Pepperoni Chips + Camera Tips

Pepperoni Chips were my own personal happy accident. One day, while heating pepperoni in the microwave, I let it go too long and voila, I wound up with wonderfully delicious crispy (as in potato chips) little slices of salty-heaven. I thought, how is it I've never had/heard of these before? I did a Google search for Pepperoni Chips, and of course, they are not new (is anything ever really new?) There were all kinds of methods (of course only one ingredient, so not much variation there) including baking in the oven, and my favorite, the microwave.

Here's how I do it. I lay the pepperonis in a circle on a paper towel on a plate (for even cooking) and cover them with another paper towel. Then I put them in the microwave on high until the sizzling stops (about a minute for my microwave). I let them cool a very short time (if I can restrain myself) and they become wonderfully crispy.
Other than how great they are, here's why I love them: They are easy, delicious, NO-carb, great as a snack and wonderful crumbled on a salad. It's like really crispy bacon without the strip of fat, and of course with great spiciness. I tried them at Suzanne's yesterday, and she liked them, too, I'm pleased to say.
For any of you health nuts out there, a few pepperonis aren't a bad thing, calorie-wise, and lots of the fat comes out into the paper towels (see middle photo above), so they're even better for you than the Nutrition Facts box on the label says! As for the no-carb aspect, I'm trying to really avoid all my favorite carb-laden things. The next thing I'm going to try is the Pioneer Woman's Bacon-Wrapped Jalepeno Thingies (bacon, cream cheese and jalepenos - no carbs there). Find the recipe here:
http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j.html/
On to photo-tips. I had a time photographing the pepperoni close-up, so had to poke around on my camera and found a macro-closeup choice - it did the trick.

The Staff of Life...

...unless you're doing low-carb or no-sugar, no-flour, Sugar Busters or some other variant of Dr. Adkins' plan. If that's the case, do a Google image search for bacon. Be careful, though. I'm some freak has come up with perversions involving bacon. Be very careful of image searches. Just the other day, I was looking for an image of Betty and Veronica from the old Archie comic books. I was shocked to see the depths of depravity that were reached - using these two innocent and lovely girls. Nothing is sacred.

On to the subject of this post. Bread. I baked it tonight. Two batches, or the equivalent of six loaves. I'm doing Suzanne's great sourdough version. It's like a pet - you have to feed it and exercise it at least once per week, more often is better. Suzanne and I have exchanged many emails regarding sourdough breadmaking methodology, and I finally have a batch I'm pleased with. It's still kind of heavy and a little dense, but it'll pass.

Oh, I used my new Gorillapod for this photo. I love the G-pod. It lets me take photos in low light without blurring. I can tilt the camera for a different angle, push down to lower the vantage point or straighten legs to raise it. It's very steady and slip resistant. If you've ever stacked books to try to get the camera steady and to the right height, you will love this. I do.