Liver Pâté

1. Cook the bacon in a cast iron skill until just beginning to turn translucent. Don't drain.
2. Remove bacon from skillet and add liver (if there is any white connective tissue on the liver, cut it off). Cook the liver in the bacon fat until just beginning to brown. This will only take 2-3 minutes. Note: The more “rare” the liver is cooked the less livery it will taste.
3. Add bacon and liver to the blender or food processor. Salt generously and optionally add a dash of cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Pulse until combined.
4. At this point if you want a creamier texture you can add ½ cup cream or milk – adding more or less depending on the thickness you prefer – if you want the texture smoother/creamier then add more. Can also add coconut oil instead of, or in addition to, the cream/milk.
5. Serve on crackers or any other pâté vehicle of your choice!

Liver is the super-est of superfoods!

Liver isn't as sexy as açaí berries (my first time using the fancy c, btw!) and, in fact, when I googled "superfoods" not a single list on the first page - and some of these were lists of 50 things! - even mentioned organ meats from well-raised animals!?!? Clearly we have yet another word without a real definition that is used to market and confuse. Much like "sustainable" and "grassfed" the word "superfood" is not really defined anywhere and really doesn't mean much, especially when being used to try to sell you something. Present company included. But I'm going to explain myself a bit. First, I am happy to admit when I am wrong about something (despite what my family might tell you) and one of those things, is liver. I used to believe that you really shouldn't eat liver because it is a giant filter and it's holding on to lots of bad things the way a sponge does. Turns out that is not at all true and not only is it not bad for you but it's actually said to be one of THE BEST things for you! What?!

The liver does not hold onto bad stuff - it deals with it!

Maybe we should be more like the liver! :) The liver is not actually acting like a filter or a sponge but more like a chemical processing plant. From Mark's Daily Apple: "The liver receives shipments, determines what they contain, and reacts accordingly. It converts protein to glucose, converts glucose to glycogen, manufactures triglycerides, among many other tasks, but its best-known responsibility is to render toxins inert and shuttle them out to be expelled – usually in the urine via the kidney. It doesn’t just hang on to toxins [it deals with them and gets them out!]…" Not only does it not hold on to bad stuff, it's actually FULL OF GOOD STUFF! Specifically: vitamins A, D, E, K, B12, folic acid and all of them are ready to be absorbed by the body!