That’s Bacon the foodstuff, not the artist or the pioneer of frozen food.
I suppose, after all the events of the day, I should have spent the evening juggling with casseroles and torturing myself with self-doubt. However, I didn’t.
What’s hit is history, what’s missed is mystery, as the old ornithologists used to say. That’s a saying from the days when they used to shoot birds as a prelude to identifying them. Th same goes for submissions – what’s accepted is gone and what is rejected needs work. Or, possibly, a bin.
In some ways I’m more like a mechanic than a poet. The one that was returned yesterday, with comments, is going to retain the original engine and chassis, but will be getting new bodywork and a respray. It will start out as an observational haibun and, probably, end up as a piece of fiction. It will still be a true piece about man and nature, but it will have fictional elements added for effect.
A second is in for a total rewrite. I’m going to keep the haiku and the original idea. All else will be new. The third of that batch will be completely dismantled. I will re-use several of the images to write haiku and park the rest in the file marked “Multiple Rejections”. It has, to be fair, been rejected three times, so the editors obviously agree. One day I might find a use for the carcase.
Nothing is ever wasted, it just isn’t used as originally intended.
Moving on to casseroles – the panhaggerty was a funny colour and the bacon had no flavour. I will be having it again as it’s easy to make, and because there’s enough left over for lunch. It was not as good as the normal vegetable stew we do, but it was quicker to prepare. Part of the problem may come from the fact that I over-browned the bacon. I think it also needs bacon bits rather than rashers. Not sure if you can still get bacon bits, I suspect they all go off to be cubed and sold as a premium product..
There’s another recipe I want to make, which I haven’t made for years. Instead of boiling for twenty minutes you cook it in the oven for 2 hours. That fact has always made me wonder if it’s worth it.
I will check online. Then I am off to write a book review…
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I liked your vision of yourself as a poetry mechanic. I shall think of you with your literary spanner in hand tightening an adverb here and giving a recalcitrant verb a sharp tap there.
I like the idea of a “literary spanner”, and feel a lot more enthused with that vision in mind.
Rick has been using turkey bacon as a substitute in a number of dishes, including cassoulet, with good results. I don’t know if you can get that over there, but it is worth a test run in the kitchen if you can find it.
I enjoy your poetry, and expect to be continuing to congratulate you on your many future acceptances.
Thank you Lavinia. I’ve seen turkey bacon about but haven’t used it yet. 🙂
I suspect you are referring to Lardons which you can still purchase in supermarkets. They are basically diced bacon!
That’s the word! I have had them but had forgotten the word. Bacon offcuts are a lot cheaper and Derrick tells me they are available in Lidl. Odd shapes are fine for casseroles.
As a wise roshi once noted, “Life is no guarantee. You must make effort.” You are making effort, and it shows.
Thank you Laurie. With a three book series it looks like your efforts are paying off too. 🙂
A-w-w-w, thanks! And considering how editors are absolutely flooded with poetry submissions, you should be much more chuffed about your poetry’s many acceptances.
I am quite happy (I just hide it well). 🙂
Good! Because if you could actually see the flood of submissions, you would be might impressed with yourself. If it didn’t bury you first. 😉
I’m not sure that the competition for haibun is quite as intense as the more traditional poetry magazines, but I do take your point.
Most of the Supermarkets offer cheap packs of bacon offcuts which are what we always use when such as lardons are recommended. Lidl’s are so thick and lean that we use them all the time – even in sandwiches.
I will have to wait until I can go shopping again. 🙂
I was going to say bacon bits = lardons. I buy them from the local farm – a very economical way to purchase the bacon to add to peas for soup.
Agreed
🙂
Years ago I used to buy bacon bits from a stall in Preston Market. Now it comes in cubes with a French name. The times are changing…
True enough! I was vegetarian when I lived in France but learned lardons before bacon bits, so that name’s stuck for me.
🙂