Blast from the Past on Bacon Fat

Do you love old cookbooks as much as I do? A nicer word for them is "vintage." I will wax poetic about my fondness for vintage cookbooks another time, but had to share something. I was looking through one of my collection, and came across this gem about bacon grease. I had to share with my paleo/primal/fat-happy friends:

The portion I'm referring to says:

LEFTOVER BACON FAT: Refrigerate in covered jar. Plan to use within 2 weeks. Nice for seasoning green beans, green limas, greens, macaroni, scalloped potatoes, etc. Nice, too, for making sauces and soups, for frying eggs, potatoes, meats, etc.

Someone take a guess as to what decade this cookbook is from. It clearly isn't the "fat is terrifying and out to get us all!" 1990's  :)

Along this same fat-friendly line, here is a short clip of Julia Child talking about how she preferred McDonald's french fries before they switched to [creepy] processed "nutritionist oil." It helps me understand why our parents and grandparents are so nostaglic for their old burger drive-in meals - the food really did taste different and better back then, because they cooked everything with real fat - no doubt quite tasty, and with nourishment value.

Currently Reading: Nourishing Traditions

I FINALLY got my hands on a copy of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions cookbook, which I first heard about several years ago at a CCFA (Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America) conference. I put it on hold at my local library and now I've got it sitting in my living room. (I made the mistake of cracking it open before I had set apart some time to really read, and I got completely distracted from my breakfast and morning routine!)

Can't wait to read through this!

Thanksgiving... at HOME?

We are completely iced-in right now. The alley behind our home, which is the only access to our driveway and parking area, is on a fairly steep hill to begin with. It's full of potholes and wide, shallow trenches. These have filled with snow, freezing rain, and the output of all the French drains above, and all that moisture froze to a surface slicker than a skating rink when the temperatures dropped below 15 last night. (This is NOT average Thanksgiving weather for the Northwest!)

We plan to visit Hubs' parents' home for brunch tomorrow, and my parents' home for dinner. But today I'm stuck at home and beginning to wonder what we'll eat if we are still stuck at home and can't join the ranks for morning ham and evening turkey. At least we can have the dishes we'd be bringing to the brunch and dinner - our new favorite treat, Pumpkin Glory Loaf from the Flying Apron Bakery cookbook, and something like this Quinoa Pilaf or Herbed Brown Rice with Mushrooms - all GFCF egg-free and soy-free, of course! I planned to get to the store for butternut squash and apples to make more of my new favorite casserole, but I don't think that's gonna happen!

This year I wrote off just about all the "classic" Thanksgiving sides including the side dish everyone loves to count as a "vegetable": Green Bean Casserole. I've passed cans of Cream of Mushroom soup and French Friend Onions in the grocery store for several weeks now, rolling my eyes, knowing I was above such processed and sodium-filled semi-edible substances. My mom makes traditional Green Bean Casserole almost every year, and I've never missed it when it didn't make it on the menu. But I think in a manifestation of Murphy's law (as all of us food-allergy-plagued know too well), when I truly realize I cannot have something... I WANT IT NOW! I Googled "GFCF green bean casserole," and found THIS tasty-lookin' thing at Gluten Free Mommy...

I'm sitting here drooling over this recipe, knowing I need it to be GFCF egg-free and soy-free (Campbell's, I'm looking at you - join the 21st century and make some allergy-friendly soups! OK, rant over.).  If I rally the courage and can find the ingredients and appropriate substitutions tomorrow in my cupboards, I will post a recap!
Make it a Happy Thanksgiving, full of true gratitude of recognition of real blessings, no matter where you are and what you're doing!