Several snippets of good stuff today.
- The Slow Food Bloomington Chefs Dinner is coming up Sunday, June 10, at 6:00p.m. at the Bloomington Country Club. I’ll get a menu up in a separate post as soon as I get all the final details, but it’s going to be a fabulous dinner – nine courses with wine, prepared from local, local, local ingredients by nine of the areas best chefs. Good food, good wine, good music, good karma. Tickets are $100 ($40 of which is a tax deductible contribution to Slow Food) and they are available at Bloomingfoods (or talk to me.)
- Had a great meal at Tallent last night. It was all superb as always but two highlights: The pickled eggplant vinaigrette that was meant to be served with the fish special but which we ate by itself as a dip for bread was spectacular and the strawberry-rose water milkshake and strawberry beignets that pastry chef Jason Shoulders created to use up the abundance of local strawberries were amazing. Fresh, slightly tart berries, dipped in a sweet batter, fried, and dusted with powdered sugar, served hot and luscious. Diet? What diet?
- My good buddy David, of BLU Culinary Arts, has started a blog to document the progress he and partner Scott are making in redesigning and renovating their new digs on the downtown Bloomington Square, the BLU Boy Chocolate Cafe and Cakery. He is new to the blogging world — please stop by and say hello. And if you are ever in Bloomington, definitely stop in for some fabulous BLU Boy Chocolates or a pastry. (That’s one of their creations in the picture above looking like a little chocolatey planet earth.)
- Alanna at A Veggie Venture has commissioned an icon to signify when a recipe uses fresh ingredients from the farmers market and she’s making it available for free to all food bloggers who want to use it. “Blush the Sweet Tomato” is adorable – shop your local farmers markets as they open, support your local farmers, and Blush!
- As you may know, I’ve been a mostly-vegetarian for years but have taken to eating meat in a kind of gingerly fashion here of late. But the one kind of meat I have always craved on occasion has been bacon – an honorary vegetable in my book. Still, though I would eat it once in a while, I was not what you’d call an educated bacon consumer. That is about to change. As an early birthday present I have bought myself about 25 different bacons (local ones as well as artisanal bacons from around the country) and I am going to have a bacon tasting next week with some friends. The bacons are arriving daily and what fun!! I’ll be writing more about that in the August/September issue of Bloom and right here. Stay tuned.
My Plate or Yours 
Whoa – you’re fast! What a great line-up of ‘stuff’. Thanks for including ‘Blush’, it’s being great fun seeing her pink cheeks show up in food blog land.
LikeLike
25 different types of bacon? What good fortune for your friends! Can’t wait for the round-up. I’ve been reading some old family letters from the 30’s and 40’s, and so many reference someone salt-curing a side of bacon. I want to go back in time and learn how to do this myself!
LikeLike
Can’t wait for the outcome of the bacon taste-off. I am going to try some applewood in the stove top smoker with bacon and see what happens.
LikeLike
Hope you have a good time at the Chefs Dinner.
Will definitely drop by and say hello to David.
Even though I live in the Caribbean, can I use the fresh ingredients icon?
Ummmmm – the bacon tasting, I am jealous 🙂
LikeLike
Don’t forget local bacon in your search. I had a great morning with Clause Muth up at Clause’s (formerly Klemm’s) German Sausage and Meat on Shelby in Indy. The whole place smells fantastic and he has his own housemade bacon, double smoked bacon, and even Canadian bacon. Yum!
LikeLike
Alanna, I am happy to have her smiling face on my blog! It’s a terrific idea!
Lisa, I am working on some do-it-yourself bacon right now.
Careful, Larry. I am not sure you can hot smoke bacon — it might just cook. The recipes I have seen cold smoke it.
I am sure Alanna would love you to use the fresh ingredients icon in the Caribbean, Cynthia.
I have several local ones, Renee, but not Clause’s. Any chance he is open on Sunday? I have to go up to Indy then.
LikeLike
Love the icon! Cute! What is the first picture?
LikeLike
It’s a BLU Boy chocolate, Bea. Almost too pretty to eat, though.
Larry, now I have a source that says you can hot smoke bacon, so the jury is out.
LikeLike
A former girlfriend of mine was a vegetarian [probably still is, in fact]. When she fell off the wagon, it was never for a grilled chicken breast or a salmon fillet. It was always for bacon. I’m not even a vegetarian, and I totally understand.
LikeLike
That chocolate is mesmerizing. It looks like a hand-painted hologram.
LikeLike
Terry, I hear that. What is it about bacon?
You are right, Susan. It was so gorgeous that it was hard to eat it (well, okay, maybe not that hard.)
LikeLike
Gee, can I use that icon when I cook from my CSA farm box; does that count? It’s too cute!
I know what you mean about bacon, totally addictive. I got my parents the Bacon of the Month Club and they have really been enjoying trying different artisanal bacons every month. Of course, it’s completely the opposite of eating locally…
LikeLike
That sure is a line up of fascinating facts and data! I might just use that logo for a post I’ve just done today extoling using local farm shops! And it’s really cute too!
LikeLike
If you are moving to meat, 25 kinds of bacon is the way to do it! I hope you will be reporting on your bacon experiences.
LikeLike
Thanks for mentioning Alanna’s logo for Blush. I had trouble finding the source last week!
LikeLike
It would be so nice to just take off on vacation at any time, exploring foods around the nation and world. Unfortunately, I have to work so not feasible but good for you that you get to do so.
LikeLike
that is the cutest thing. she is so talented!
LikeLike