CSA Challenge: Fennel!

Fennel is one of those vegetables that I like to refer to as a "CSA Special."  You're never (or rarely) going to buy it of your own accord, even though you really enjoy eating it when it shows up on your plate at a restaurant.  So, when it shows up in your CSA, your thought process goes something like this:

"Sweet!  We got fennel this week!"

"..."

"Aw, crap - I have no idea what to do with fennel..."

The first time you see it, you probably take the easy way out: You slice it real thin with a really sharp knife, and use it to garnish salads.  Delicious!  But let's be honest here - any chump can wield a knife.  There's so much more potential in that weird-looking, fluffy-topped bulb... isn't there?

Of course there is!  Fennel is a classic match with seafood, and since Liz had a pasta craving this week, I figured we could adapt a recipe for Linguini with Clams and Fennel to be gluten-free!  So here we go:

Adventures in Charcuterie - Episode II: Makin' Bacon

Bacon is one of the world's truly perfect foods.  So versatile, it can be eaten as a part of any meal.  So universal, some version of it is featured in every culture that has figured out how to grow pigs.  So delicious, there are entire religions built around not eating it.  It's also gluten-free, so Liz can eat it too!

It should go without saying that having tried my hand at making sausage, that making bacon would be the next logical maneuver.