Recipe: Spaghetti Carbonarra with Lamb Bacon

It amazes me that two years ago, I didn't even know that Lamb Bacon existed. It has won its way into my heart as a favortie meat product. I don't know where to buy it, aside from the Deck Family Farm, but if you are a bacon lover and in the Willamette Valley or Portland area... WOW. Try it out! It is intesnely flavorful and wonderfully fatty. It makes a killer BLT (especailly now that the tomatoes are getting ripe).

I wish I could upload the flavor for you. So very decadent

But our favorite thing to do with it? Carbonarra.




Frequently, Carbonarra is made with pancetta or proscuitto. Often people use pork bacon as the meat, but a good pack of Lamb Bacon really makes this dish something special. As a bonus, it's almost laughably simple to create.



Spaghetti Carbonarra with Lamb Bacon

Amazing ingredients for amazing dinner.

1 lb. Lamb Bacon
1 lb. fesh pasta (preferably a larger noodle like linguini. I used egg linguini from Pasta Plus.)

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup heavy cream (like the amazing raw cream from the Deck's Creamy Cow Share. Yum.)
3/4 cup parmesan, plus extra to sprinkle
Salt and Pepper to taste



Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry. Pull out of the grease and set aside. Save the grease - you'll need it later and want the leftovers for something else good.

Cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk the egg yolks, cream, and parmesan together. Drain the pasta and mix with the dairy sauce over low heat till the sauce thickens and clings to the noodles, about 3-5 minutes. Add the bacon and 2-4 tablespoons of reserved grease, mixing throughly. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Serve with a light salad or other veggie. Clearly this meal is the best kind of calorie fest, so keep your sides very light and simple. The Lamb Bacon has such a rich flavor you don't want to try and compete with it.

Also, if you do this and splurge on the Lamb Bacon... Go All The Way. Get really good pasta, cream, and eggs. Get local and raw if you can. I swear you will not be disappointed. It's worth it.

The Flavor of Milk

Sister-Bug drinks her fresh milk in the dairy barn at Deck Family Farm.

We drink raw milk. We are blessed to have many local farms and friends that choose to leave their milk in its whole and most nourishing state.

Because of pick-up issues we took a break from raw milk, getting regular old organic carton milk at the store. Our busy life being what it is, I forgot. Then, out at the Deck Family Farm the other day, we pulled cups of fresh, cold milk from the big milk tank. The flavor hit me, deeply resonating as food, nutrition, satiation. One sip and I could feel my body respond to the goodness of it.

We're back on raw milk now.

There is tremendous controversy around the benefits versus the safety of raw dairy products. I don't need to address that controversy here and now. You know what side I am on. I'm on the side with the good flavor - that my body deeply and viscerally recognizes as Food.

You can find out more about the benefits (and some of the risks) of raw milk here:

Raw Milk Facts 
Raw Milk Risks & Benefits
Health Benefits of Raw Milk

Selling raw milk is illegal in most states. Find out how to legally buy it here.

If you live in the Eugene/Springfield area, check out the Deck Family Farm's Creamy Cow Share.

Ever thought of making cheese? The less pasteurization the milk is exposed to, the better your cheese product. Fresh raw milk makes the best fresh mozzarella - and it is almost tomato & basil time....

And one final thought about milk. Many people tout the benefits of whole food, eat whole grain bread and leafy green veggies. At the grocery they stock up on 2% (or skim) milk and low fat yogurt. That dairy has been altered and processed to have some of its nutrients removed. It's not a whole food. Just a thought.

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Because I love and revere local food, and whole food I really enjoy writing about the cooking and experiences I have. I work at the Deck Family Farm booth at the Lane County Farmer's Market and we eat almost all Deck meat. As the Lonesome Whistle feature slows down, I plan on featuring more Deck products and writing about pastured meat - because cooking it is a little different than cooking feed-lot meat! And it's all just so very tasty...