Finger food recipes are always a hit!

Soon there will be invitations coming in for holiday parties, and here's a simple appetizer that is good for you, quick to make, and it can be done ahead except for a little last-minute baking time.  It's always a hit because the sweet and salty flavors are perfect together, plus finger food recipes are the best for easy clean up and for grabbing as you walk by the food!

Good for you, you ask?  Yes!  Bacon, when purchased from a farmer you trust, who raises pigs out on pasture where they can forage around, is full of nutrients and the fat (lard) is, too!  Read this post from Michael Pollan:  The Source Matters.  Or get this book by Joel Salatin:  Holy Cows & Hog Heaven.

Also see this article from the Weston Price Foundation that discusses the importance of eating uncured pork OR marinating it in something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice, before cooking, just like those in traditional cultures did.  (Read the entire interesting article on pork and the changes it can cause in your blood.)

Below you can watch a video with Joel Salatin where he talks about how he runs his pig operation.  It's a beautiful look at his happy hogs, as opposed to the sad, disgusting environment that factory farmed animals are raised in.  Conventional pork is not good for us.

By the way, lard (from pigs) and tallow (from cows) are my two favorite frying fats.  Here's where you can get lard if you don't have a local source and I love this big tub of beef tallow – I priced it and it was even cheaper than when I rendered it myself!  (If it's out of stock, it should be back soon.)  Have you seen my recipe for Deep Fried Heaven?

Pineapple Bacon Rollups:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pastured, uncured bacon, cut in half (find healthy bacon here if you don't have a local source)
• Bite-sized pieces/chunks of pineapple (I used canned – save the juice)
• Maple syrup
• Unrefined sugar if desired

• Toothpicks

Instructions:

Wrap uncooked bacon around the pieces of pineapple and hold it together with a toothpick, set them in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Drizzle a little of the pineapple juice on top and a little real maple syrup.  I also sprinkle on some organic palm/coconut sugar or organic granulated sugar – the more sweetener you use, the more caramelized it gets, but even with a light amount it's still really good because the pineapple is sweet, too.  You could also use the yummy sauce from this other bacon roll-up recipe as a glaze.  Bake 375* for 30 minutes until hot and caramelized.  I like it almost burned, but not quite.

• NOTE:  This can easily be made ahead and just bake before you serve.

Joel Salatin video:

• Chris Kresser on the nitrate nitrite myth (another reason not to fear bacon!)