Bacon Jam, and a rainy saturday

The beach BBQ we were going to attend got canned because of our ongoing terrible weather. It really, truly rained hard today. The kids have been climbing the walls because they have either been cooped up inside, or stuck in a car running errands. Not a lot of fun for a vacation week in July.

In true Kazzy-style, knowing the best way to get C-man to sleep is to tire him out, the three of us went to the park in the middle of the downpour for a walk. We were completely soaked. The boys were happy, hence, I was happy. They ran, jumped, and tried to swim in puddles. They terrorized the geese, stopped for a few ducklings, and pushed the rain from their faces. Home for a shower, soup, and then a nap (for one of them). B requested to make some cookies, so that we did too. Looking for a recipe I ended up sorting and getting rid of a huge bag of paper to recycle. I try to stay on top of it, but it is amazing how fast paper accumulates.

Once I cleared the kitchen of my cookie making mess, my hubby was inspired to try out the following recipe... It has bacon in it, can you go wrong?

Thank you to dinnerwithjulie.com for this husband friendly recipe. When you are cooking it down, watch the temperature so you don't overcook that sugar!

Bacon Jam

1 lb good-quality bacon
1 small onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup coffee
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard (optional)

Roughly chop the bacon and cook it in a heavy pot; transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon, draining off most of the drippings. Saute the onion and garlic cloves in the rest for 5 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden. Return the bacon to the pan, add the brown sugar, coffee, maple syrup, vinegar and mustard and cook over medium heat for half an hour, or until deep golden and thickened to the consistency of jam. If you like, cool and pulse in the food processor for a finer texture. Serve warm or cold.