Holo Writing

Authors Jacob & H.P. Holo

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Recipes on Top: Jacob’s PERFECT Carrot Bacon Wrap (and H.P.s PERFECT Carrot BLT)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 large carrots, horizontally peeled into slices
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tbsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 tbsp paprika
  • 1/2 tbsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tbsp black pepper

For Wrap:

  • 2 sun dried tomato wraps
  • desired toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, avocado, plain Greek yogurt

For BLT:

  • 4 slices of Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Bread, toasted
  • toppings: lettuce, tomato, Duke’s Mayonnaise

Instructions:

  1. Mix maple syrup, liquid smoke, paprika, onion powder, and black pepper in a medium bowl.
  2. Add carrot slices and let marinate for 2-5 minutes.
  3. Spread seasoned carrots as thinly as possible in bottom of an air fryer, and cook at 380 degrees for 8 minutes.
  4. While carrots are cooking, assemble your toppings on the sun dried tomato wraps (or bread).
  5. When finished, divide carrots between each wrap (or sandwich) and enjoy!

Babble:

First, credit where credit is due here: This recipe is heavily based upon Tabitha Brown’s carrot bacon video – and if you haven’t experienced Tabitha Brown yet, you are missing a true blessing of the Internet. Her voice is so relaxing I’ve adopted her as Internet mom, and any time I’m feeling down, her food videos are a sure spirit-lifter. 😊

Plus, now that Jacob’s seen this video, he narrates all the cooking that happens in our house with “‘Cause that’s my/your business,” which is adorable. 😂

Anyway, the main differences between her recipe and mine are that 1) mine includes ingredient proportions, 2) House Holo isn’t fancy enough for microgreens, 3) it uses spices that were already hanging around my pantry, and 4) my preferred seasoning mix is a lot thicker than the one pictured in the video. This is because, back when Jacob could eat Real Bacon, he liked it crispy and just shy of burnt. After some experimentation, I found that the best way to emulate that texture was a higher seasoning-to-carrot ratio. If you don’t like crispy bacon, I recommend leaving the liquid proportions as they are and playing with the seasoning proportions until you find your desired taste and texture.

Some notes:

A little liquid smoke goes a lonnnnng way. You’ll be tempted to just dump the whole bottle in because that divine smell tricks your heart into thinking it will never be able to eat enough. Your taste buds, however, will thank you for your restraint. (My first several carrot bacon experiments were almost inedible because I was overzealous with the liquid smoke. 😳)

I use plain Greek yogurt in place of mayo on Jacob’s wraps because it’s low-cholesterol, and in most recipes that involve complex flavors, we can’t tell the difference anyway. My diet, however, allows me the decadent pleasures of Duke’s Mayonnaise, so I treat myself as the Southern mayonnaise gods intended. 😋

Also, obviously you can use whatever bread you want for BLTs, but if, like me, you’re on a limited-bread diet, I like to splurge on breads when I do eat them, and Artesano bread might be the most delicious impulse buy I’ve ever made.

Recipes on Top – Sublime Beer Cheese Soup (Mark II – Veggie Bomb)

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Ingredients:

  • 1 lb smoked bacon, finely chopped
  • 1 medium red onion cut into ¼ in pieces
  • 1 package celery, chopped into chunks
  • 1 package carrots, chopped into chunks
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 4 oz grated white cheddar
  • 3 dashes Tabasco sauce
  • ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup beer (preferably a dark Canadian), room temperature
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Bread of choice

Instructions:

  1. Cook the bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat until lightly browned.
  2. Add onions, celery, and carrots, and cook until the onion is tender.
  3. Sprinkle in flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and stock, a little at a time, blending well to ensure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and beer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve with your favorite bread. (I usually like French or Italian bread.)

Babble:
This variation of the Mark I came about because every time I made the Mark I, we basically ended up eating a whole block of cheese in one sitting – and while our taste buds very much enjoyed that, our guts did not. Also, when I cook, I generally like to use complete packages of whatever I ingredients buy just so I don’t have to store them (i.e. forget about them and find them moldy and mutating in the back of the fridge months later). 
Thus, to make a less overwhelming soup, I significantly cut the amount of cheese involved and then restored the soup’s heft with added bacon and vegetables. It’s far from a healthy soup – after all, we went from eating a whole block of cheese in one sitting to a whole pack of bacon in one sitting – but it’s certainly yummy as heck.