Many years ago I made a new year’s resolution that amused many of my friends: To start eating bacon. I was tired of resolutions of doing less, behaving better, of deprivation and starvation. Screw that, said I. I decided to welcome the new Millenium with a resolution I could possibly keep: Eating more. Specifically, of a meat that I had never tried but smelled oh so delicious. Also, I was a big fan of breakfast and brunches and resented the fact that so many meal-deals came with a side of sausage, bacon, or ham which I had to pay for yet could not eat. It was what my husband called my typical Jew’s dilemma: I didn’t get a dollar off or an extra egg for not eating pig, so it seemed like a waste, yet I was raised to not eat meat. Oy vey!

So I decided to eat bacon when it was part of the meal. I still haven’t eaten ham or sausage, but bacon became the first four-legged friend I would occasionally munch upon.

As I begin my year-long journey into meat, I thought it appropriate to begin again with bacon. Pork is a traditional New Year’s meat around the world — some believe it to be lucky, some say they symbolize progress, while here in the U.S. I think it most commonly symbolizes the welcoming of the new dawn by the hungover.  For me, it means a meat I know I enjoy and can eat without getting sick. So let the meating begin!