Bacon cereal?
• Cereal isn't the only bacon-infused breakfast option. French toast and bacon sandwich could be a more appetizing choice if you're not the cereal type, or you could simply opt for bacon waffles. Bacon breakfast cookies will give you a bacon fix on the go.
• BLT's have much too small a ratio of bacon-to-nonbacon. The ultimate bacon sandwich or a deep-fried bacon Double Quarter Pounder are both much more meat-oriented.
• Gummy bacon isn't bacon flavored, but if you like the idea of bacon in candy, bacon caramel might be just what you're looking for
• For dessert, a generous serving of bacon ice cream is in order, and this kind actually has chunks of bacon in it, much like the bacon ice cream that Marcel mixed up on Top Chef.
• The bacon martini is not a drink for everyone. You may have to be an addict - not that we condone alcoholism or bacon-aholism - to get it down.
• You can't keep bacon in it, but the bacon wallet will help you bring home the bacon, in addition to looking like it. The only odd thing here is that the wallet is made of faux leather - couldn't they have gone for the real thing?
• Time, bacon and eggs heal all wounds, especially if you use bacon and eggs bandaids to help speed the healing process along.
• We suspect that the bacon trend may continue into next year, since we recently found out about the existence of chicken fried bacon (with gravy), which sounds like it will be an instant hit at the fried-food havens that are county fairs.
• Last, but certainly not least, we have heard that eating bacon and participating in open discussion of the pork product may be the single most important part of achieving world peace. Peace Through Pork makes a good point.

Make a list of all the things that could contribute to world peace on a piece of paper. Is bacon at the top? If not, perhaps it should be. The people at Peace Through Pork think that it might just be the key to solving the world's problems. They offer up a deep, critical explanation in which bacon is a metaphor for the fears and desires of both societies and individuals, but to keep it brief, here is their drunken frat boy explanation:

1. Bacon is really tasty.
2. People that don't eat bacon obviously have issues.

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? One slice of bacon, by the way, has only about 40 calories and 3 grams of fat, along with 3 grams of protein, which makes it a filling and satisfying food that shouldn't necessarily be counted out of your diet for health reasons unless you're watching your saturated fat intake (1.1 g), in which case you want to eat it in moderation. If you're interested in showing your support, a bacon awareness bracelet is available.

Non-food related note: If you're a registered voter in the US, you can also make a difference in a way that is unrelated to bacon. You can go out and vote!

[via boingboing]

I'm a Slow Food kinda guy and I abhor fast food. I'm not talking about food that you can cook up fast at home like a quick stir fry, but that slop masquerading as burgers and tacos that the mega-chains foster off as food. Just thinking about it has me up in arms and ready to charge to the attack. No, give me a nice slice of baked ham from a hand cured and aged hog that met his maker kindly and I'm happy and peaceful.

This week in Italy is the Salone del Gusto, the "Exhibition of Taste" put on by Slow Food, the organization formed 20 years ago to counter the fast food culture. The main theme for the tenth anniversary of this festival is peace. Food for peace, what a concept. One of the events will be Israeli and Palestinian chefs coming together to cook a meal using the best of their cooking traditions. The Chefs for Peace Association has organized this in the hope of creating a dialogue on common ground to focus on working together to prevent the agricultural and food based destruction of war. Let's hope it works because while I may get all riled up about food, it also tends to calm me down as well. Hopefully the same is true worldwide. After reading about the tasting areas at the festival I wish I could take the time to head to do my share for world peace and gustatory exploration.