Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival

It's been an amazing day, and I'm thrilled to share my little adventure with you all.  I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Des Moines.  The tickets sold out in 20 minutes, and I still can't believe I got one.  It was an awesome event, and all the bacon-inspired food was so good, I think I ended up eating like 2 pounds of bacon in one afternoon.  But so worth it!

There were huge lines for most of the food booths, so I often didn't know what I was going to end up eating until I got to the front of the line.  I let out a little squeal when I saw the menu at the Gusto Pizza Booth.  Bacon, peanut butter & banana pizza?  Yes please!

"The Elvis" - bacon, peanut butter & banana pizza.

Another favorite was the Maytag blue cheese paired with bacon & honey.  I could have eaten the whole tray-full.

To be honest, I wasn't all that excited to stand in line for the bacon tacos, but they turned out to be delicious.  It was a new spin on the classic BLT sandwich. I must try this at home!

My favorite bacon dish was actually a dessert -- the caramel bacon gelato from Chocolaterie Stam.  Sounds strange, but it was so good. I may never eat ice cream without bacon again :)

And I couldn't resist buying a couple slices of chocolate-covered bacon.  I was lucky I bought it when I did, because they were sold out within a few minutes.

Now I'm in a bacon-fat haze as I write this, but I'm giddy from all the new foods I tried today.  Who knew that bacon was so versatile?  I'm proud to live in the nation's top pork-producing state, and I'm glad there's a festival where we can celebrate this ultimate comfort food.  Ohhh, Bacon!

Allspice in East Village, Des Moines

This weekend, I was in the mood for a little adventure.  And for me, a little adventure means exploring close to home.  I've been hearing a lot about a new shop, Allspice, in downtown Des Moines' East Village.  I love shopping in the East Village. So many fun stores and restaurants, all within walking distance.  If you're looking for a unique Christmas gift, check out the East Village.

I found Allspice on Locust Street, and the store was packed!  I parked myself at the tasting bar, where I tried several different olive oils and balsamic vinegars.  I really liked the "fruity" flavors, such as the red apple balsamic.  I ended up buying a couple small bottles of pomegranate balsamic and blood orange olive oil.  I plan to use these in stirfries and salad dressings.

I also bought a few baking supplies: cocoa nibs, which I've always wanted to try, crystallized ginger (one of my favorites) and maple sugar powder, which I plan to add to my morning bowl of oatmeal. Allspice was a foodie paradise, and I'm sure I'll be making many more visits in the future.  Plus, I'm always looking for an excuse to visit the East Village!

World Food Festival

Des Moines hosted the annual World Food Prize ceremony in early October.  The kick-off event for the celebration was the World Food Festival, which featured food vendors serving up specialty dishes from all around the world.  I'd heard good things about the World Food Festival, so I didn't want to miss it again this year.

I was greeted by dancers and rows of food vendors lining the streets of the East Village.

 Each vendor offered $1 samples.  I tried as many of those samples as I could.  Some of the foods I didn't like, but most were wonderful.  One of my favorite booths was Indian Delights.  I ordered the $1 sample, which was a curry-spiced potato, and the Mango lassi, which looked so pretty in the dish.

I stood in line forever to try a bacon-wrapped grilled banana.  To be honest, it wasn't that great -- not terrible, but not all that good either. But at least I can say I tried one!

My favorite discovery of the day was the cabbage-stuffed pierogi.  It was a revelation!  Soft and doughy like a fresh donut, but with a touch of peppery cabbage filling.  It was worth driving to Des Moines just for this pierogi!

Of course, I also couldn't help but get a $1 sample of the bacon ice cream.  Again, it was just OK, nothing outstanding.  Actually, I could barely taste the bacon, it was chopped so fine.

Pretty soon, I was getting full, and I didn't feel like standing in any more lines.  On a whim, I decided to try the homemade toasted marshmallows.  They were wonderful.  One marshmallow was coconut flavored, the other caramel.  They were nice a gooey on the inside.  I could have eaten several more of these lovelies.

Before I left, I ordered the chili-spiced cantaloupe with lime juice, just for fun.  Oh, goodness.  I loved this!  The hot chili powder really complimented the sweet cantaloupe.  I've got to try this at home.

I already can't wait to attend the World Food Festival again next year, just so I can get my hands on another periogi!