Quote Originally Posted by GLC1968 View Post
I am so not that adventurous. I admit it. I'd rather pay too much for bacon from US Wellness meats than cook my own. It's bad enough that I have to make my own mayo! ;-)
Mayo is easy to make, once you figure out that all ingredients must be room temp. For me the biggest challenge was figuring out which oil I prefer - hazelnut is my preference though I will use avocado. Any kind of olive oil is too strongly flavored for my taste.

This morning I experimented with some smoked pork jowl from a local farmer in place of my fresh side for bacon. It is only smoked, no added chemicals or preservatives, no sugar, etc. It was very nice! I will still likely use fresh side most of the time as that is several dollars less a pound than the smoked jowl - but it is nice to have access to it. The farm is also just down the street from me so I can go see how the animals are treated/fed. I've found that when I use local farmers for meat sources my meat budget decreases significantly - I just can't afford the grass-fed/pastured prices at a regular store. It takes more foot-work and gas but it is well worth it.

I do find it interesting that some food chains are now advertising how their chicken is antibiotic free. What they are not saying is that it is illegal in the US to use antibiotics for chicken outside of an actual illness, they don't say a word about their non-chicken protein sources. The commercials make it sound like they are doing something special but they are not.