Granola for Bacon — I am so $%&##@ lucky.

“The best bacon I’ve ever had” was the most recent perk of living a few houses away from Lou. That’s what my two older kids said after tasting a sweet, smoky piece of Lou’s Maple and Brown Sugar Cured Bacon. I was lucky enough to bring a few pieces home after a quick check on my dry rubbed pork shoulder that had been slow cooking for hours in Lou’s garage.

Although I’m closer to veggie on the food spectrum, I have to admit that piece of bacon was pretty darn good. In fact it was amazing! I’m afraid we’re spoiled now–no bacon will ever taste as good as Lou’s. My kids asked me to snag some more, but how will I accomplish that? Well, here’s Lou’s rule:

Bring a slab and take half home. Bring two and take one home.

He won’t accept a monetary fee but that’s his deal. Please don’t rush over to Lou’s though, since I’ll probably get in trouble for posting his little secret. He’s willing to cure and smoke a slab of pork belly if I can find one. So, I’ll have to keep my eyes open when I’m at the store. I sure won’t find that in the produce section!

I am so darn lucky to live on a street with Lou. He makes every single day a new culinary adventure. This week he’s promised take two on my pork, which was out of this world (more on that later!). And in exchange I’ll be helping him create a veggie chili for some vegetarian friends. Now that’s a week to look forward to.

Fortunately Lou likes my Cherry Almond Agave granola for breakfast with some yogurt and blackberries. That’s not a bad trade for the best meat you’ll ever taste.