Our holiday was super fun-filled and friend-packed and started, appropriately, with a mountain of bacon. The soon-to-be-newlywed Therese and Murray threw a smashing brunch at their new house. Honestly, how two people can have just moved into a new house, be planning a wedding, and still host a party is beyond all human comprehension. They are super heroes of entertainment, and I think they know it.

While guests brought fruit and champagne and the occassional breakfast bread pudding, Murese (their Hollywood name) anchored the meal with never-ending pancakes, scrambled eggs, tater tots, and pounds and pounds of Daily’s Hardwood Smoked Center Cut bacon. We served Daily’s pepper bacon at our first Bacon Day, and it’s a great, well-rounded brand that I would happily buy again, especially when cooking in bulk. Murray was on meat detail, and did a great job of cooking it just right, not too crispy, not too chewy. I wish I had a photo of the chef at work, but I was just so mesmerized by the bacon…

Let’s see, what else happened that day…I remember a beach, a boat, some fireworks. Lots of people were there. I’m going to go out on a limb and say I had a great time. I know one thing for sure: freedom has never been more delicious.

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Naseem and I were both pretty excited about Paradise Island popcorn when they first contacted us. They thought we might like to try their bacon popcorn, and a few other intriguing flavors, such as strawberry, pineapple and cinnamon. Last weekend we were finally able to get together with friends to get some varied and objective feedback. We purposely included one Doubting Thomas just to get all perspectives, but once we started tasting there could be no doubt. We all loved this popcorn! The ranking of flavors was almost unanimous.

#1 - MMMM…BACON. We think we liked this flavor best because it was salty, which is what you expect in popcorn. The aroma was smoky and reminiscent of really well-done bacon; some thought bacon bits. The flavor was salty, smoky, and almost cheesy. Once someone said “cheese” we all started to think of it as smoked cheese popcorn. This bag was gone long before we had finished discussing its nuances.

#2 - CINNAMON TWIST. This was a totally surprise favorite. The aroma reminded us of a warm, fresh churro, and the flavor backed that up. Sweet, but not overwhelming. Yum.

#3 - PINEAPPLE DELIGHT. This was the sweetest of the flavors. It reminded me of pineapple upside-down cake; others tasted notes of other tropical fruits like mango.

#4 STRAWBERRY FIELDS. Although this flavor ranked number 4, the margin was very slight. This one reminded us of Frankenberry cereal, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Paradise’s CEO, Steve Cantin, tells me that everyone (including lovers of bacon) is really excited about their new flavor, Jamaican BBQ, which I’m sure to be trying soon.

We were all thrilled to discover how much we enjoyed this popcorn. We hadn’t actually planned to try all four flavors in one go, but once we got started we just couldn’t stop. (See the stack of empty bags above.) The most exciting thing about these microwaveable wonders is that they’re sugar free (except Strawberry Fields, which has a small amount), contain no trans-fats and are made without hydrogenated oils. They would make a great sweet snack for someone trying to cut sugar and fat out of their diets…and with this in mind my parents will be receiving a variety pack in the very near future.

And now for the best news of all: RBS readers can get this funfood for 15% off! Just click through from the RBS Bacon Store, and use the coupon code RBS15 at check-out. Happy Snacking!

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Bacon pirates? Anyone? Bueller?

Can’t wait to find out what this is all about…

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So what does this have to do with bacon? Well, only that Roger Bacon is widely credited as the first European to write specific instructions for the preparation and use of black powder way back in the 1200s. Does this mean he invented fireworks? No, that was the ingenious Chinese. But he made those skills widely accessible through formal instruction, rather than by folk learning and the passing of knowledge from father to son, thereby sharing the joy of fireworks with the whole world. Incidentally, this also brought about rapid advances in warfare, so…good job? Whatever. Fireworks rule.

And of course since the 4th of July is America’s official BBQ holiday, bacon is going to play an important role in your day. Bacon cheeseburgers? Bacon-wrapped filet? A kebab of bacon-wrapped chicken chunks? Yes, yes please, and hell yes. So make sure that propane tank is at least as full that ice chest, and get to grilling. For those of you in counties that allow the purchase and ignition of smaller scale fireworks, be careful! Don’t blow off your fingers or start any brush fires. And for those of you in “dry” counties like mine, well…don’t drink and drive I guess. Everyone have a super 4th!

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I love how there are flowers and cloth napkins on the table. And also…an entire bottle of Wild Turkey 101. The perfect meal for a special occasion. Or an awesome first date.

Thanks, Todd!

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