First attempt at back bacon

So, anyone for breakfast? Can I tempt you? I can offer you fresh laid free range eggs from my garden, and back bacon and Cumberland sausages made by me! Come the early autumn I shall also be able to offer you home-grown grilled tomatoes, and foraged wild field mushrooms. Peckish yet?  How about some homemade/home-grown Damson Compote with homemade yogurt too? Bread will be from my oven, a nice spelt loaf, which toasts brilliantly, giving you a light crisp outer over a fluffy inner; perfect in my book!

Yes, I am definitely getting into the 'Good Life' although unfortunately I bear no resemblance to the delicious Felicity Kendal.  I seem to be becoming a bit of a home-made/home-grown geek. My SIL states 'I have my standards'  when offered things I made  with love, although I don't get how she would consider ready made meals from the Marks and Spencer  chiller cabinet (her usual fodder) superior. Its almost as if some people consider real food somehow obscene!

The bacon was simplicity itself to make. I used a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe found in the Telegraph for my first attempt. His recipe recommended using pork belly, but here we prefer something with less fat, so I opted for a piece of pork loin, bought from the village butcher, removed the skin, and made my own attempt using same process  reccomended by HFW at back bacon, but omitted the salt petre.

So I guess tonight we will have to test drive this latest creation. How shall I use it? A Quiche Lorraine, using my eggs too? How about a Carbonara using pasta made with my own eggs too?  I am just loving the fabulous opportunities to eat delicious food which I know exactly where it came from, and how it was made. All I need now is a small holding, and I will have found Nirvana.